Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardener Association July 2008...Rain Water Harvesting Seminar Winners of the rainwater collection barrels donated by San Patricio Municipal Water District

2008 Officers President: Nan Jackson 1st VP: Ruth Thompson

2nd VP: Marilyn Vaughan Secretary: Sharon Watkins Treasurer: Sarah Shugart

***** Extension Agent,

Agriculture/Natural Resources: Logan Respess Extension Office Manager:

Ernie Edmundson Secretary: Thea Edmundson

**** Website:

http://aransas-tx.tamu.edu

Editors Marsha Hendrix

[email protected]

Ernie Edmundson

[email protected]

Frankie Fox

[email protected]

Our Mission: Improving the lives of people, businesses, and communities across Texas and beyond through high-quality, relevant education.

Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardener Association July 2008

The President’s Corner Dates to Remember: • Tues. 1st: MG meet-

ing, 9am • Wed. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

Propagation. 8:30am • Fri. 4th: Holiday • Tues. 15th: Education

Committee, 10am • Tues. 15th: BBL 12-

1pm & 6-7pm • Tues. 17th: Board

meeting, 1:30pm • Wed. 16th: Green

Acres Garden Day • Fri. 25th: Deadline

for MG Class for 2008

Gracious, how time flies when you are having fun! We enjoyed a great Rainwater Harvesting workshop with Billy Kniffen, as well as a brown bag on irrigation by Richard Snyder. Sharon Watkins, Pat Baugh and Elaine Dryer hosted 60 kindergarten students and 8

adults from Little Bay Primary in the Children’s Discovery Garden. I’ll bet the energy level was high in that group, and I am sure they enjoyed the planned activities. I have been negligent in reporting that Bob Crawford took approximately 50 pounds of tomatoes to the Hill Country for the facilities who cared for the youngsters from the Mormon sect in west Texas. Kudos to you, Bob! Another month will bring us to the next Intern class. If you are interested in being a mentor, let D.J. Chilcoat know. Thanks to all who work in the gardens, especially in this heat! Nan Jackson

July Brown Bag

Tuesday, July 15 Noon and 6:00pm “Drain Rain, Go Away!” - Drainage

Presented by Master Gardeners Aransas County Library, 701 E. Mimosa, Rockport

Happy Birthday !

Lois Atwood, 5th Darlene Gooris, 5th Harold Henley, 6th Theresa Rios, 16th

Seeking Serious Plant Lovers

Texas Master Gardeners are a team of volunteer horticulture educators who are under the auspices of:

Logan Respess Extension Agent Aransas County

Green Acres is our award winning demonstration garden located at 611 E. Mimosa, Rockport, Texas. The gardens showcase plants and landscape schemes suitable for the Coastal Bend. For help with plant problems, or for class information, please call (361) 790-0103, or email [email protected]

Green Acres Work Day Wednesday,

July 16th, 8-11am

In Local & Area Newspapers this month watch for…

Master Gardener Class - Olin Briggs

Insect Pests in the Lawn - Heather Bywater Kaffir Lime - Linda T. Collins

Getting Potted - How to Grow Anything in Pots - Jeanna Godfrey

Educational programs of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age, or national origin. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating.

I Love Mulch! Let me count the ways...

We were setting up booths for Kids’ Fest in the

Children’s Garden at Green Acres last year, when yet another excellent use for mulch presented itself. There, in the bark mulch pathways, was every size shim we needed to stabilize our tables. I love mulch.

So, what is mulch and what properties does it possess that yield so much benefit in your garden?

Mulch is the product of grinding up organic (plant) matter such as trees, shrubs and other yard cuttings. Through the marvel of photosynthesis, plants function as processors and storage systems of the sun’s energy. That energy and the nutrients drawn into the plant in its lifetime remain in the organic material that becomes mulch. The texture of mulch is rough, allowing introduction of air and water into the soil and resistance to erosion.

Now for an attention-grabber: It’s FREE! Yes, as much as you want to shovel is free. If you don’t want to shovel, it is still very inexpensive. At the Aransas County Recycle and Transfer Station, 1301 Prairie Road, Rockport (open 9-5 Tuesdays through Saturdays), they will give you a bulldozer scoop for $5.41. That’s a lot of mulch. Not only that, but they will take your yard cuttings (again, very inexpensive) and grind them up for everyone to use, so you don’t have to bag them and clog the landfills. That’s a win, win proposition! Plus, the yard cuttings are ground two or three times and allowed to “cook” in huge piles, so it is almost like compost.

Soil amendment is primary on my mulch benefits list. It’s generally accepted that the best soil for most gardening is sandy loam. Well, we in the Coastal Bend

have the sand, but many plants do not fare well in sand alone. The nutrients provided by the organic matter in sandy loam are missing. Addition of mulch addresses this deficiency. Keep mixing enough mulch into that sand, and it will

produce sandy loam. The transfer station mulch is ideal for this. It takes a lot, so start small. Focus on one bed at a time. If you are creating a new bed, dig and mix in 4-6 inches of mulch at least a foot deep. For an existing bed, cover with mulch four inches deep and carefully cut it in with a hand rake. Rain and other watering will leach the nutrients into the soil. It’s a good idea to repeat this process at least annually, always keeping 4 inches on top of your beds.

Water conservation ranks high on my list, too. Mulch holds water. No matter the water source for your garden – rain, well, city – it pays to save it. A four-inch layer on top of the mixture in your beds will make a remarkable difference.

