Somervell Master Gardeners
Glen Rose, TX
by Sandi Stringer

Somervell County Master Gardeners breaking ground for EarthKind™ Rose Trail garden in Heritage Park.  Planting is planned for March 2008.

Somervell Master Gardeners
Glen Rose, TX
By Sandi Stringer

http://www.somervellmastergardeners.org

Visit Somervell Master Gardeners new web site. It is a well designed site with a lot of good information. Check out their Community Education programs and their EarthKind™ Rose trial garden.  Also, see the Somervell Master Gardeners at work.

Dove Johnson (pictured), Somervell County Master Gardener created, designed and maintains the web site.

Dove began working with GroveSite in January and here we are. Dove said that working with GroveSite was a pleasure, as well as easy, and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rainwater Harvesting
at the Kaufman County
Xeric™ Garden
Forney, Texas

Members of the Kaufman County Master Garden Association Toured the Rainwater Harvesting Demonstration site on February 4th and received a short course in Rainwater Harvesting Basics. In attendance are (left to right) Marsha Sasser, Margaret Ann Trail, Frances Holmes, Nancy Harris, Mary Dean, Debra Middleton and Brad Ackerman

The Environmental Co-op, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, The Forney Garden Club and the Kaufman County Master Gardener Association collaborated in 2007 to install a Rainwater Harvesting Demonstration Site at the Kaufman County Xeric™ Garden in Forney. The purpose of the demonstration is to educate the public about rainwater harvesting and provide hands on training for Master Gardeners. The system is situated in the North West corner of the garden and is designed to provide water for plant irrigation, composting, filling fountains and miscellaneous other uses. Information about rainwater harvesting can be obtained from: The Texas AgriLife Extension Service web sites: http://rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu or http://texaswater.tamu.edu or contact the Kaufman office by phone: 972 932 9069 or e-mail: Kaufman@ag.tamu.edu

Hill Country Master Gardener
Kerrville, TX

Master Gardeners Contribute More Than $300K to Local Economy The Citizens of Kerrville received a symbolic check in the amount of $310,374.72 representing the positive impact the Hill Country Master Gardener (HCMG) program had on the local economy in 2007.

Of this amount, almost $230,000 is revenue directly generated by last April’s State Master Gardener Conference, which was hosted by the Kerr HCMG chapter. The remaining $80,500 represents the dollar value assigned to 5,937 hours of volunteer service to Kerr County through educational presentations, answering horticultural inquiries to the Extension Office, conducting school gardens and other duties performed by the local Master Gardeners.

Kerr County Extension Agent Roy Walston and HCMG President Randy Simmons (pictured) made the presentation to the Kerr County Commissioners Court at their 1/14/08 meeting.

Kerrville began its sixth HCMG program with 22 new students on 1/16/08. The 16-week course of study covers a broad range of horticultural information and gardening skills under guidelines set by the Texas Extension Service and in cooperation with Texas A&M University. Trainees must complete a minimum of 50 hours of instruction, pass an examination administered by Extension and volunteer a minimum of 50 hours of service to earn the title of Texas Master Gardener.

At present, there are 86 certified HCMG, who each year must earn additional education hours and perform volunteers hours to remain on the active list.

Bell County Master Gardeners
Belton, TX
by Mary Lew Quesinberry

in the photo: Master Gardener Johnny Buck will present a seminar "Dry Stack Stonescaping" at the Temple Area Builders Association's Home and Garden show at the the Bell County Expo Center February 23rd and 24th. Buck, builder of a fifty- foot demonstration wall at the master gardener greenhouse, will explains methods, materials and tools needed to complete a dry stack stone project.

Bell County Master Gardeners will provide educational opportunities to attendees of the 2008 Home and Garden Show February 23rd and 24th at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton. Karla Tomaka, Master Gardener Greenhouse Manager, will provide a “Ask a Master Gardener” booth. Certified Master Gardeners will provide horticultural advice and handouts on subjects ranging from plant disease, landscaping problems, plants suitable for Central Texas and lawn care. Bell County Extension Agent, Dirk Aaron has a speaker’s bureau of Master Gardeners available to provide horticulture programs to the community. Five of these specialized Master Gardeners will present 1-hour seminars at the Home and Garden event. The topics of the seminars are “Dry Stack Stonescaping”, “ EarthKind Landscaping”, “Rainwater Harvesting” and “Vermiculture”.

Deborah Martin teaches environmentally friendly gardening techniques and the importance of using disease resistance plants. Rainwater harvesting presenters Gyman and Violet Okeson will give several options gardeners can use to collect rain water and counter the water availability crisis that is affecting the southwest. Collected rainwater is better for the plants and saves money. Johnny Buck has built many stone walls and planting beds at the master gardener greenhouse and some area elementary schools and he will host a seminar detailing methods of construction, materials and tools need for a homeowner stonescaping project. Learn about vermiculture, the management of worms, from Nancy Hawkins. Vermiculture recycles kitchen scraps and newspapers and turns this waste into rich vermicompost. Hawkins will have hints on the care, feeding and containment of red worms and the uses of the organic matter they leave behind.

Bell County Master Gardeners
Belton, TX
by Mary Lew Quesinberry

Bell County Master Gardeners plan a two-day spring veggie sale event Saturday, March 15th, 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. and Sunday, March 16th, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

In the photo: Lawrence Cox, Bell County MG Greenhouse Coordinator, has selected vegetables suitable for Bell County to sell in the 2-day veggie sale event.

Vegetables suitable for our Central Texas climate have been chosen. Visitors to the sale can select from 13 varieties of tomatoes, 4 varieties of peppers, 2 varieties of cucumbers and 5 varieties of squash. Master Gardener interns started the plants from seed in a special soil mix concocted by Greenhouse Coordinator Lawrence Cox. Mr. Cox, a master gardener since 2000 and 45- year veteran in the nursery and landscaping field, serves as a mentor to the new class of interns and the certified master gardeners as well. His considerable horticultural knowledge continues to improve the production and plant quality at the master gardener greenhouse. He and other master gardeners will be available to provide advice on planting techniques and information on growing requirements for a successful spring vegetable garden.

Two seminars will be presented, on Saturday, “Spring Vegetable Gardening” at 10 a. m. and “Control of Garden Pests” at 11 a.m. Bluebonnets and Indian Blankets will also be offered.

The master gardener greenhouse is located at the AgriLife Extension Office, 1605 North Main, Belton, Texas. For more information about the sale and seminars contact Greenhouse Manager Karla Tomaka (254-698-3367).