“I am signing up for a master gardening class,” I told my husband. “When are you going to have the time to do that?” was the response.

I would be lying if I said I hadn’t asked myself the same question. We have three kids under six years old. We recently moved to a new home, and have demanding, full-time jobs. When we aren’t sprinting around town to the next “drop-off/pick-up”, we could easily fill our time moving piles of laundry around the house.

We all have those things we gravitate toward, even when we should be hauling the laundry to and from the machines. For some it’s baking, others it’s working out (bless your heart), but for me it’s gardening. There’s just something about walking into a greenhouse, shopping at the farmers market, or admiring a beautiful hanging basket that brings me peace – and a desire to know, how do I do this?

To be clear, I knew the basics – put seed in soil, add water, seed grows into plant. But how do I plant hanging baskets that look like the ones displayed in downtown Minot? How do I grow tomatoes as big and beautiful as the ones down at the Farmers Market? And the question that evades us all… how do we grow hydrangeas as big and beautiful as some of those around town?

So, in the fall of 2022, I applied and was accepted into the Extension Master Gardener Program. I completed the 40 hour “core course” and every Friday I watched three hours of gardening presentations broadcast from Esther McGinnis’s classroom on the NDSU campus. If I was not able to attend the class livestream, I would watch the weekly recordings at my leisure. Each week, I took a brief open-book quiz on the materials and at the end of the course I completed an open-book final exam. For the past two years, I have been working toward completing my 48 hours of community service hours on horticulture projects – the majority of which I spent maintaining the pollinator garden at Edison Elementary School. By the time this is published, I will have submitted all my final materials for consideration to graduate from Extension Master Gardener “Intern” to Extension Master Gardener.

Overall, I cannot recommend this experience enough. The weekly classes were a welcome escape from my daily grind.

McGinnis and her team share a wealth of research-backed information with a friendly, contagious enthusiasm. The community service hours have been the most challenging for me to schedule, but only because my schedule overall is wild – remember, three kids under six and a full-time job. I will say though, I have found no better therapy than grabbing my gardening gear and digging in the dirt. And the gratification of biting into a Sungold cherry tomato I grew from seed is one of life’s simple pleasures that everyone should experience at least once. I am glad I found the time and encourage everyone and anyone who may be on the fence about jumping into this program to give it a try.

NDSU Extension is now accepting applications for the 2024 Extension Master Gardener Program through Nov.15.