GREEN THUMB
Master Gardener Program has shared horticulture know-how for 50 years
Sept. 23, 2024
With the change in seasons, you might wonder whether to fertilize your lawn before winter, how much to water your perennials during cold months, how to store your root vegetables, or when to prune the apple tree in your backyard.
The Colorado Master Gardener Program has 1,545 trained volunteers ready to answer your questions.
Next summer, the well-known Colorado State University program turns 50 – marking five decades of equipping volunteer gardening experts to answer all manner of questions about growing trees, lawns, flowers, and vegetables in our semiarid state. What’s more, the information they provide is grounded in science.
Last year, these gardening educators – known as Master Gardeners – answered questions from more than 156,000 people. They volunteered more than 53,000 total hours to do so. And, in responding, they relied on the largest Master Gardener resource library at any university in the Rocky Mountain region.
Susan McGill, shown in the early years of her volunteer service, has answered gardening questions at booths set up at farmers markets and other events. Photo: Submitted.
The Master Gardener Program is part of CSU Extension. Like similar programs at land-grant universities nationwide, it develops gardening experts with 60 hours of horticulture training, further prepares volunteers through apprenticeships, then assigns certified Master Gardeners to Extension offices in their home counties. Here, they field questions from other local gardeners during office hours, through phone calls, and via email and other channels. In Fort Collins, for instance, the Larimer County Master Gardener Program sponsors a Saturday farmers market and answers questions at a booth during market hours.
By cultivating gardening educators, then planting them in county Extension offices, the Master Gardener Program lets people across Colorado gain greener thumbs. It is a classic outreach program – transferring research-based knowledge from the university to state residents, with trained volunteers as the conduit.
“Gardening is such a huge topic, and people have a wide variety of questions,” said Chris Hilgert, director of the Colorado Master Gardener Program and horticulture state specialist. “They want to know everything from, ‘What do I spray on my weeds?’ to ‘How do I control my weeds without using herbicides?’”
Susan McGill of Fort Collins has answered such questions longer than anyone else in Colorado. She is the longest serving of all the state’s Master Gardeners, having volunteered for 45 consecutive years. Her time in the Colorado Master Gardener Program is so extensive that McGill, 83, has earned emeritus status – retired from the program but still part of the network.
Asked what kept her motivated so long, McGill had a ready answer: “The people are great, and the plants are nicer.”
BY THE NUMBERS
The Colorado Master Gardener Program started in 1975 as part of CSU Extension and marks its 50th anniversary in 2025.
1,545 Master Gardeners volunteered at the height of the growing season in 2024 — an all-time high.
156,586 contacts with people asking gardening questions in calendar year 2023.
53,414 total volunteer hours logged in calendar year 2023.
42 Colorado counties participated in 2023.
She laughed heartily, then continued, “You’re working with plants and people. What could be a nicer job? There isn’t one.”
McGill earned a college degree in biology and taught the subject for years at Boltz Junior High and Fort Collins High School. When her two sons were young, she decided to entertain them by teaching them to plant.
“They learned about seeds and plants, and I thought that was a great education. Then, I started to teach other people. That was good because I’m kind of bossy,” McGill said, with more laughter.
McGill and her husband, Bruce, now reside in a senior living facility. Earlier, their Fort Collins home had a large lawn, shade trees, and gardens filled with dahlias, McGill’s favorite flowers.
When she started volunteering in 1979, McGill turned to a filing cabinet of gardening fact sheets to help answer questions. (Now, these and other resources are available on the CSU Extension website.) During walk-in hours at the Larimer County Extension office, she and her apprentices would examine insects and the leaves of sick plants, which people often bring in for troubleshooting.
Those with queries would ask: Why are there spots on my lawn? Why is my tree dying? What has happened to my tomatoes?
“Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, and more about tomatoes,” McGill said. “People want to know, ‘How do I grow? What do I grow? What will grow in this climate?’”
TOP 10
The most frequently asked questions fielded by Colorado Master Gardeners, ranked by category:
- Trees
- Lawns
- Insects
- Growing fruits and vegetables
- Weed control
- Shrubs and vines
- Annuals and perennials
- Soil amendments and mulch
- Native plants
- Houseplants
While many questions may be answered with CSU Extension fact sheets and other resources, people often wish to talk through their gardening challenges with someone knowledgeable, McGill said. “They like personal interaction, and that’s what we do really well,” she said.
People also appreciate that the gardening information supplied is based on horticulture research at CSU and elsewhere.
“It’s very important that you give them scientific information. Otherwise, they could be relying on what the neighbor said or on misinformation,” McGill said. “You have to educate people and educate yourself.”
Hilgert noted that Master Gardeners often sponsor projects in their communities and even across Colorado. For instance, one of the program’s most popular statewide efforts is called Grow & Give, which enlists gardeners to grow fruits and vegetables, then donates the fresh food harvested to food banks, pantries, and other outlets for people in need of food assistance.
At the community level, Master Gardeners often help build and maintain demonstration gardens, host farmers markets, support school gardens, and educate gardeners through classes, workshops, demonstrations, and written resources.
“They help Colorado gardeners know what to grow, how to grow it, and how to deal with challenges we all face in our gardens,’’ Hilgert said.
VOLUNTEER
To become a Colorado Master Gardener, a volunteer completes an application, undertakes horticulture training through CSU Extension’s Green School, then serves in an apprenticeship to log required hours. Once certified, experts answer questions from other gardeners through county Extension offices and get involved in local projects to support the gardening community.
Photo at top: Susan McGill, shown at CSU’s Annual Flower Trial Garden, is Colorado’s longest-serving Master Gardener, having been part of the program for 45 years. That’s five years shy of the program’s 50 total years in operation. Photo: Tanya Fabian.
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