I have learned to spend my money and time on the soil. Once the garden soil is good as it can be you can grow anything. The plants are so strong they resist the diseases and pests. Less water is needed as the soil will retain more. Fertilizer is never needed. Al

Ditto on the above. The Soil part of the course turned out to be one of the most interesting and a subject I knew the least about when I began.
Also I enjoyed learning about propagation, which I am just starting to play around with.

Networking with all the other participants. The volunteer opportunities have been fun learning experiences. They have opened up my world to new and interesting people & things. Such as working as a garden guide at a reconstructed 1760's Fort. Waaay cool.

I've learned how to identify plant families, how to propagate plants that I want and how to identify plant problems especially Oak Wilt which is really bad in Texas. Also identifying good bugs from bad bugs which we have alot of here. The soil is extremely important, bad soil, bad garden! Good soil, GREAT GARDEN. Landscape design is something else I learned which I really enjoy and now do for a living. Happy Gardening Yall!