About

Now in its twenty-sixth year, MUG has long been a forum where both novice and experienced gardeners come to build their skills, sharing innovative and best practices for growing anywhere from the front porch to the community garden plot. MUG is an intensive, skill-building training for community and home gardeners from Greater Boston and beyond. Whether you’re just getting started or have been gardening for decades, MUG covers everything you need know to thrive in a community garden: soil science, botany for gardeners, organic pest and disease management, edible native perennials, garden planning, starting a community garden, preserving the harvest, composting, and more. MUG is not an official Master Gardener training—it requires fewer class and volunteer hours and focuses on small-space growing of edible crops.

Master Urban Gardener is open to any community and residential gardeners who demonstrate a commitment to sharing skills with others. The program content is tailored to the climate and resources of Greater Boston but is open to gardeners from farther afield.
We will have Spanish translation available upon request.

Course Schedule

MUG consists of hybrid in person and virtual sessions followed by at least 10 hours of volunteer service for the Trustees Boston Community Gardens–and/or another approved food access/open space project–over the course of the next year. The course will take place at our downtown Boston office on Saturdays with occasional Zoom lectures on Tuesday evenings.

Fall Course: October-December
Winter Course: January-March”

Application Information

Applications will be live in the fall. The course fee is on an income-based sliding scale, ranging from $0 – $350.