Are you interested in helping others and giving back to your community? The UCCE Master Gardener Program is looking for you! You don't need to be an authority on gardening. Master Gardener trainees take classes from University of California experts on soil, water, fruit and vegetable crops, low water use plants, composting, and much more. Trainees graduate to become Master Gardeners who give back to the community. Opportunities include teaching classes at local libraries, giving out information at Farmers Markets, and answering Help Line calls.

How to Apply - Updates

Originally, we planned to accept electronic applications only. Since then, technical difficulties have occurred (and continue to occur) on our website. We apologize for the inconvenience, and are now accepting application multiple ways: 

• Pick up an application at our office.
• Download the fillable PDF. Type in your information.
• Download the PDF and print. Fill it out (please do not use cursive writing).
• Apply online https://ucanr.edu/sites/stancountymg/Become_a_UCCE_MG/ 

Due Date - August 31, 2021*

• Send your application to UCCE Master Gardeners, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Ste A, Modesto, CA 95358.
• Drop applications to our our address above. We are located in the Stanislaus Building.
• Scan and email to ucmgstanisaus@ucanr.edu

 *late applications will be put on a wait list. You must be a Stanislaus County resident to apply. For other county programs, visit http://mg.ucanr.edu/FindUs/ 

 

Giving Tuesday is nearly here! Please join us at midnight and be the first to give—or visit us anytime tomorrow. We are excited to tell you more about our Learning Landscape Project that will combine demonstration gardens and an outdoor classroom.

Tomorrow, look for an email in your inbox with a video we put together with the fun details about this project.

Your gift to our local UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardener Program has the chance to be DOUBLED thanks to generous donors who have committed to the first $15,000 raised.

https://ucanr.edu/sites/GivingTuesday/ 

Stay tuned for exciting updates!

The UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardeners are excited to announce we've broken ground on our Learning Landscape. The project will be a combination of demonstration gardens and an outdoor classroom. So, what does this entail?

Demonstration Gardens
We plan to create a series of gardens the community can visit for inspiration on the following topics:

• Water-wise plants
• California native plants
• Plants for pollinators (hummingbirds, bees, butterflies)
• Vegetable gardens
• Fruit tree orchard

Outdoor Classroom

The gardens will act as outdoor classrooms where our community can attend classes on topics such as vegetable gardening, fruit trees, and water wise plants. We will also have a composting station. Our stretch goal is to build an outdoor pavilion with adequate seating capacity for a group of at least 75 people.

Giving Tuesday
We won't be able to create this garden without your help.  We hope you will consider giving to our project. Please save the date of December 1, 2020. Announcements and a video coming soon about our Learning Landscape.

Giving Tuesday - SAVE THE DATE! Dec 1, 2020
We won't be able to create this garden without your help. Please consider giving to our project. Save the date of December 1, 2020. Announcements and a video coming soon about our Learning Landscape.

Where will the landscape be located at the Ag Center? Our video will tell you all about the different aspects of the project.

Wow! Its been a busy, productive year. The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Stanislaus County Master Gardener Program started it's first training class in January of 2019. Twenty-three Master Gardeners graduated in June and have been volunteering in the community ever since.

Before you read a synopsis of what we've been up to, I'd like to ask you to support our programs. #GivingTuesday is TODAY! Help us continue on our mission by visiting http://bit.ly/MGStanislaus to give directly to our program. If you give early, ANR will MATCH your donation!

Here are just a few of the events and classes we've held so far:

July 2019 - Stanislaus County Fair
We were excited to have a booth in front of the horticulture building to announce the start of our program! We connected with over 350 people in just a few days! This was a great way to recruit volunteers for our 2020 class.

July to present - Modesto and Oakdale Farmers Markets
Volunteers were present every week at the Oakdale Farmers Market, and at the Modesto Farmers Market on various Thursdays and Saturdays. We gave out free vegetable seeds and instructions on how to grow your own healthy produce.

 

October 23, 2019 - Imagine a Day Without Water
Volunteers created a poster board to show best practices for conserving water, as well as handed out a low-water-use plant list. If you'd like to have this list, email us at ucmgstanislaus@ucanr.edu to request a copy.

November 9, 2019 Salmon Festival, Knights Ferry
Although a small town, Knights Ferry is a part of Stanislaus County too! Volunteers connected with many community members and enjoyed participating in the Eco-Quiz that taught attendees about wise water use.

November 14, 2019 - Vermicomposting Basics Class
This is one of the first classes the Master Gardeners taught on their own! Five volunteers learned everything you need to know to start a worm bin, why worms eat our garbage, and how they can help reduce adding waste to the landfill.

Wednesdays, August 2019 through December 11 – Master Gardener Help Line
Master Gardeners are available at our office to answer gardening and pest management questions! Since we started in August, we've had pest management questions about ants, cockroaches, powdery mildew, fireblight, and giant whitefly, just to name a few. We had a lot of gardening questions regarding shade trees and fruit trees, as well as vegetables. Our favorite question was “what are the best tasting tomatoes to grow for our area?”

If you have a question for our helpline, you can submit it online at the email address above or leave us a message at (209) 525-6802. Or stop by and see us at the Agricultural Center. Our office is in the Stanislaus Building, Suite A at 3800 Cornucopia Way, Modesto, 95358.  We are here Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon each week.