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Master Gardener..........
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Author:  LovetoLearn [ Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:44 am ]
Post subject:  Master Gardener..........

Well, I will be starting a Master Gardener class in January. I cannot wait to see what all they teach. I am especially interested in grafting and the like.

One thing that they do teach, I have found out, that in this county, Brazoria County, Texas A&M encourages the use of chemicals, which I have forsaken since becoming organic a few years ago.

Only one problem stands in the way, I do not like speaking in front of crowds and that includes over the phone also.

To obtain our county's classification, it is required that there be 10 hours of radio caller assistance. This terrifies me to the point of just taking the course and foresaking the actual title and instead just using the info to my advantage.

Any thoughts?

Author:  Tricky Grama [ Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:54 am ]
Post subject: 

I love reading your posts & you have a lot of info to impart.

Congratulations on embarking on this course! A great endeavor.

What you probably need to do is try to 'desensitize' yourself. Everyone (almost) has or had the fear of public speaking. I've read where some fear death less! So, talk to yourself. What is the very worst thing that can happen when you speak to an audience...? See, not that much. :) Practice in front of a mirror. In front of your family. Then friends.

I'd think you could find some books on this. I remember watching 'Dr. Pill' try to get a lady over her fear of frogs. He started w/drawing of a frog! She wasn't afraid of that so he went on to a real picture. All the time talking to her about it. Not the same, I know but you get the idea.

Good luck!

Patty

Author:  LovetoLearn [ Thu Dec 20, 2007 10:56 am ]
Post subject: 

Thanks! I will keep everyone posted.

Author:  Dirt Doctor [ Sun Dec 23, 2007 9:05 am ]
Post subject: 

I have the same problem, but the best way to get over the fear is to just look forward to the opportunity. Often the people in the audience are more nervous than you and you can help them by being enthusiastic and enjoying being in front of them. If you make any mistakes, which I do every time I talk.

Author:  Nadine [ Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Master Gardener..........

LovetoLearn wrote:

Only one problem stands in the way, I do not like speaking in front of crowds and that includes over the phone also.

To obtain our county's classification, it is required that there be 10 hours of radio caller assistance. This terrifies me to the point of just taking the course and foresaking the actual title and instead just using the info to my advantage.

Any thoughts?



To many people, public speaking is more feared than death. Really. I speak in front of people on a somewhat regular basis. It gets easier, but the nervousness never subsides. If it does, you are probably boring.

Joining Toastmasters has helped me immensely. I highly recommend attending a few meetings. Clubs vary in nature, so check out more than one club before making any decisions.

http://www.toastmasters.org/websiteApps/

It is really cool that as a bonus in my effort to become a good public speaker I have actually converted several people to organics!

http://www.toastmasters.org/

Author:  LovetoLearn [ Mon Dec 24, 2007 5:29 pm ]
Post subject: 

Thanks everyone. It definitely helps to have encouragement. :D
I will just have to stay strong even if I do lock up on the phone. :wink:

Author:  LovetoLearn [ Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:43 am ]
Post subject: 

Yesterday was the 1st day of my Master Gardener training. It was very interesting. There will be some ideas that they have along the way that I will run by everyone here, especially Dirt Doctor and the Captain.

They definitely focus on Latin names etc. but I expected that. Our first "test" will be next week. One thing DD may like is that they are based on Texas A&M and give everything that does not have any outright name a Aggie name. :-) Like Alamo Fire "bluebonnets", they just call AggieBons.

I am looking forward to it very much. They did warn us though that there are lots of disagreements and even arguments along the way between everyone, even the established MG's. They just said that we are all family and it helps us learn. That will be quite interesting also. :wink:

Author:  LovetoLearn [ Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:56 am ]
Post subject: 

Oh, one more thing that I forgot to mention is that I mentioned to them that I would follow their rules to be a Master Gardener here but that when I can, I stay totally organic. Many people thought that was very interesting and approached me afterwards to know what I really meant.

One of the first things that people asked me was where to start and the first thing that I tried to tell them is the basic idea of not tending the plants but the soil instead. Of course, the MG's will want me to recommend some plant feeding things but I tried to show those, who were interested, that basically tending the soil applies towards everything from feeding the plants to basic health such as being strong towards insects and such.

There were so many things that I was leary about but will have to get used to for the program such as tonning in chemicals when transferring a plant from a pot to the ground. (yuck)
We will have to see how that goes. :D

Author:  LovetoLearn [ Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:02 pm ]
Post subject: 

One other thing that they mentioned is that there is a Master Naturalist program that can be taken after completing the Master Gardener program. I look forward to their ideas, maybe they will lean away from the chemicals.

Sorry about all of the posts but the suggested so many things that I just wanted to bounce them off of the more experienced people here. I am sure they have experienced many such experiences themselves.

Author:  Tony M* [ Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:18 pm ]
Post subject: 

I completed the Master Naturalist course last year and got my certification in December. There was no mention of chemicals in any of my classes, either directly or implied.
Here's the hitch. When organizations (MN included) are restoring pastures to native tall grass, they almost always use a chemical herbicide. I'm restoring my pasture but I'm using different methods to eliminate all previous vegetation, without chemicals.
You can choose to participate in one of these chemical baths or you can move on to any one of 100 other MN projects that don't involve chemicals.
As an example, this weekend our chapter is developing name tags for the trees and plants alongside a new nature trail. This activity is in-line with the MN mission but involves no chemicals.
Tony M

Author:  LovetoLearn [ Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:48 pm ]
Post subject: 

I had my second class today. The first three hours focused on plants diseases, fungi, etc. The second three hours focused on animal pests.

Both Dr.s of horticulture, each specializing in the aforementioned fields, suggested things such as Sevin dust, malathion, etc., etc. Another chemical was mentioned, but I cannot remember the name of it at this present time. They felt organics was funny and had some good laughs. That is ok, I kept my mouth shut but just realized that the world has not come around yet, including TAMU.

The DD may have heard of some of the professors. Scott Hume and John Jackman. Both Dr.s of their prospective fields.

Author:  Dirt Doctor [ Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:02 pm ]
Post subject: 

Thanks for the report. The timing is interesting since I'll be speaking Saturday at the TOFGA Conference at College Station. I had an interesting conversation with the new Dr. Dotty Woodson of the Extention Service, or whatever they are calling themselves these days. More on this later.

Author:  LovetoLearn [ Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:24 am ]
Post subject: 

One thing that the fungus, etc. Dr. did say, at the end, once prodded by someone, was that the SOIL was where to start and that everything goes from there. Healthy soil, healthy plants. I thought that was quite interesting and agreed with him all the way.

Author:  LovetoLearn [ Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:46 pm ]
Post subject: 

Has anyone heard of Dr. Barron Rector? Howard?

He is a Dr. of Rangeland Eco. and Management at TAMU. He spoke at our Master Gardener class today. He is great and definitely knows his stuff!

He is very big on the natural environment and how everything works together, in a native sense especially. He is big on "weed" identification, although he does not like the word weed. Because, as he states correctly, everything, including all things that we consider "weeds" are highly valued somewhere else.

I think Howard would like him. :D

Author:  Dirt Doctor [ Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:03 pm ]
Post subject: 

I don't know him but would certainly like to meet.

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