That same layer will provide excellent root system insulation. Mulch keeps the soil warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Narrowing the temperature range affords greater plant selection opportunities.

Mulch helps control weeds. When you combine that with the lowered need for watering, you will enjoy a noticeable reduction in maintenance.

Trees love mulch. This is particularly true in urban settings where turf filches the benefits of the detritus on which the trees naturally self-sustain. Spread a two-inch layer of the “compost” part of the mulch (sift out big chunks) over their root systems and water it well. The critical root zone for a tree is one and a half times the height of the tree from the drip line, a much wider area than most people realize, but it is well worth the effort. And your turf will love the mulch, too. It is an invaluable alternative to weed-and-feed products, which can kill trees.

Up to this point, I’ve been discussing mulch facts, but it is my opinion that mulch is beautiful. I mentioned the bark mulch pathways at Green Acres. They add to the natural beauty of the gardens, while providing mud-free passage throughout. But don’t take my word for it. Come to Green Acres and see for yourself. Mulch is beautiful.

Written by Marilyn Vaughan, Master Gardener, Aransas/San Patricio Master Gardeners, December, 2007

Green Acres Newsletter July 2008 2

Live Oak Learning Center Students & Master Gardeners

Green Acres Newsletter July 2008 3

Rain Water Harvesting Seminar

Winners of the rainwater collection barrels donated by San Patricio Municipal Water District for the Rainwater Harvesting Seminar on Saturday, June 7th. Karen Ivey - San Patricio Municipal Water District donor of the barrels, Lane Alison, Linda Schanen, Leonard Wood, Ernie Edmundson. Far right is Billy Kniffen, Extension Water Resource Specialist.

Billy Kniffen, Texas AgriLife Extension Water Re-source Specialist, discusses rainwater run-off issues.

Billy Kniffen demonstrates a wildlife water drip system.

Green Acres Newsletter July 2008 4

Flamingo Fandango, July 1 - Sept. 1 at The South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center

Flamingo Fandango, in its second year, features classic pink plastic yard flamingos theme-designed and “dressed” by area artists of all ages, plus a “naked” flock of about 200 perfect for photo ops.

Master Gardener Specialist Entomology Training Sept. 15-19

Hosted by Wizzie Brown, Extension Program Specialist, Travis County. Registration fee of $300.00 includes collecting kit with lots of goodies; lectures; Extension bulletins; 3 lunches, 1 dinner, snacks & drinks. Transportation and lodging is on your own. Course is limited to 20 applicants; deadline is July 18, 2008. Contact Wizzie Brown at [email protected] or 512-854-9600 with any questions.

Beginning Bird ID Series, Sept. 1 - Dec. 5 at The South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center

12 Monday evening sessions (6:30-8:30pm), 6 field trips, with entertaining birder & naturalist, Gene Blacklock, of Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program. (The Maximum class size is 16.) Payment must accompany registration-Register by September 4. $175, $150 members. For program reservations, call 361-852-2100.

Rainwater Harvesting Specialist Training July 16-18, 2008 in Kaufman, TX

September 11-12, 2008 in Conroe, TX The purpose of this course is to provide advanced training whereby Master Gardeners can obtain specialization in rainwater harvesting that support or expand designated educational programs of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. This training was created as an intensive multi-day, hands-on course to provide Master Gardeners with knowledge and skills required to communicate rainwater harvesting information to others. Completion of the course and other requirements results in recognition as a Master Gardener “Rainwater Harvesting Specialist”. For more information, visit: http://rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu/training_gardener.html

Agriculture in the 21st century has become one of the world's most complex and powerful sciences. It is essential

to how we sustain life and advance human livelihood on earth.

At this critical time for international agriculture research and science, the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture focuses on significant issues confronting sustainable agriculture systems throughout the world. The Borlaug Institute promotes a broad spectrum of research to influence policy on issues such as transfer of new agricultural technology, improved sciences for better global health, and the development of infrastructure to enhance agrarian economies.

In 2005, the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture of Texas A&M AgriLife initiated an agricultural Extension program for the horticulture and food processing sectors of Guatemala. The 4 main objectives of this project are to (1) expand food processing capabilities, (2) promote improved agricultural technology and methods, (3) provide farmers Extension education opportunities and support farmer cooperatives, and (4) promote the development of agriculture-related businesses and linkages with the private sector.

More than three thousand agriculturalists have benefited from the courses given through this project. Courses included canning, fruit dehydration, pickling, post-harvest physiology of vegetables and flowers, food safety, effective packing methods for fresh produce, and marketing.

For more information visit the Borlaug Institute at http://Borlaug.tamu.edu/

Green Acres Newsletter July 2008 5

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 9am MG Meeting - Green Acres

2 8:30am Propagation Committee meeting - Greenhouse

3 4 Holiday—Extension Office Closed

5

6

7 8

9 8:30am Propagation committee – Greenhouse

10 11

12

13

14

15 10 am Education Committee - GA 12pm & 6pm Brown Bag - Library 1:30pm Board of Director meeting

16 8:30am Propagation Committee – Greenhouse 8-11am Green Acres Garden Day

17

18

19

20

21 22

23 Propagation Committee – Greenhouse 8:30am

24

25 Registration Deadline for MG Class for 2008

26

27 28

29 30

Propagation Committee – Greenhouse 8:30am

31

Green Acres Newsletter July 2008 6