Brunswick County to offer Cooperative Extension Master Gardener class

The Brunswick County Center of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service will offer the Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program beginning Feb. 5, 2013. The program is designed to teach home gardeners the basics of horticulture for coastal North Carolina.
Course participants will receive more than 40 hours of training in a variety of subjects, such as coastal soils, composting, fertilizers, adjusting soil pH, lawn care, landscape plants, fruit and vegetable gardening, indoor plant care, insect and pest management, plant disease management, integrated pest management and safe pesticide use.
Upon completion of the training course, participants are required to provide 40 hours of volunteer time within 12 months of completing the training course.
This 40 hours of volunteer time will be performed at the Brunswick County Extension Center by providing home garden and landscape information to Brunswick County residents by attending to telephone calls and/or clients visiting the office.
Volunteer time takes place during normal business hours Monday through Friday. Following successful completion of the required volunteer hours, participants will be certified as Extension Master Gardener Volunteers by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service.
Classes will meet from 9 a.m.-noon each Tuesday from Feb. 5-May 28, 2013, at the Brunswick County Extension Center in the Government Complex in Bolivia. The cost of the course is $160, which covers the cost of an Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Reference Notebook and other class materials and expenses.
An application must be completed and returned to the Cooperative Extension Service by Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2013, to apply for the course.
For an application form, contact the Cooperative Extension Service at 253-2610. The application is also available on line at www.brunswick.ces.ncsu.edu under the Lawn and Garden section.
Class size is limited due to space, activities and the need for interactive sessions. Ability to volunteer during normal business hours will be a key component for selection. The course is ideal for beginners, as well as advanced gardeners who want to enhance their gardening skills and use this knowledge to serve their community.