Gardener (Motor Vehicle Operator)

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS); Laurel (MD); On-site; USD 36,000 - 43,000; Full time

Job summary

USDA APHIS, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, is seeking staff to propagate and grow imported plants and to assist in tests conducted in greenhouses, fields, and labs. The role involves working with crop specialists, handling soil mixes, seeds, transplanting, pruning, and irrigation.

Primary duties include assisting with submicroscopic pathogen tests, maintaining inventories, and operating tractors and vehicles as needed. Start date is 09/25/2026 and close date 10/01/2026.

Qualifications

• Qualified individuals have training and experience to perform duties.
• Resume must reflect experience, including volunteer work where applicable.
• Attention to detail for propagating plants and conducting tests.

Responsibilities

• Propagate and grow imported plants in various environments.
• Prepare soil mixes; sow seeds; transplant seedlings; prune, fertilize, and water plants.
• Prepare field plots and manage trees and rootstocks; fertilizer and irrigation.
• Assist crop specialists with lab, greenhouse, and field tests for pathogens.
• Maintain inventories and run errands to obtain supplies.

Skills

Experience propagating plants

Job description

Find Your Future With Us at USDA - Animal Plant Health Inspection Service

Job Summary

If selected you will work with scientists and crop specialists to propagate and grow prohibited and quarantined plants and other plants used to test germplasm for pathogens to prevent the introduction of foreign pests during the importation of prohibited plant germplasm and commercial cultivars for industry, research, breeding or preservation in the National Plant Germplasm System.

Qualifications

To qualify, you must show you have had training and experience of sufficient scope and quality to provide you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. Your answers to the vacancy specific questions must be supported by the work experience in your resume. For example, if you respond in the affirmative when questioned whether you have experience propagating plants, your resume must include this experience, mindful that experience may not be inferred by job title. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience

Major Duties

• Propagate and grow imported plants as well as healthy and inoculated indicator plants in greenhouses, growth chambers, screen houses, field plots and orchards.
• Prepare soil mixes; sow seeds; plant and transplant seedlings or rooted propagations; budding, grafting, labeling, pruning, fertilizing, and watering herbaceous and woody plants.
• Prepare field plots; plant fruit trees or rootstocks; fertilize, prune, and water trees (using a drip irrigation system).
• Assists crop specialists in conducting lab, greenhouse, and field tests for submicroscopic pathogens: collecting and extracting samples, inoculating and labeling and caring for inoculated test plants.
• Erecting and repairing fences, mowing grass, rouging diseased trees, controlling weeds with physical and chemical removal, and removing trees when field tests are complete.
• Maintains inventories of community greenhouse supplies; runs errands to locations in the surrounding area to obtain supplies or deliver items.
• Mow grass in orchard and operates small to medium tractors and government vehicles (trucks and automobiles).

Position Start Date

09/25/2026

Position Close Date

10/01/2026

Salary Offered

26.74 - 31.19 USD Per Hour

You can make a difference! The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP) needs bright, energetic and committed professionals to facilitate the domestic and international marketing of U.S. agricultural products and to protect the health and care of animals and plants in the United States. We operate in domestic and global markets. Be part of an organization that protects the health and agriculture of the American people. Join our team! To learn more about what it's like to work at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, what the agency does, and the types of careers, please visit the APHIS careers site. APHIS is an emergency response agency. This means that all Agency employees may be asked or assigned to participate in rotating temporary duty assignments to support emergency programs at some time during their careers with APHIS.