The UCCE Master Gardener Program provides research-based gardening information to the public. We teach our UCCE Master Gardener volunteers University-based scientific information and then they share that knowledge with the gardening community. Will our volunteers learn everything about gardening? No that really is not possible. We teach the volunteers how to research the information so they can provide it to the public.

So, who are Master Gardeners? Master Gardener volunteers are people of all ages and from all walks of life with a common desire to help others learn about gardening. You do have to 18 years old. Tuolumne Master Gardeners lead and participate in a variety of projects. We have Master gardeners involved in school gardens, juvenile hall, garden at the jail, Demonstration Garden at Cassina Alternative High School, weekly articles, weekly radio show, videos on the Central Sierra YouTube Channel, the hot line which answers gardening questions, Information Booths and more.

We offer Master Gardener Training once a year. Typically, we start in January and meet weekly for 15 weeks. We will provide over 50 hours of training. Due to Covid, our training will be for the year 2022 will be a hybrid model. We are planning to cover a variety of topics. These topics will include water management, soils, composting, native plants, fruit production, plant diseases, entomology, Integrated Pest Management, understanding pesticides, and more. For more information, please call our hotline (209) 533-5912 and thank you so much for your interest in the Master Gardener Program.