Be A Master Gardner And Grow Your Own Produce. At Home!

By Alan on Apr 24 in Blog tagged cost, Family, food, garden, gardener, grow, herbs, home, Master, money, nutrition, organic, own, prices, Produce, save, small area, vegetables, why? corn soy beans | 10 Comments

This is Dennis Adamson, a Master Gardener to help “Strengthen The Family .”

This Monday I started my 2nd year of Advanced Master Gardener training.  It is a 4 year follow-on to the Master Gardener program and has extensive requirements beyond that of the Master Gardener program.  You have gotten to know me through my articles (links below) on my cold frame, greenhouse and tomatoes ripening in my workroom.  I plan on writing a weekly gardening article for TheFamily to try to get each of you excited about the upcoming gardening season. Gardening can be one of the most rewarding hobbies that you can have.  My grandchildren say that they like to come to my farm and pick the fruits and vegetables.  My ‘farm’ is a 1/3 acre lot where I have maximized my growing space.

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Why garden? (Alan says, “We should all return to our roots”.   Ha! )

In this Friday’s newspaper was an AP article by Christopher Rugaber and Jeannine Aversa showing how high food prices will soon spur inflation.  Corn, soybeans, wheat and other grains have shot up since last summer.  This raises the cost of feeding livestock which in turn raises the price of beef, poultry and dairy products.  Bread and produce will also follow suit.   Grocers who contained prices last year are expected to increase them this year.  While most of us don’t have the land, time or energy to produce grain or livestock, we can grow fruit, herbs and vegetables, even if we live in apartments or have homes on small lots.

There are many other reasons, besides economics, to grow our own gardens:

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1. ..Nutrition: studies have shown that our nutrition improves when we grow our own produce
2. Exercise
3. Gives us a sense of accomplishment and helps individual development
4. Decreases stress
5. Improves our environment
6. Can ensure that our produce is grown organically, if so desired
7. A positive way to bond with your children and spouse
8. Helps build neighborhoods and communities, especially through shared excess produce or community gardens  (yes, you too can learn to find hundreds of ways to use zucchini)
9. Teaches children responsibility and how nature works
10. Being out in nature has been found to increase our satisfaction with life

Isa. 51: 3 …”he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.”

Next week: Why it is important to know something about plant classification.

My mentor, Larry Sagers, says that there are only 2 kinds of people, “Those that are Master Gardeners and those that want to be Master Gardeners”.  For those of you interested in the Master Gardener program, read the following:

The Master Gardener program was started by Washington State University in 1973 and is now found in all 50 US states and at last count in 3 Canadian provinces.  The programs are usually administered by the county Extension Services.  Utah County is fortunate to have 2 programs.  The ones in Utah County start in September.  The afternoon one is given at the Utah County Extension Service in Provo, UT under the direction of Adrian Hinton, the USU Extension Horticulturist.  The evening program is at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT under the direction of Larry Sagers, the USU Extension Horticulture specialist at Thanksgiving Point.  He also writes a weekly article on gardening for the Deseret News, a Salt Lake City newspaper and he has a garden program on KSL radio on Saturday mornings where individuals can call in to have their gardening questions answered.  I did the Thanksgiving Point Master Gardener program in 2007.

The American Horticultural Society states: The Master Gardener program, conducted throughout the United States and Canada, is a two-part educational effort, in which avid gardeners are provided many hours of intense home horticulture training, and in return they “pay back” local university extension agents through volunteerism. Master Gardeners assist with garden lectures, exhibits, demonstrations, school and community gardening, phone diagnostic service, research, and many other projects.

Master Gardeners in Utah must complete 40 hours of classroom training, complete comprehensive worksheets and a final exam and do 40 hours of volunteer service to gain a certificate.  The title is used only when providing unpaid service for the Extension Service or projects supported or approved by them.  It is not intended for private gain or to promote a product, business or individuals.  If you are interested in doing the Master Gardener program (no previous experience is needed, just a desire to learn more about gardening) contact your local Extension Service for the times and location of the closest ones to where you live.

Until next week,

Dennis Adamson
Master Gardner
For The Family

Links to Previous articles:
http://thefamily.com/2010/11/be-prepared-build-a-greenhouse/
http://thefamily.com/2010/11/greenhousecold-frame-follow-up/
http://thefamily.com/2010/11/greenhouse-and-cold-frame-update-its-winter/
http://thefamily.com/2011/01/lettuce-and-spinach-grown-during-winter-with-cold-frame-update/