Why do self proclaimed "master gardeners" always...?

Question

direct the "asker" of the question, to check with their local county agricultural Dept. or Agency? If they "are" master gardeners, shouldn't they be able to answer the question outright on their own with the horticultural knowledge they supposedly received? Just curious!

Just FYI... No posters received a "thumbs down" from me. In fact, I gave a "thumbs up" to all who answered.

Answer 1

I know exactly what you are referring too and I don't really understand it either. I would assume that if you are a MG then you have vast gardening knowledge. However, RScott makes a valid point in that every gardener, MG or not, tends to specialize and can't have all the answers. I completely agree and can understand why they would refer someone. However, having said that, Isn't that kind of referral which I have see repeatedly like giving an "idk" answer. I'm mean, if you don't know then don't answer it. If you are going to answer the question and your not 100% sure then research it until you do have the answer. I'm not a MG yet, but that's exactly what I do and will continue to do when I am. If I'm not sure then I will make sure before answering. It is my understanding from my local MG program that the primary objective of a MG is to educate yourself as well as others and research is a great way to learn. I am also with GrannyGrunt in that if you do the research make sure you cite the source. That's just flat cheating trying to pass off someone else's knowledge as your own. I am also with GrannyGrunt in that anyone can claim to be a Master Gardener and people should be aware that they can't just take the title alone at face value. Accurate, honest, and well thought out answers speak volumes about an individual's knowledge base and should supercede any title.

Answer 2

First, the use of "Master Gardner" can not be a self proclaimed title. This is a copy righted title owned by the State University and its use is vigorously protected. A "Master Gardner" must sign a legal document asserting that they have read and understand their legal duty relative to the use of this title.

Two, the Universities teach Master Gardeners the basics of Horticulture. More importantly, the Universities teach Master Gardeners to disseminate the knowledge of the University. We are not taught to answer questions as we would like to, but to look-up the information in the University's database and present that knowledge to the public. We are the University's volunteer public contacts. I guess many Master Gardeners respond with "contact your county agent" because they do not have the knowledge and are use to differing to the University's database.

The name calling by some members of this community sure is getting tiresome. It only reflects poorly on the poster.

Answer 3

I think the master gardeners are knowledgeable enough to realize that they can't answer definitively without knowing exactly what the conditions are like in the asker's yard. If you call the extension agency with gardening questions, you will most likely get a local master gardener. That is how it is here. And often they don't give you an answer off the top of their heads, but have to do some research. They don't pretend to know everything.

Answer 4

EDITED:
To Hort Student
ABSOLUTELY ANYONE can say on Y!A as the source I am a Master Gardener.
True in real life it is a title earned ...but titles of education here are fairly meaningless. You can by all means tell by their answer if they really are.
..........................................................

Good question. I must admit I haven't noticed this to be the case. What I have noticed is, I see the claim made frequently, but, just as often the answers given aren't that good.
There are so many variables in gardening it's really hard to give an exact answer to anyone for any reason. Some people live in Alaska and others in Arizona desert.
I being from Missouri at the present time always want to be shown.
The one thing I have noticed is most people fail to list the source.
Anyone can claim to be a master gardner. Even MG's need to back up the claim, so in my book that confirms the answer they have given.

Part of the Community Guidelines is
4.Cite your sources. We encourage members to use on line resources in answering questions. Just be sure to cite your sources and give credit where it is due.

Answer 5

Hi 'Billy' it's the old RScott here. I took my Master Gardening course from a Dr. Ron Smith at NDSU. He's a world renown turf specialist and even took a four year sabbatical to grow grass in Saudi Arabia for golf courses. He admitted the students knew more about general gardening than he did. When someone local has a question and calls our local County Agent she puts them in touch with the Master Gardener with the most experience. In my case I get a lot of mushroom, honey bee and tree and shrub calls. Another lady in the group is a rose expert, you get the idea. Some of my horticultural knowledge is from my family farm and ranch, 4-H, VoAg, Future Farmers of America, college chemistry and biology, my MG classes and even "your" 'answers', but most of my experience comes from close personal experience at killing things. When you've killed as much stuff as I have you get pretty good at knowing what works and what doesn't. Unlike some real nit-wit gardeners that spew out info without knowing a zone or cut and paste us into boredom. If I answer a question, rest assured it's from me, not Google. RScott

Answer 6

I, too, am a Master Gardener. I will refer people to the local extension office when people are specifically asking for a disease or insect pest ID. If the person has not provided a picture or a detailed description of a disease or pest, it is best to have someone look at the questionable source. I give plenty of advice without cutandpaste mumbo jumbo and my advice comes from experience. When I have no real answer and the person is stressed about a problem, I want them to have an answer. Many people are not aware of this community resource and I am hoping to give them a resource as well as an answer.

Answer 7

It could have something to do with the "zones" of plants. I'm hardly a master gardener but I did work in a nursery for a year and I discovered that depending on your location can determine a lot of things from the plants you would choose to the types of chemicals you would need to even just fertilize. A zone is the climate and even type of soil you have locally which can determine how to take care of your plants and what plants can survive there naturally--or with a lot of help from you. They most likely suggest to check with the locals because they're the most familiar with your zone. For instance, I'm in Texas and in zone "7a" and something that can thrive here won't in South Dakota. Hope that cleared things a smidgen. ^.^

Answer 8

well, your welcome! because it is different not just in everypart of the country "different soil textures" so there is no one size fits all... but where I live there are 6 cities all within a 30 mile radius of one another and the local nurseryman tells them each something different for each of their areas... i gardened for years before I realized that your local nursery KNOWS exactly whats needed for your soil etc... when I went to the big dept. store nurseries, they never had a clue their stuff was just shipped in and they have one size fits all answers... I never realized someone was very willing to stand and talk with me a few about what to do..

Answer 9

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