Virginia Master Gardener Program of the New River Valley
The Virginia Master Gardener Program of the New River Valley serves the counties of: Pulaski, Montgomery, Giles, Floyd and the city of Radford.
The Master Gardener Volunteer Program is a national program of trained volunteers, working in partnership with county Cooperative Extension offices, to provide education to the community in a wide range of home gardening, horticultural and sustainable landscape management topics. The first Master Gardener program was started in Washington State in 1972, and it is now active in all 50 states.
Anyone with an interest in horticulture can apply for the Master Gardener program. The desire to help others is the first requirement. A commitment to attend 60 hours of class time, and complete 50 hours of volunteer time, is also required.
Training classes meet in the evening twice a week in the months of January through May. The classes include some of the following topics:
- Botany
- Soils
- Lawn Care
- Pesticide Safety and Use
- Vegetables
- Pruning
- Plant Problem Diagnosis
- Ornamentals
- Landscaping
- Fruits
- Trees and Shrubs
- Soil & Water Conservation
- Annuals
- Perennials
- Integrated Pest Management
Master Gardeners continue volunteering 20 hours of service every year after their first year, along with 8 hours every year of additional training classes and seminars in environmental horticulture and related subjects. Training for Master Gardeners provides the opportunity to improve horticultural knowledge and skills to share with the public through organized volunteer activities.