The Guru's Resume
A Brief Resume of
Steve Whitcher
"The GuruGardener"

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My first experiences with horticulture began at the age of 4 helping my mother with weeding and vegetable gardening. Through my youth, I continued with vegetable gardening and added fruit tree maintenance when the family moved to a farm with an orchard.

My experiences with arboriculture began at the age 12 of while assisting my parents with a part time tree trimming and removal business.

My formal education began in 1972 when I studied taxonomy at the University of Washington. In 1975 I joined the Washington State University Master Gardener Program which covered most all areas of home gardening. Through the years I participated in numerous classes on horticulture including vegetable, fruit, landscape, lawn, and houseplant culture; disease, insect, and weed identification and control; soil and water management; and planting, transplanting, pruning, and other cultural techniques. I have also studied Mycology at Tacoma Community College and Evergreen State College.

I was the Head Groundskeeper at the Rhododendron Species Foundation for six years where I managed 23 acres of plant collections.

I served as a horticulturist and coordinator of the Washington State University Master Gardener Program for in Pierce County between 1983 and 2000. During that time I acquired a broad and extensive base of information, developed many useful skills, and made numerous associations with individuals, groups, and organizations related to home horticulture. I was instrumental in developing the WSU gardening.wsu.edu website and moderated the "Ask the Expert" Online Gardening Forum.

I have owned and operated four nurseries specializing in native and unusual plants. I have also provided irrigation and landscape design, installation and management services to individual landowners for over 25 years.

In 2002 I was certified as an Arborist by the International Society of Arboriculture.

I was licensed by the Washington State Department of Agriculture as a Disease, Insect, and Weed Control Consultant in 1975 and as a Pest Control Applicator in 1986.

Currently I teach horticulture classes at Tacoma Community College, speak to gardening groups by arrangement, and provide arborist and other horticultural services for discerning clients in Pierce and South King County, Washington.

I am also a member of the Western Cascade Fruit Society and volunteer at the Curran Apple Orchard in University Place WA.



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