Expanding knowledge helped her garden
Bremda Gilbert
| Fremont News-Messenger
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USA TODAY
I would like to introduce myself to you folks. My name is Brenda Wing Gilbert and I am a new master gardener volunteer through the Ohio State University Extension, Sandusky County. I became a MGV at the end of 2024.
I learned about the program when I went to the OSU Extension office in Fremont in early 2024 because I was having quite the time with my vegetable garden growing adequately and I wanted to submit a soil test to see if that was the issue.
I had been having issues for several years with my plants not growing and maturing before the end of the growing season. I happened to see a brochure there about the MGV course and took it with me. I got really excited reading about the program and knew that I wanted to take the course, especially since it was science-based and very thorough.
Dabbler decides to expand her knowledge
I had a bit of experience and dabbled in gardening on and off for many years; in general, I thought I had a pretty good green thumb. I wanted to become thoroughly trained to fill in the knowledge gaps I had or be able to look in the right places for answers.
I also knew that hard times were coming with the recent pandemic and inflation. I needed to have a very productive garden so that I didn’t have to rely on grocery stores. I had taught myself to can and other methods to preserve food.
The master gardener volunteer course covers numerous areas: Botany, soils, entomology, plant pathology, plant propagation, herbaceous ornamentals, woody ornamentals, lawns, vegetables, herbs, fruits, pollinators, integrated pest management, pesticide safety, backyard wildlife, houseplants and therapeutic horticulture. We also took several “field trips” during the course.
Her garden becomes more productive with changes
I was able to identify several problems hindering my vegetable garden’s growth. I had a tree removed from my backyard last fall and moved the garden to a sunnier area. I also changed the format of my garden from the typical in-ground type to garden boxes.
I wanted gardening to be easier on me now that I am getting older. That made such a big difference for me, and I can proudly say that my garden was very productive this summer.
My background is nursing. I’ve been a registered nurse for 38 years and have worked in numerous areas of nursing. I had another reason to do this course: I am getting closer to retirement and I wanted to have “a productive hobby” to invest, give back and volunteer my time in.
The OSU Extension provides those opportunities to volunteer throughout the year. I made friends with some of the other master gardeners that went through the course with me and I am getting to know the established master gardeners in Sandusky and Ottawa counties who have done this for years through the monthly meetings that we have.
The activities that I have done in 2025 so far has been:
● The plant sale we put on at the Sandusky County Fairgrounds in May in which I thoroughly enjoyed;
● Frog Bit Fridays at Old Woman Creek in Huron. Educational activities included a tree care seminar put on through the Hancock County Agricultural Service Center.
I encourage citizens to contact their OSU Extension with any problems or issues that they have with gardening, pests, etc. I highly recommend this course to anyone who would like to learn, volunteer and help others.
Brenda Gilbert is a Master Gardener with the Sandusky and Ottawa Counties Extension Offices.
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