Nelson County Master Gardeners offered a training class in early 2006. The purpose of the class was to train volunteers to help with Extension-based horticultural projects in Nelson County.
Each trainee needs to complete 50 hours of classroom training and 50 hours of volunteer work in the following 12 month period in order to become a certified Master Gardener.
Class topics include: Botany, Soils and composting, Water quality, Animals in the garden, Insects, Pesticides, Integrated Pest Management, Plant diseases and diagnosis, Vegetables, herbs, Fruit trees, Pruning, Turf, Organic gardening, and much, much more!
Most classes are held at the Nelson Center in Lovingston on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. However, several classes include field trips to local sites. Trainees may not miss more than three of the 14 classes.
The cost of the training was $125 per person, $200 per couple.
A mandatory orientation session was held on Tuesday February 14th in order to better describe how the Master Gardener program fits into the Virginia Cooperative Extension mission, and to answer trainee questions.
For more information, and to sign up for future classes, please call the Extension Office, (434) 263-4035.