Become a Master Gardener

If you like getting your hands dirty and growing something in the soil, the Red Dirt Master Gardener organization may be for you.

The local organization still has a few openings for its fall training sessions, which are coming up in the next couple of weeks. Classes will range from 6-8 hours daily and include both classroom education and field trips. No night classes are scheduled. The dates are October 27, 29, and 30 and November 3, 5, and 6.

The class consists of 40 hours of instruction, that includes lawn care, ornamental trees and shrubs, insects, disease and weed management, soils and plant nutrition, vegetable and flower gardening, home fruit production, irrigation and much more.

Master Gardeners are volunteers. They are people from all walks of life who have an interest in gardening, a willingness to learn and a desire to help others solve gardening problems.

The local program is offered by the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and is open to all persons who live in Miller County and surrounding counties in Arkansas, Texas Louisiana, and Oklahoma.

After completion of of the training program you will need to put in an additional 20 hours of education and 40 hours of community service to receive the official title of Master Gardener.

For more information and an application, call 870-779-3609.