Junior Master Gardener Program

JMG NATIONAL GROUP OF THE MONTH: JULY 2026 🪴
Congratulations to Williamson County Junior Master Gardeners from Georgetown, TX!
Grades/Number of students in JMG Group: 10 students ranging from 8 to 15
Group Leader: Elena Duka
JMG Curriculum Utilized: JMG Level 1, Level 2 Soil and Water
Gardens include: Vegetables, herbs, as well as flowering plants
Memorable or favorite experiences: This is the 2nd year of the JMG group in the Demonstration Gardens of Williamson County Master Gardener Association. This group is open to anyone in the area. They're learning to garden and enjoy harvesting the fruits of their labor. The Level 1 and 2 JMG curricula helped many of my students learn how to test soil, recognize soil texture, and build home gardens, as well as complete a leadership/service project incorporating this knowledge.
Service Learning: In collaboration with the Park Ranger of the City of Round Rock, this year's JMG group created a pollinator garden in Meadow Lake Park, Round Rock, TX. As a leader of JMG group, I helped my students break this project into 2-days of activities from building soil after testing texture of existing clay soil and applying amendments, including mulch to build up and layering it with leaf mold, grass clippings, potting soil and mushroom growing materials for a better drainage, root growth of herbs and TX native perennials and annuals that will create a center for meadow restoration for local park.
How the garden program benefits our kids: This year's project helped my students (and their parents) build confidence in creating more native habitats and pollinator gardens in their backyards, home gardens, and neighborhoods. They learned how to analyze the soil and environment of the chosen location, do soil improvement applications, choose the right plants for non-irrigated areas, and select and plant native flowers using rain water/access to a lake in that park as a source of water for newly planted flowers, herbs, and perennials.
We are so proud of these students!!! 👏👏
Nominate your group today for JMG National Group of the Month HERE:
https://jmgkids.us/national-group-of-the-month/