25 signs you might be a Coconino Master Gardener

1. I remember a frost-free date in Flagstaff, but I don’t remember my husband’s birthday.

2. I have seeds in my pocket on laundry day and I can’t remember where they came from, but I plant them anyway.

3. Try to keep the poinsettias from the holiday season next year.

4. Claim that your vacation includes a trip to the Botanical Gardens regardless of the season.

5. Tell everyone you know about when you picked your first tomatoes of the season.

6. You insist on saving all 100 tomato seedlings you started, even though you only have 6 spaces to plant them.

7. Give away excess saplings, but never give away compost.

8. Wash your hair to clean your nails.

9. I love watching a group of 2nd graders having fun digging carrots.

10. You wake up in the middle of a cold night wondering if you should go outside and cover your tomatoes.

11. You consider earthworms to be your friends.

12. I like native grasses.

13. I think it’s really cool that the compost pile is heated.

14. You own two copies of Wild Plants in High Altitude Western Gardens.

15. Ask for a large amount of fertilizer on your birthday.

16. Use the word manure in everyday conversation.

17. Do you know how many bags of manure (or compost) your car can hold?

18. It’s okay to wrap up in a kilt and run outside before dawn to scare deer out of your yard.

19. I want my daughters to be named Lily, Petal and Violet.

20. I named my dog ​​after my favorite plant.

21. Use your favorite native plant genus as your computer password.

22. You were having dinner at a friend’s house and asked if you could take some vegetable trimmings home for your compost pile.

23. As you sit and relax in your garden, you can’t go unnoticed by the weeds and dead flowers that need to be pulled.

24. Proudly display pictures of your garden or vegetable harvest, not pictures of your children or pets.

25. Smell the dirt – and smile.

If you have six or more of these signs, take the plunge and consider becoming a Coconino Master Gardener. you are already on your way. The next Coconino Master Gardener class starts on January 23rd. This year, there are two options for him: face-to-face classes that take place every Monday evening from 5:30-8:30, and an asynchronous online version. Both classes conclude with take-home finals on his May 8th.

The Coconino Master Gardener Program has been in place since 1991 and is administered by the Coconino Office of the University of Arizona Joint Extension. The Extension Master Gardener Program will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. Started in 1973 in King County, Washington, to help Extension faculty answer the overwhelming number of gardening questions asked by homeowners. But the program does more than just answer questions. One of his founders, Dr. David Gibbey, believed that by solving problems and sharing information, he could help people become better gardeners. His motto was “do good and tell good”.

The goal of the Master Gardener class is to train volunteers in the field of gardening and horticulture and to encourage them to assist their communities through horticultural education. Learn all about upland gardening, botany for gardeners, soils, plant propagation, plant problem diagnosis, insect management, pruning, fruit tree care, berries, vegetable gardens, houseplants, composting, irrigation, wildlife management, native plants, invasive plants, and urban forestry. Wow!

By helping out at the county extension office, giving gardening talks, answering gardening questions, or volunteering at various locations within the community, such as the Olivia White Hospice Home Garden, the school gardens and the Flagstaff Botanical Gardens, 50 Contribute your time volunteering. , or a local park such as Riordan Mansion State Historic Park. The choice is yours, but I hope that some form of horticultural education is involved.

For more information on the Master Gardener Program, please visit https://extension.arizona.edu/coconino-master-gardener.