A little history……..

The first Master Gardener Class in the State of Texas was held in 1979 in Montgomery County and drew about 25 people. The 50-hour course was held in the evenings and taught by Extension Agents and specialists from Texas A&M using a manual compiled from Extension publications and news articles. Volunteer Service was optional, but class members were encouraged to work on Extension projects. By the end of the decade, five more counties had Master Gardener programs: Harris (1986), Dallas (1986), Tarrant (1987), Bexar (1989), and Denton (1989).

The Texas Agricultural Extension Service made an official commitment to a Texas Master Gardener program in 1987 with the hiring of a statement coordinator. At that time, guidelines were developed for the program, including a minimum of 50 hours of formal training and 50 hours of volunteer service to become a certified Texas Master Gardener.