Hunger Garden harvest 2021 and Wildfire Rose. Right photo by Sharon Sowers
As the air warms, gardeners itch to dig in the dirt—and, fortunately, they have a valuable resource at hand.
For years, the Penn State Extension Master Gardener Program has been sending graduates into the field to help local residents know how to till, plant, tend and harvest.
The program “expands the science that Penn State University does out into the community,” said Catherine Scott, extension horticultural educator, master gardener coordinator.
It accomplishes this by training master gardeners, then sending them forth to help others. All of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties have master gardening programs.
The one-year “Master Gardener Basic Training” requires a commitment of time and energy. This training is extensive, with an exhaustive application and educational process. Coursework dives into botany, soils, pollinators, pesticides and a plethora of gardening topics.
All of this training is necessary because volunteer master gardeners act as advocates and educators.
“They trust that you’re not going to go and teach something that you really didn’t learn,” said Cindy Hogeman, master gardener. “Like, if you’re going to be on the monarch (butterfly) display, you really should know a lot about monarchs.”
The Master Gardener Program requires 20 volunteer hours per year from graduates, though many put in far more than that, especially since gardeners can choose projects that interest them. For example, Hogeman, also a Capital Area Greenbelt Association board member, tends the Five Senses Garden that runs through the Greenbelt near the Harrisburg Mall.
As its name implies, this garden fills the senses, as grasses rustle, fragrant herbs sweeten the air, and thistles invite a light touch.
“We also have a very large non-native poppy section and, when it blooms in June, it is bright orange, and you can’t even look away,” Hogeman said. “It’s so beautiful.”
Twenty-year veteran master gardener Shawna Raymond’s favorite project is close to the seat of power, very close—the Capitol Hunger Garden. This 1,000-square-foot vegetable garden sits right on the statehouse grounds, providing vegetables to local organizations like Downtown Daily Bread.
“That, to me, feels like we’re really making a difference,” Raymond said. “We’re contributing so much food locally.”
She also appreciates the interaction with all of the garden volunteers and the passersby, who often reminisce about their grandma’s garden and tell of their own.
Raymond’s grandmother and mother kept vegetable gardens, which she never really appreciated as a child. But, ultimately, she couldn’t escape the gardening bug.
“It had already seeped into my bones,” she said.
Questions, Answers
The Master Gardener Program provides many resources for those who are ready to pick up the trowel every spring.
Raymond runs a class where gardeners can learn how to get their garden “pollinator certified.” Other classes include “Seed to Supper,” which teaches novice gardeners how to grow food, as well as webinars on native plants, roses and garden design.
The program rose to the task of continuing to inform gardeners during COVID, making many of its seminars hybrid, both in person and online. This has allowed for greater participation, with 297 people registered for an upcoming “Pennsylvania Native Plants” class, for instance.
“We’ve been able to keep attending meetings, and we’ve done everything via Zoom,” Raymond said. “So, from home, we’re still keeping in touch with people, keeping active programs, and even creating new programs, which is astonishing.”
Can’t make a class but have questions? Contact the Dauphin County Master Gardener Penn State Extension hotline. Master gardeners will answer questions of every variety. For instance, is it OK if my daffodils are popping up early? Why does my maple tree have weird spots on the leaves? Why don’t my blueberry bushes have fruit?
“Horticulture is an ever-changing topic,” Scott said.
Master gardeners must commit to 10 hours of continuing education each year, so they stay on top of the latest gardening news and trends.
Nearly 3,500 master gardener volunteers have participated in the program since its inception in 1982. According to several master gardeners, they have benefited greatly from the program, as well.
“You get to know people who know deeply the things that you are interested in,” Hogeman said. “If I want to learn more about soils or trees or orchids or African violets, then I know somebody who does that.”
Raymond has enjoyed the community that the program provides. Even during the pandemic, groups were able to meet outside, using COVID precautions. She also appreciates the ability to specialize.
“It helps you to become a specialist in an area, if you focus on certain things,” said Raymond, whose focus is on pollinators and native plants. “I don’t know a lot about roses, but some people know a lot about roses.”
For more information on the Penn State Master Gardener Program, visit www.extension.psu.edu/programs/master-gardener.
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