Master Gardener Program

Paul mentioned the program in the Organic Lawn article or podcast (both?) and I have considered it several times in the past (previous to my adventures in permaculture), but let the idea go and just used my time for gardening and planting trees. I am wondering how valuable the course is. Specifically what gets covered and the level of details etc. I'm also interested as someone in the early phases of an edible landscaping business and what value the certification would bring to attracting potential customers.

I took it in Wyoming many years ago. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. It is usually not very permie though. Lots of talk about chemicals.
It might be worth while to go visit with some of the local master gardeners and get a better feel for what they are up to.

Thanks Miles, sort of what I thought. Good info but with a chemical bias... I'll still keep it on my radar, but not going to rush out and do it. Thanks again!

I took it here in AZ - at the time I took it, there were things that were pretty far away from permaculture. However, over the years, permaculture has been seeping into the program. They now have sections on water harvesting, site design and introduce systems thinking.

Each state will be different. I know when I lived in WI, there was always talk about how rigorous their MG program was.

That's good. I am taking some soils health classes through my biotech employer and a state university and I was shocked they had interviews with Mark Shepard!!!