Pima County Master Gardener Program
Plant & Gardening Questions?
Our Extension office and popular "walk in" Master Gardener Plant Clinic remain closed due to Covid-19. However, our dedicated and knowledgeable Master Gardener volunteers are still available to support your home gardening questions by using our Master Gardener Plant Clinic Question Form.
If you are located in the Green Valley area please contact us via email uacemg@gmail.com or phone 520-648-0808
Photo Tips: Make sure your photos are in focus, Plant and/or symptom is clear in the photo, Avoid glaring sunlight or shade, Include a ruler, pencil or coin in photo to indicate scale.
If you would like one of our Master Gardeners to do a home consultation ($50 charge, cash or check only), please complete the Home Consultation Form.
Pima County Master Gardener Application Process - 2022 Update
Thank you for your interest in joining the Pima County Master Gardeners of Tucson and Green Valley. Unfortunately, we will not be hosting our annual training series this year for prospective volunteers hoping to join our program.
The past two years have been difficult for the Master Gardener program. We've done well to offer our first-ever 100% virtual training series in 2020 -with a courageous group of 35 students; and then our first-ever hybrid model in 2021. We have learned a lot by rising to these challenges but as our program looks ahead to 2022 we recognize an opportunity to better serve our 280+ volunteers and you, our supporters and neighbors- by refocusing our resources on improving our numerous existing activities (like free Demonstration Garden tours, Home consultations, free online library talks, free Plant Clinic service, our 29th annual Home Garden Tour, and community partner support projects and more). We are also hoping to develop new events to bring more folks into our beautiful demonstration garden, so stay tuned!
Are you still looking for gardening education opportunities? We will continue offering various learning opportunities such as those mentioned above. We also encourage you to check our website and Facebook pages for the most up-to-date information, including workshops and events. https://extension.arizona.edu/pima-master-gardeners Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to returning to our normally scheduled programming in 2023.
Kind regards,
The Pima County Master Gardener Program Team
Cassie B., Jessica M. and Parker F.
The Tucson Garden Handbook 5th edition
The Tucson Garden Handbook is a guide for helping people successfully garden in our desert environment. It can be used by gardeners at all levels of expertise, but is especially helpful for those new to desert gardening. The Handbook includes how to grow: cacti and agave, desert adapted trees, vegetables and herbs, citrus, flowers and roses. It also contains guidelines for watering, working with your soil, integrated pest management, and much more.
Purchase the Tucson Garden Handbook at one these Tucson area retail location.
*Thank you to #ThisIsTucson for adding the Tucson Garden Handbook to your "2020 Summer Reading Challenge"!
Tucson Area Gardening Links
- Arizona Native Plant Society
- Community Gardens of Tucson
- Desert Survivors: A plant nursery with an employment program for adults with developmental disabilities.
- Green Valley Gardeners: A service club of gardeners
- Mission Garden: Friends of Tucson's Birthplace
- Native Seed/SEARCH
- Rose Society of Tucson
- Sierra Vista Area Garden Club
- Tohono Chul Park
- Tucson African Violet Society
- Tucson Area Iris Society
- Tucson Audubon Society
- Tucson Botanical Garden
- Tucson Bonsai Society
- Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society
- Tucson Orchid Society
- Tucson Organic Gardeners
- University of Arizona Insect Collection: Insect identification.
- University of Arizona Herbarium:Identification of native and naturalized plants of the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico
- Watershed Management Group
Envisioning a Food Resilient Future
In partnership with the UArizona’s Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, Mission Garden, and more, our Extension Master Gardener and The Garden Kitchen, we’ve prepared and delivered workshops designed to teach people how to cultivate, harvest (or otherwise procure) and cook a variety of unique and multifaceted desert plants- from Cholla to Chiltepin.
Check out these incredible articles about how to use these amazing native foods in your own kitchen!
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From Garden to Plate: Chitlepin Chiles -
From Garden to Plate: Mesquite Beans
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From Garden to Plate: Prickly Pear Cactus
