Master Gardener Trainee Diary: Week 2 – Propagation, Tools, and Teamwork
The real hands-on work for me began the day before our second official class: I attended my very first morning of propagation at the Ira Nelson Horticulture Center to start working toward my required volunteer hours.
When I arrived, certified Master Gardeners were already busy working the beds, “bumping up” plants from a meticulous task list to prepare for the upcoming fall plant sale. I was paired with an experienced gardener who walked me through the process of "bumping" plants to larger containers. I learned how to properly tag the varieties, note inventory counts, and navigate their structured system. During the mid-morning break, the group held a meeting to report on upcoming community events. Getting to listen to the seasoned veterans gave me a wonderful glimpse into what life as a certified Master Gardener really looks like.
The next day, our formal class focused on opportunities for committee involvement and a practical session on garden tools and maintenance. I didn't expect an entire presentation dedicated to tool care, but it proved to be highly valuable.
We also watched a presentation by two students from the previous year's class. They repeated their final project so we could see exactly how a model presentation should look and how it fits into the grading rubric. This helped demystify the upcoming project presentation requirement of the course.
By the end of class, we officially turned in our soil samples for testing, received our randomly assigned partners for our own upcoming presentations, and got our next assignment: read the botany chapter, prepare for a quiz, and bring a plant tag to class.
The real hands-on work for me began the day before our second official class: I attended my very first morning of propagation at the Ira Nelson Horticulture Center to start working toward my required volunteer hours.
When I arrived, certified Master Gardeners were already busy working the beds, “bumping up” plants from a meticulous task list to prepare for the upcoming fall plant sale. I was paired with an experienced gardener who walked me through the process of "bumping" plants to larger containers. I learned how to properly tag the varieties, note inventory counts, and navigate their structured system. During the mid-morning break, the group held a meeting to report on upcoming community events. Getting to listen to the seasoned veterans gave me a wonderful glimpse into what life as a certified Master Gardener really looks like.
The next day, our formal class focused on opportunities for committee involvement and a practical session on garden tools and maintenance. I didn't expect an entire presentation dedicated to tool care, but it proved to be highly valuable.
We also watched a presentation by two students from the previous year's class. They repeated their final project so we could see exactly how a model presentation should look and how it fits into the grading rubric. This helped demystify the upcoming project presentation requirement of the course.
By the end of class, we officially turned in our soil samples for testing, received our randomly assigned partners for our own upcoming presentations, and got our next assignment: read the botany chapter, prepare for a quiz, and bring a plant tag to class.
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