Caleb Burton was looking for plants for his landscaping project. Every year for his wife’s birthday, he does gardening work. This year, he went to the Alachua County Master Gardener Plant Sale.
The program, a volunteer-based organization that helps the public with plant care, uses the plant sale to fund its projects, according to Howard Leinart, a master gardener.
About 4,500 of the 4,700 plants at the Alachua County Master Gardener Plant Sale were sold Saturday. The plants were grown by about 95 master gardeners, and about 80 master gardeners volunteered at the plant sale, according to Wendy Wilber, a horticulture extension agent with the Alachua County Agricultural Extension Office.
The plants were sold cheaper than at local plant stores, said Burton, a Gainesville carpenter.
“We’re definitely getting a lot more for our buck than other places,” he said.
The Master Gardener program is part of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Service.
Volunteering as a master gardener is free, outside of the $160 in materials and 75 hours of volunteer time, Leinart said.
Leinart, who became a master gardener in 2007, enjoys serving the public.
“I retired and my wife said that I need to get the hell out of the house,” he said. “It’s good. I like giving to the public, sharing my knowledge.”
Leinart said one of the primary costs covered by the plant sale is the Master Gardener’s school program.
The school program, according to Bob Fennell, a master gardener involved with the program, teaches about 50 kids each from about half of Alachua County’s elementary schools how to garden.
“It introduces them to vegetables, gives them an appreciation for the earth,” said Fennell. “And it gets them to be active at home. I’d say 30 to 40 percent of them also garden at home.”
