One hundred eighty eager gardening students packed the classroom yesterday to begin a nine week course to earn our Home Horticulture Certificate. Things are so different than when I enter California State University, Fresno in September, 1977. The biggest change is that college is online now. All 180 students fit nicely on the face of our iPads in one ZOOM session.
I’ll never get used to ZOOM classes. Yesterday, most of the students chose to turn off the video, leaving their image square black. Scrolling down, square after square was empty. Then, there were those who thought it cute to put a stuffed animal in their place. I’m not sure exactly what the other gardeners looked like, if they were even watching the presentation.
Our course will focus on many aspects of expert gardening knowledge. In the first week, we’ll be learning about soil, plant nutrients, and composting. I’ve never been too keen on the thought of composting, but after this investment of time and energy, I suppose we’ll develop a compost pile. It will be a good use of the leaves that should start dropping next week. With 35 mature deciduous trees, it’s probably best we recycle the leaves.
During today’s reading assignment, I absorbed details about soil texture, structure, and pH. Getting a garden to grow in the desert is an art. Although HHH and I have created a small miracle in the gardens of Winterpast, there are many more things we need to learn to fine tune our art. We’ll now better understand our successes and failures.
After soils and composting, we’ll be covering plant propagation, plants varieties, container gardening and pest management. All this in nine weeks, through an impressive curriculum created by real gardeners in our area.
The first Master Gardener Program began in 1972 in Washington. Now there are programs in all 50 states. The goal of the program is to train gardeners to educate community members of all ages about the art of gardening. Lovely!! Throughout the United States, there are thousands of people just like HHH and me that will donate their time to help others grow things. It’s quite amazing, actually.
After Part 1 of the course is completed, we’ll move into Part 2. During this part, we’ll need to apply to become a Master Gardener, after passing a background check and another exam. All this should be finished by the end of December, 2024. Followed with hours of volunteer work throughout 2025.
One point not lost on HHH and I was that our county isn’t represented by an Master Gardener Extension Office. We’ll just need to see about that! With the population growth we’re experiencing, our community will need expertise to help all the new home owners moving our way.
I’m sad to say there’s no need for a new back pack or lunch box. We’ll interact with instructors and classmates right from our kitchen counter while learning. Our books are online and all quizzes and tests will be taken on a screen. No late nights cradling a hard cover school book while juggling multiple cups of coffee. Just lots of screen time.
It’s sad that HHH and I won’t have the opportunity to stroll through the UNR campus while holding hands on the way to class. No stolen kisses between the library stacks during hours of research. Not in this day and age. So far, modern campus life is overrated.
HHH and I are already dreaming of the opportunities our Master Gardener Certificates will bring us. All this stemming from something we love dearly. Our favorite pastime.
Spending time in the garden.
Please enjoy something fun this weekend. Spend time with family and friends. Go for a walk. Watch a good movie. Do something that makes you smile. Life is short!! Enjoy the moments we have!
More on Monday!!