Current Master Gardeners

Each January the NDSU Extension Master Gardener Program reports our work from the previous calendar year to the National Extension Master Gardener Program, NDSU Extension leadership, the state legislature and county commissioners. We tally volunteer hours worked, educational experiences created and attended, food/produce donations, and many other categories of volunteer projects. Such reporting is critical for the continued support of our program at the county, state, and national level.

Extension Master Gardener volunteers and interns are required to report by November 15th. Reporting helps us keep interns on track toward full certification. Furthermore, Master Gardener volunteers must submit their hours for annual recertification and to qualify for awards.

Certified Master Gardeners and Master Gardener Interns

The Volunteer Hours Reporting form and Continuing Education form are due by November 15 but are appreciated as soon as seasonal projects or hours are complete.

Annual requirements for Certified Master Gardeners are 20 hours of volunteer service completed within ND or a county that borders ND. Ten hours of continuing education are also required in order to stay current with scientific developments.

Requirements for MG Interns are to fulfill 48 hours of volunteer service in their first two years with the program. Master Gardener Interns are not required to complete 10 hours of continuing education annually during their internship period but are certainly welcome to report continuing education events they choose to attend.

Volunteer Hours Reporting Form
Continuing Education Form

Master Gardener Diagnosticians and Apprentices

Master Gardeners, you may report both your diagnostician hours and your regular volunteer service hours on this form. Please use the continuing education form to report those hours separately.
Diagnostician Hours Reporting Form
Donating to Local Food Pantries

Master Gardeners can donate their fresh garden produce to local food pantries to help support the Hunger Free ND Garden Project. You will earn 1 volunteer hour for every 5 pounds of produce donated to a food pantry. In addition, you can count the amount of time that it takes to drive to and from the food pantry. Please weigh your produce at the participating food pantry and keep track of the weight on your reporting forms.

For those of you tending a dedicated community garden for such a project, you have the choice of either counting all your hours in taking care of the garden plus transporting the produce to the food pantry OR you can use the 5 lbs per hour rule.

Food Pantry Donation Sites
Participation in NDSU Vegetable Trials

NDSU Extension conducts a citizen science project to trial a new vegetable cultivar in comparison to an established cultivar. These trials can be counted as volunteer hours.

Each paired trial that you monitor is equal to two volunteer hours per trial. A maximum of 7 trials for a total of 14 volunteer hours is allowed per year.

Submission of Forms

Scan & E-mail to:

[email protected]

Fax to:

ATTN: Shannon Ueker, 701.231.8474

USPS mail to:

NDSU Extension Master Gardener, Dept 7670, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108