Bluebonnet Master Gardener AssociationTexas AgriLife Extension Service

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2025 Scholarships Awarded

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The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association is proud to announce the 2025 annual college scholarships winners.  Scholarships were awarded to high school graduates from Austin, Colorado, Fayette & Washington Counties, Texas.  To view the winners’ bios, see below.  The winners are:

Jaylen Tesch – Austin County
Hannah Kunschick – Colorado County
Mikayla Otto – Fayette County
Cullen Halfmann – Washington County

The recipients demonstrated outstanding achievement in leadership, citizenship, community service and other endeavors that form the basis of becoming lifelong responsible, productive citizens and leaders in their communities.

Congratulations to our 2025 scholarship winners!

Lunch-N-Learn Austin County Disaster Ready: Home Prep

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This presentation is dedicated to Disaster Readiness: Home Prep. The speaker will cover comprehensive home planning for a storm or disaster.  Learn what types of disasters could happen in our area, how to prepare for each, and how to protect your family when a disaster occurs. Attendees will be provided with go/stay checklists to help them assemble an emergency kit. Our presenter will be Stephen Burnett, Texas A&M AgriLife Disaster, Assessment & Recovery Specialist.

Registration beginning at 11:50am with the program beginning promptly at 12:00pm and concluding by 12:55pm. At the end of the session, the speaker will be available to answer questions.

Bring your own lunch.  Light refreshments will be provided

Home Grown Vegetable Contest

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Do you think you have the best vegetables or the biggest tomato? The Horticulture Committee of Austin County, Linseisen’s Feed & Supply, and Nelson’s Plant Food are pleased to present the Home-Grown Vegetable Contest and Program being hosted on Saturday, June 7th. Show off the prize-winning vegetables from your garden!

 The contest is open to the public, with no entry fee and no age requirements! If you love to garden and grow vegetables, you can enter. Vegetable check-in will be at Linseisen’s Feed located at 551 W Main, Bellville, from 9:00 AM until 10:00 AM. The judging will be closed to the public, with awards being presented no earlier than 11:00 AM.

 

There will be a free educational presentation offered at 10:00 AM held at the Bellville VFD meeting room located at 511 W Main, Bellville, walking distance from Linseisen’s. The presentation will be given by Gary Kroeger with the Bluebonnet Master Gardeners. He will be showing us how to make “Fermented Cucumber Pickles”. If time permits, Gerald Dupont with the Bluebonnet Master Gardeners will show off produce from the San Felipe Museum 1823 Garden.

 Only one entry per person in each of the main categories according to specifications on the informational flyer. No rotten or split vegetables will be allowed or judged. All vegetables or fruits entered must be edible and grown by the exhibitor. No store-bought products permitted. Please provide the correct number of samples per category when entering to avoid disqualification.

 For more information, please visit https://austin.agrilife.org/agriculture/acvegcontest/.

Plant Party: Getting to the Roots of Soils

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Registration is now open!
Plant Party:
GETTING TO THE ROOT OF SOILS

Join us on June 18th from 10:00 – 11:30 AM (Central) for “Getting to the Root of Soils“. We’ll have 5 short presentations on everything soils and will give away lots of DOOR PRIZES!

You must register to receive the Zoom link the day before. It’s FREE!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PPSoils

Plant Party is a quarterly, advanced plant training series provided by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

For more information contact:
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Sprout to Share Free Seed Library Open in New Location

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The Sprout to Share Free Seed Library relocated to the Colorado County AgriLife Extension Office at 316 Spring St #106, Columbus, TX. New hours are Monday thru Friday, 8a-5p. Join the public Facebook group to watch for occasional Saturday hours and events: fb.com/groups/sprouttoshare.

The library, a project of Bluebonnet Master Gardeners of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, is full of seeds, ready for spring planting! It is open to anyone from Austin, Colorado, Fayette, Lavaca, or Wharton counties. No library card or any official documentation is needed.

Seed borrowers are encouraged to grow their seeds and enjoy the produce, sharing it with family and friends, then saving seeds from a small part of the produce to return to the library for the community’s future gardening needs. Want to be a seed library volunteer? Drop by the seed library to sign up.

Small Farms & Vegetable Conference

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Information to be covered includes:
Hydroponics by Dr. Joe Masabni
Invasive Plants & Control by Dr. Stacy Hines
Pest Management Considerations in Home Gardens by Dr. Jose Santiago Gonzales
Update on Pesticide Laws & Regulations by Greg Baker
and Why Healthy Plants Don’t Get Pests by Gerald DuPont.
The 5 CEUs awarded have TDA approval for 1 L&R, 2 IPM, and 2 General units. You will also get 5 Hours of CEU credit for Master Gardeners. 

Plant Party – Spring Green Up

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Registration is now open!
Plant Party:  SPRING GREEN UP

Join us on March 19th from 10:00 – 11:30 AM (Central) for “Spring Green Up“. We’ll have 5 short presentations on how plants green up and will give away lots of DOOR PRIZES!

You must register to receive the Zoom link the day before. It’s FREE!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PPGreenUP

Plant Party is a quarterly, advanced plant training series provided by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Plant Party December 11, 2024

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Registration is now open!

Plant Party:
The Plant Manager’s Christmas Wish List

Join us on December 11th from 10:00 – 11:30 AM (Central) for “The Plant Manager’s Christmas Wish List“. We’ll have lots of great gift suggestions from professionals in the field and will be giving away lots of DOOR PRIZES!

You must register to receive the Zoom link the day before. It’s FREE!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PPWishLIst

Plant Party is a quarterly, advanced plant training series provided by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

2024 Water Program – In the Heart of Texas

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CEUs available to Master Gardeners   Program is free!

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service of Austin County is partnering with the Bluebonnet Groundwater Conservation District to provide an educational lawn care program on Friday, September 13, 2024. The presentation will begin with updates on both the Mill Creek Watershed and the Bluebonnet Groundwater Conservation District. The program will then proceed with Efficient Water Use on Landscapes; how to get the most out of your water and how to capture the rainwater for your use, then Fertilizer Use on Your Lawns; how important it is to use the right amount of fertilizer and herbicide on your lawn, and Selecting the Best Plants for Your Landscape; learn about what plants to have in your landscape to the better help lower that water bill and will survive our summer heat. Presenters include Dean Minchillo with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Lisa Nicklow with the Bluebonnet Master Gardeners. Updates will be provided by Annalee Epps with the Mill Creek Watershed and Zach Holland with the Bluebonnet Groundwater Conservation District.

 The event will be held at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office located at 800 E Wendt St, Bellville, 77418. Registration will be held from 1:00 – 1:30 pm, with the program beginning at 1:30 pm and concluding by 4:30 pm. The cost of attendance is free, thanks to the Bluebonnet Ground Conservation District.

Please RSVP by September 11th to the Austin County Extension Office or online at austin.agrilife.org to reserve your seat and ensure resource availability.

Propagation of Native Milkweed

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September 10th, 2024 from 8:00 am- till 2:00 pm

Weimar Civic Center
1754 IH-10, Weimar, TX 78962

The two presenters will be Howard Nemerov from Bastrop Master Gardeners and Nancy Denmark. Nancy Denmark runs a large SE Texas garden group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ButterflyJoy    They will provide us a hands on demonstration of how to be successful with Native milkweed.
Bring your own drinks and snacks, if there is something you want to share with others, please do so. Water and sodas will be provided.