Louisa Extension Master Gardeners

Mission: The Louisa Extension Master Gardeners are trained volunteer educators who work within their local communities to encourage and promote environmentally sound horticulture practices through sustainable landscape management education and training. As an educational outreach component of Virginia Cooperative Extension, the program brings the resources of Virginia's land-grant universities – Virginia Tech and Virginia State University – to the people of the commonwealth.

Training Requirements: All volunteers are trained and have at least 50 hours of horticultural classes and return at least 50 hours of volunteer community service through their local Extension office their first year. In subsequent years, master gardeners provide a minimum of 20 hours volunteering and participate in a minimum of 8 hours of continuing education every year to stay current and expand their knowledge base.

Core Values: The organization operates on three core values: Respect (for the environment, each other, and those they serve), Accountability (wise stewardship of resources to their organization, community, and each other), and Collaboration (willing to work with diverse groups to reach common goals and actively seeking out partners).

Educational Programs and Services:

• Master Gardener Training: Annual training programs to certify new master gardeners
• Educational Seminars: Wide variety of horticultural topic presentations
• Children's Programs: Monthly hands-on planting activities for children during summer at the Mineral Farmers Market
• Ask a Master Gardener: Staffed information tent every Saturday at the Mineral Farmers Market from May through October
• Garden Expo & Seed Share: Annual January event to educate and share seeds of many varieties with community members
• Demonstration Garden Programs: Hands-on vegetable garden best practices events at their Bracketts Farm Demonstration Garden
• Help Desk: Email support service for gardening questions

Bracketts Farm Charitable Garden:

The organization manages a collaborative charitable garden effort with the Elisabeth A. Nolting Charitable Foundation, providing fresh, locally grown produce to Louisa County residents experiencing food insecurity while educating the public on sound vegetable gardening practices. From 2022-2024, the garden yielded over 6,500 pounds of produce for the Louisa County Resource Council's food bank and over 1,000 pounds for Hooves & Paws Animal Rescue.

Volunteer Opportunities: The garden team offers hands-on learning during regular staffed hours (Mondays and Thursdays, 8:00-11:00 a.m., March through October), where volunteers learn key agricultural practices such as soil health, pest management, crop and companion planting, harvesting, safe food handling, and composting. Volunteers of all experience levels are welcome.

Organization History: The unit started circa 1997, originally named the Central Virginia Master Gardeners before changing their name to align more closely with their Louisa County VCE organization. The organization currently has approximately 40 active members and operates under a Board of Directors structure.