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With the cost of food rising daily, grow some of your own!

Vegetables that haven’t traveled a long distance to the supermarket are more flavorful and nutritious, and less expensive. You also have the pleasure that comes from growing them yourself!

You don’t need a lot of space – even a 5 gallon bucket can grow a tomato plant, and a window box will grow salad greens or herbs.

Here's How We Can Help

Upcoming Soil Testing Events

Saturday, June 27, 10AM-12PM, Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St, Holyoke, MA
Saturday, July 11, 9AM-12PM, Grandmother's Garden, 62 Smith St, Westfield, MA
Saturday, July 11, 8:30AM-1PM, Williamstown Farmers Market, Spring St, Williamstown, MA
Saturday, August 8, 8:30AM-1PM, Williamstown Farmers Market, Spring St, Williamstown, MA
Thursday, September 3, 3-6PM, West Stockbridge Farmers Market, 2 Harris St, West Stockbridge, MA
Saturday, September 5, 9AM-1PM, Pittsfield Farmers Market, 431 North St, Pittsfield, MA

What Does Being a Master Gardener Mean?

What does being a Master Gardener mean?

Proud for sure! Master Gardeners have learned a lot and passed a rigorous course in horticultural fundamentals that consumed a big part of our lives while we were doing it, then followed it with an extensive period volunteering on an array of projects.

Challenged! There’s always something new to learn or some new problem on the horizon. Keeping up or feeling pressed to “know” the answer can be daunting. Just remember, even the experts don’t know the answer to everything. The answer is often, “I don’t know but I’ll find out.”

Empowered! As Master Gardeners we’ve learned how to research and investigate, and each of us have developed a network of others we can draw on to find answers. Every new class taken or problem figured out builds on the foundation of the fundamentals we learned in the training course.

Connected! Master Gardeners are an incredibly talented and knowledgeable bunch with a wide range of interests & life experiences. We enjoy working with each other on ongoing WMMGA projects & events that help educate home gardeners as well as maintain local green spaces and support food security.

What Master Gardeners Do

Like the plants we love, Master Gardeners continue to grow and learn. Being a Master Gardener isn’t a static, one-and done accomplishment. It’s an active commitment to being involved by helping people with their gardening problems in a sustainable way. This takes many forms such as holding the spring symposiums, being at a community garden, or talking at a local library, among many others

Full Circle Garden

Full Circle Food Pantry Garden, located at the heart of the South Hadley Community Garden, is dedicated to providing fresh, organically grown produce to Neighbors Helping Neighbors, The all-volunteer staff is responsible for all aspects of the gardening process - from planning to twice-weekly delivery during the growing season.

We grow a variety of seasonal vegetables. Our produce varies by month, and includes garlic, greens, peas and rhubarb in early spring. Tomatoes, peppers and summer squashes are harvested all summer. Hardy winter squashes are ready in the fall. We also have an herb garden and flowers.

The Springfield Museums Thank the Master Gardeners

In this video, the Springfield Museums highlight the wonderful work by our volunteer Master Gardeners. Interviews with Master Gardeners Janet Dolder, Carol Hegeman, and Beate Bolan.

The Pollinators Garden at Grow Food Northampton

The Pollinators Garden at Grow Food Northampton (GFN) was launched in 2017 when the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association (WMMGA) was invited to take responsibility for one 20’ x 20’ plot, directly adjacent to a healthy stand of sumac and Japanese knotweed. An initial gift of mostly unlabeled pollinator seeds and plants from Nasami Farm (Native Plant Trust) and the Northampton Community Garden got the project off the ground (or in the ground). Since that time, the Garden has grown fourfold to 1600 square feet. More than 60 species of pollinator-friendly plants have emerged or been installed over the past five years. We continue to work to contain the more exuberant, fast-spreading species, to protect light and space for more delicate plants, and to ensure that the Garden will attract a range of native pollinators. We hope that this guide will be helpful to other gardeners in western Massachusetts who wish to install pollinator-friendly spaces in their yards and gardens.

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Bug ID	How to test your soil	PlantID

Smith College Botanic Garden	Berkshire Botanical Garden	Arnold Arboretum
Wisteriahurst	New England Botanic Garden	Springside and Hebert Arboretum