Missoula Master Gardener Program

The Missoula County Extension Master Gardener Level 1 program is designed to be a broad introduction to horticulture principals. This is meant to introduce new ideas and address topics to help gardeners and plant enthusiasts make informative decisions about plant production. This course is perfect for any beginning gardener, or a seasoned green thumb who is looking to refresh some ideas. This ten week course will cover topics such as:

• Basic botany
• Soil science
• Introduction to composting
• Plant propagation
• Plant pests and pathogens
• Native plants
• Herbaceous ornamentals
• Proper plant selection
• Vegetable production
• Weed management
• Plant diagnostics

In addition to guest speakers from local experts, we will have a number of tours of regional horticulture businesses to supplement the classroom lessons. The course will culminate with an optional exam at the end of April for those who are interested in receiving the Montana Master Gardener Certificate. This is shaping up to be another fun year!

Where:
Missoula County Extension Office
2825 Santa Fe Court
Missoula, MT 59808

When:
February 19th-April 30th 2013 (Tuesdays)
Morning session: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
or
Evening session: 6:00 PM-9:00 PM


The cost of the ten week Level 1 Master Gardener Program is $150. Registration fees includes the 5th Edition Montana Master Gardener Manual, 30 hours of class time, guest lectures by regional experts, tours of local horticulture businesses, plus a t-shirt and certificate upon completion. A $50 rebate is available upon completion of 20 hours of community volunteer commitment. A morning (9-12p) and evening (6-9p) session are available, so be sure to register for the section that suits you best.

For more information and to register call Seth at 258-4205 or click HERE.

Seth,

Any chance you might be able to mention how the current program is different from the stuff taught in the past?

Also, I went to your site and looked up the stuff for level 2.

I did the missoula master gardener thing in the winter of 1996. It seems that about a year later we had "advanced master gardener training". Not very formal. We met once a week and the students each had to give a detailed presentation on a topic. I thought it was pretty good!

Wow, 1996! Not sure I can speak to the differences between the course now and the course then. Through the current program I aim to help folks develop the tools necessary to make informative decisions regarding horticulture and plant production. The course focuses on a broad spectrum of topics to establish some of the fundamental principals and practices, and goes beyond the garden plot into other plant communities. It is meant for folks of all levels of experience, in a relaxed learning atmosphere. Regional tours and guest speakers from local experts will help to mix things up and supplement some of the information provided in class.

The level two program is new this year and is still in the works. This will be more of a formalized learning experience. Well, maybe not so much formal, but we will be delving into a series of topics throughout the course. This course is designed to build upon the principals established in the first course and tackle some more specified subject matter. This program is still being developed, but some of the topics we will investigate are: IPM, minimal input gardening, home composting and composting alternatives, principals of pruning, small and tree fruit production, advanced propagation, season extension, seed saving, and post harvest storage. Tours and activities will be important to applied learning focus of this section. More details will be available soon, but it should begin sometime in early June. Should be a good time.

I just came across this old thread.

I hired helen to teach her missoula master gardener course in my classroom, but replace all the pesticide stuff with organic, market gardening, commercial food forest stuff.  Here is her updated master gardener course.