Special to The Leader

The Orange County Master Gardeners Association (OCMGA) in association with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Orange County (AgriLife) are happy to announce they will once again be offering the Texas Master Gardener Certification Training Course. We are looking for prospective gardeners from novice to expert who wants to become a “Master Gardener” with a green thumb.

The classes will run from 6PM to 8 – 8:30PM on Thursday evenings starting June 1, 2017 thru September 14, 2017. There will be some Saturday classes, which will include field trips to a local nursery, blueberry farm and other areas of interest, which will enhance what is learned in the class. The fee for the class is $100 and includes the Texas Master Gardener Handbook, supplies and other essentials.

Training will include a wide range of topics such as: basic botany, soils & composting, identification and control of insects, diseases and weeds, diagnosing plant problems, appropriate water use; vegetable, fruit, tree and lawn care, pruning techniques along with many other topics. Thursday classes will be held at the Orange County EXPO Center, 11475 FM 1442, Orangefield.

Master Gardeners is a volunteer program offered by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and designed to increase the availability of horticultural information and improve the quality of life, through horticultural projects. It is a good solid education, scientifically and culturally available to learn more about plants and how they fit into our world and vice versa.

A potential Master Gardener is enthusiastic about learning and sharing horticultural knowledge and may or may not have a basic interest and knowledge about horticulture. We welcome anyone who is interested in plants and horticulture to come join us.

It you would like to join the next Certification class, please contact the AgriLife Extension office at 409 882-7010 to have a program application sent to you.