2027 Applications Now Open!
Apply by October 1, 2026
Love gardening? Want to help your community thrive?
If you are experienced in gardening, enthusiastic, and able to communicate effectively, we’d love for you to become a Master Gardener!
Don’t worry about what you don’t know. Our training and mentorship will help you find the answers.
Keep in mind, this is a long-term commitment with annual training and volunteer requirements.
Please read through this page so you understand the requirements, and what to expect from this course, community, and your continuing contribution.
Who We Are
The Master Gardener Association of Cape Cod is a cooperative effort between community volunteers and Cape Cod Cooperative Extension staff to provide unbiased horticultural information to the residents of Barnstable County. Volunteers share their knowledge and skills to support and educate gardening projects across Cape Cod on sustainable landscape practices.
The Master Gardener program has a unique mission: “Helping Others Learn to Grow”. This mission is particularly significant now, when a connection to local food and the landscape is so highly valued. We use our expertise to teach people about plants, pests, and the environment as it relates to ornamental and food crops.
Master Gardeners are adults from all walks of life who love gardening. They are excited to learn about horticulture and share that research-based information with others!
What to Expect
1) Selection - Candidates for the annual training program are chosen from a pool of applicants through an interview process. If accepted, the fee for the Master Gardener training program is $150.00 (financial assistance is available). Participation is contingent upon a satisfactory CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) inquiry.
2) Training - Training runs January-March on Tuesdays from 9:00am-3:30pm (approximately 60 hours of training) in Barnstable.
3) Volunteer - There is also a volunteer commitment of 60 hours to be completed by October 31, 2027. 30 hours of which are required staffing the Horticulture Clinic in South Yarmouth.
4) Mentorship - A mentor is assigned to you to help you navigate all of this new information and ease you into our community.
5) Continuing - There is a yearly 20 hour volunteer commitment and 5 hour continuing education requirement to continue being a Master Gardener.
Learn More
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