Although we are just now hitting the holiday season it is time to think of the 2023 Master Gardeners Course that will begin in January 2023. This year they are offering the course online as they have found they are able to reach out to more individuals. Castle Country Radio was able to sit down with USU Extension Assistant Professor, Rowe Zwahlen to get all the details.

“The Master Gardener Training, it is 14 classes, there about 2 to 2.5 hours long each one, they are collegiate level, researched based training. All we have is myself, and Steve Price in the Carbon County Office, Regan in the San Juan County Office, are kind of helping spearhead this Eastern Utah group. But we have a lot of great guest speakers from the Logan campus, and around the state who are going to come and do different sessions and talk about different topics,” said Zwahlen. They will start with basic botany, plant science, they’ll also talk about soils, landscape design, and so much more.

The course will be offered all online this year as they feel they are able to reach more individuals with the information they want to share.  “Well we’ve tried a little bit of hybrid, we did all online during the pandemic, we found that people in rural areas really enjoyed it. It’s evenings, so we’re going to be meeting twice a week and online gives you the chance to not drive – drive into Price or we did some in Castle Dale, driving and meeting together, people enjoyed staying home and not going out in the cold,” stated Zwahlen. The participants are able to enjoy the courses from the comfort of their home during the cold winter months.

Interested individuals are urged to sign up as soon as possible to receive an early bird discount. “You can call any of our offices but the registration is on  https://www.eventbrite.com/ and there is a link to it on our Facebook and our webpage as well as you can find that or give us a call if you have trouble. Registration is $200.00, which is a steal, it’s a lot of time and we do have an early bird pricing until Dec. 21 it’s a $120.00 so it is a good deal if you register early,” said Zwahlen. The information attendees will receive will assist one to become a successful gardener.

Any questions or further information needed please call the USU Extension Office in Carbon at (435) 636-3235 or in Emery at (435) 381-3535.