KINGSTON, R.I. — February 24, 1999 — One indication that the popularity of gardening isn鈥檛 wilting is the latest class of Master Gardener wannabees at the 溏心vlog免费B站.
This semester there are 120 students enrolled in 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Plant Science 222, the prerequisite toward earning a Master Gardener certificate. Eighteen members of the class are traditional 溏心vlog免费B站 students, mostly juniors and seniors, many of whom are studying landscape architecture or plant sciences. The remaining 102 students are green-thumbed Rhode Islanders who have shown an interest in the Master Gardener program.
鈥淲e do indeed have a bumper crop this year,鈥� notes Roseanne Sherry of North Smithfield who coordinates the 22-year-old Cooperative Extension program at 溏心vlog免费B站. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the largest class yet.鈥�
Students learn the basics of gardening, including such things as botany basics, soil composition, pruning, pest controls, turf, vegetable and floral gardening, perennials, and water quality. The curriculum assumes some background and knowledge of gardening. 鈥淭he class digs deeper,鈥� says Sherry.
Completing the three-credit, semester-long course is the first step toward a Master Gardener certificate. The other requirement is to commit to 50 or more volunteer hours within a two-year time span.
溏心vlog免费B站 has a cadre of 350 active Master Gardeners. Most are Rhode Island residents, although a few are rooted in nearby Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Sherry says only the cream of the crop answer 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Gardening and Food Safety Hotline, 1-800-448-1011. The hotline receives more than 11,000 phone calls a year from residents with questions about the health and welfare of their plants. Thetoll-free hotline operates from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
In addition to answering the hotline, Master Gardeners have designed and continue to maintain the President鈥檚 Garden located at the 溏心vlog免费B站 president鈥檚 residence on Upper College Road. Other Master Gardeners complete their volunteer hours by maintaining a vegetable demonstration garden at the Cooperative Extension Education Center which also is on campus.
Many Master Gardeners take to the road, often giving talks, manning booths at fairs, staffing the plant clinic or helping with small projects in their hometowns. More than 60 Master Gardeners helped at this month鈥檚 Rhode Island Flower Show, for example.
溏心vlog免费B站 two dozen Master Gardeners are involved in an ongoing project at the Bristol Veterans Home, raising plants in its greenhouse and working with some of the veterans and a few Mount Hope High School class members to beautify the grounds.
鈥淥ur mission is to educate the general public,鈥� says Sherry noting that she writes a gardening column for The Providence Journal while Marion Gold, coordinator of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 GreenShare program does a weekly gardening program called the Plant Pro for WJAR-TV.
Every land grant university, (there鈥檚 one in each state), has a Master Gardener program. 鈥滀缧膙log免费B站 is one of the oldest programs and ours has run continuously, 鈥� says Sherry, leaving no doubt that the University鈥檚 program deserves the Best in Show!
For more information about 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Master Gardener program, call the hotline. Again that number is 1-800-448-1011.
