Christian County

Master Gardeners

Keep up with our events

Keep up with Christian County Master Gardener (CCMG) activities at the events tab below. You can also follow our activities as well as some of the activities of other Master Gardener chapters with our Google calendar.

Welcome new members and new officers

In 2019, we welcomed one new member by transfer, Laurie Peterson, and eight new interns, Ray Brinson, Deanna Buechter, Jennifer Chan, Yvonne Goodman, Sue Helm, Ed Kucab, Patience Loe and Michele Raymond. Our membership, counting emeritus members, now totals 56.

Our officers for 2020 are Jennifer Ailor, president; Virginia Roberts, vice president; Patty Baker, secretary; Beth Platt, treasurer; Debbie Clithero, new members chair; Dennis Baker and Charlotte Llewellyn, co-program chairs. We meet the fourth Monday of all months except May and December at Central Bank of the Ozarks, Nixa, at the intersection of Highways 160 and 14 at 6:30 p.m.

Our board meetings are open to members, but they must register with the president by calling 417-581-4018.

To learn about our activities in 2019, check out our annual report under Resources.

Becoming a Master Gardener

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  New members

  CCMG is a hard-working chapter dedicated to educating ourselves and the public about safe and sustainable and effective garden practices. But we also have a lot of fun, from our monthly meetings that include refreshments, social time, raffles and show and tells, to field trips, garden tours and enjoying each other’s company as we work on garden projects.

  To learn more about becoming a Master Gardener, here are some actions you can take:

  1. Contact the Christian County MU Extension office to sign up for a training class in the fall or simply ask questions. Classes are held over a six-week period, with each class about three hours long. After graduating from the class, you are an intern who must complete a total of 30 hours of education and volunteering over the next year with our chapter. We offer three $100 training scholarships to new graduates to reimburse them for half of the $200 Master Gardener training. To apply once you have completed the training, use the form found under Resources.
  2. Talk to our Hotline Master Gardener, 417-581-4853, on duty at the Christian County MU Extension office from 9 to 12 a.m. mid-March to mid-October. This member can answer a lot of your questions.
  3. Talk to our new members chair. Ask the Extension office’s receptionist and office manager for an email or phone number.
  4. Attend a monthly meeting of our chapter to get to know our members. Register to attend our programs at 417-581-3558. We meet the fourth Monday of most months at 6:30 p.m. at Central Bank of the Ozarks, Nixa, the intersection of Highways 160 and 14.
  5. Go to the Missouri Master Gardener program website to learn more about the program and to sign up for online training.
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  Advanced Master Gardeners

  Master Gardener is a pretty impressive title to have. Even better is Advanced Master Gardener. Now, Master Gardeners can earn “advanced training” credits (beyond what they pick up at monthly meetings and even seminars and workshops).

  Advanced training must be taught by an instructor approved by a designated Extension coordinator for your area of the state. The instructor must be a qualified horticulturist or well-known authority in the field of horticulture. If you accumulate 30 hours of advanced training covering at least three horticulture disciplines within five years, you may earn the title of Advanced Master Gardener. No more than 10 hours per discipline can be applied to the 30-hour total, and hands-on training experiences are preferred. In other words, it’s a workshop where part of the presentation is a lecture or formal presentation and another portion has some type of hands-on feature. Note that advanced training can come from sources other than Master Gardener chapters. Other horticultural organizations, a well-known horticulturalist and colleges and universities are other sources for advanced training. Just be sure your regional Extension coordinator for advanced training approves one of these other sources.

  What are the horticulture disciplines referenced above? The Policies and Procedures lists them as:

  • Plants and their environment
  • Plant propagation
  • Soils, plant nutrition and nutrient management
  • Vegetable gardening
  • Fruit production
  • Establishment and care of woody ornamentals
  • Pruning ornamental trees and shrubs
  • Herbaceous ornamentals
  • Managing lawns and turf grass
  • Landscaping your front yard
  • Insects
  • Preventing and managing plant diseases
  • Using pesticides safely around the home and garden

  If you’re a CCMG member and would like to earn the Advanced Master Gardener certification, let the executive board know, and we’ll see what we can do to help you find approved training.