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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.

Upcoming WMMGA Events

Gardening session is in full bloom and we're here to help you with your gardening questions! Contact us through the WMMGA Email Hotline or our Telephone Hotline, or find us at special events around the lower and upper Valley, and the Berkshires. We even do soil testing!

Check our calendar for upcoming events.

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.

In 2023 over 2,450 lbs. of food has been sent to Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN), the South Hadley food pantry this year.

Our garden provided 23 different types of vegetables, each with multiple varieties. For example, we sent 227 bags of kale (112 lbs.) over the course of the season which included Common Curly Kale (what one might usually see in the supermarket), Lacinato Kale (also known as Dinosaur Kale or Tuscan Kale), and Red Russian (Ragged Jack).

For the first time ever, we sent dried herbs to Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN) in lovely, donated glass spice jars; huge bags of basil for making pesto, and dried chili peppers to make the most of an incredible crop.

We further supported NHN’s mission of care and compassion by providing dozens of beautiful flower bouquets for their customers who might have needed a little TLC.

Read the full 2023 Annual Report

In 2024, we managed to exceed our expectations and surpass all of our previous years’ production, both in terms of quantity and variety of produce sent.

2024 By The Numbers

over 3,000 lbs. of food sent to Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN), the South Hadley food pantry
23 different types of vegetables, each with multiple varieties.
6 new vegetables: arugula, baby turnips, cabbage, collard greens, celery, tat soi (an Asian green)
over 1,500 bags of herbs (150 lbs.) including some huge bags of basil for making pesto
220 beautiful flower bouquets, supporting our and NHN’s mission of care and compassion
31 individual volunteers
over 1,850 hours volunteered

Read the 2024 Annual Report

Results of Trials at the Full Circle Garden in 2024

As we have every year, we did research over last winter to identify new ways to increase our yield and save labor. Here are a few things we tried and learned in the garden in 2024:

Tying up tomato plants (string trellis) vs using cages: We allocated five 4’x8’ raised beds for tying the tomatoes and seven beds for using cages. Six steel seven-foot stakes (fence posts) were dug into the beds, leaving about 5’ above ground. A heavy (9 gauge) wire was run between the tops of the stakes. 4-ply jute twine strings were cut to about 8-10’ long for tying up the tomatoes. Eight tomato plants were planted in each bed, 4 per side, about 1’ from the edge of the bed. The method of tying the plants was to loop/tie one end of the string around the base of the plant, and “wrap” it around the stem, providing support to the plant. The remaining string was pulled taut and looped around the wire, tying it with a knot that could be easily undone.

What we learned:

Re-twining the base: We need to allow at least one extra foot of string at the bottom of the plant and we need to tie the securing knot loosely or tie the string to a ground stake. The thickness of the tomato stems more than tripled over the course of the summer, and strings that were tightly tied choked the plant. We had to untie them and re-wrap the stems. As the plants grow, the string on the bottom of the plant should be regularly checked, loosened, re-wrapped and tied.

More Full Circle Trial Results

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

Gardening Questions? Ask A Master Gardener!

PHONE HOTLINE: Call the Hotline with your gardening questions at any time: 413-298-5355. WMMGA Master Gardeners will answer your questions and call you back! Please leave your name, your question, your phone number (or email address), and the best time to reach you on the answering machine any day of the week. We will call you back when we have an answer to your question.

EMAIL HOTLINE: Send an email to askwmmga@yahoo.com. What we need to know to answer your question.

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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