Soil Testing Campaign
From Stacie Villarreal, County Extension Agent – Agriculture & Natural Resource, Austin County
Exciting news! Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Offices presents the Multi-County Urban & Homeowner Soil Testing Campaign in conjunction with Austin, Colorado, Fayette, and Washington Counties. This event will run from February 15th – 29th, and is limited to soil samples for growing flowers, gardens, turf grasses, trees, vineyards, and woody ornamentals. This campaign is made possible through the support of the Bluebonnet Master Gardeners and is in cooperation with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Soil, Water, and Forge Testing Lab in College Station.
Soil samples submitted during this time frame will be $8.00 for a routine analysis and $15.00 for a routine analysis plus micro-nutrients. You may pick up information, collection bags, and forms at one of the County Extension offices or locations designated in each county.
Fayette County Flyer/Information:
2023 Kids Kamp
Pollinator Citizen Science Project Opens Again March 22, 2021
Master Volunteers, a group that includes Master Gardeners, contributed 7434 observations to the Pollinator Citizen Science Project according to the last updated summary on December 21, 2020. Based on data collected in the project so far, the most visited plant by honey bees was Melochia tomentosa, also known as Teabush or Pyramid Bush. For more information about this Texas native pollinator plant, visit the USDA Plant Database or the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center website
Melochia tomentosa, also known as Teabush or Pyramid Bush
The purpose of the project is to use citizen scientists to determine the attractiveness of different commercially available ornamentals (annuals or perennials) to different groups of pollinators in the Southern USA, namely Texas and Oklahoma.
Due to popular demand and great results from 2020 and 2019, Pollinator Citizen Science Project is launching yet again this year. The required training and quiz start online on-demand Monday March 22, 2021, accessible through the project page. The training will be similar to last year, with some added training on plant identification (offered by Dr. Vikram Baliga from Texas Tech University). There will also be a live Q&A session later that week to answer any questions citizen scientists may have related to the project.
As before, BMGA members may recieve CEU credit for the training and volunteer hour credit for the time collecting and submitting data to the project. This is a true citizen science project allowing ordinary citizens to make a contribution that matters to the horticulture of our state.
When: Mar 25, 2021 02:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
https://agrilife.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMqc-2rqzkvGdfxKLO8vgAuj9ulTtgO3FiL
Results for 2020
Result for 2019
Many congratulations to the Project Team:
- Dr. Mike Merchant, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
- Mr. Erfan Vafaie, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
- Dr. Eric Rebek, Oklahoma State University
- Dr. Adam Mitchell, Tarleton State University
- Dr. Scott Longing, Texas Tech University
- Dr. Vikram Baliga, Texas Tech University
Master Gardeners Asked to Assist in Texas/Oklahoma Pollinator Project
BMGA members interested in bees and pollinators can assist in a project with the ultimate goal of creating a field-tested list of the best Texas and Oklahoma landscape plants for pollinators. This is an opportunity for Master Gardeners to use their knowledge and skills in the garden to participate in a real citizen-data collection project to provide important data to scientists and researchers hoping to reduce the decline of pollinators in Texas and Oklahoma.
Michael Merchant, Ph.D, BCE, Professor and Extension Urban Entomologist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, asks Texas and Oklahoma Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists for feedback about the top plants for pollinators in their gardens. In addition, he wants to assess who is interested in participating in a pollinator count this summer. Exact details about the planned count will be provided later. But now, to get started, Master Gardeners may complete a survey indicating their interest in participating in a pollinator count and identifying top plants in their garden that attract pollinators.
Some of you may be familiar with Dr. Merchant and his AgriLife Extension Insects in the City blog or as a trainer in the Master Gardener program on the topic of entomology. Dr. Merchant says he knows there is a lot of collective wisdom of out there among gardeners and naturalist on what plants serve as highly attractive nectar sources for pollinators. If the project team can get a good response from Master Gardeners and others to this survey, it should give the project a good starting list of potential pollinator plants to study this summer.
Below is a link to a Qualtrix survey for Master Gardeners with an interest in bees and pollinators. If you are interested in assisting with this project, please complete the survey.
The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association has a long standing interest in educating the public about and creating pollinator-friendly landscapes. The Sheridan 4H Youth Butterfly Garden in Colorado County, Texas is an example of a pollinator friendly garden. In addition, through our Kids’ Kamp summer program, Lunch-N-Learn series and other programs, we include education about the importance of pollinators to our nation’s food production and agriculture. BMGA can continue its dedication to increase awarness of the importance of pollinators and in helping to increase pollinator-friendly landscapes in our area with a strong participate in this project from its members.
BMGA Volunteers Teach Gardening to Sealy High School Culinary Arts Class
This Spring, BMGA volunteers assisted Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service teaching high school students about vegetable gardening through the Growing and Nourishing Healthy Communities Garden Course, which is funded, in part, by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The program helps increase the availability of fresh produce through teaching participants how to grow fruits and vegetables in community and backyard gardens. The program is featured through the Better Living for Texans program by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and is currently offered across the State of Texas.
The culinary garden at Sealy High School was funded by the generosity of BMGA Member Renee Kofman and the Better Living for Texans program. Ms. Kofman coordinated the Master Gardener volunteer instructors for various gardening topics:
•Pete Berkenhoff and Renee Kofman – site selection and building the beds;
•Christy Schweikhardt and Renee Kofman- soil and mulch.
•Charlene Koehler and Renee Kofman – garden maintenance, drip irrigation installation, plant diseases and insects
The program goals are to teach the participants to:
- Identify the characteristics of a suitable garden site;
- Evaluate soils and identify the main components as sand, silt, clay, or loam;
- Make compost and know what materials are best for home composting;
- Create “pots” from newspaper and use them to plant seeds or seedlings to begin a garden;
- Identify good maintenance practices common to vegetable gardens;
- Keep a garden journal to help observe plant health and growth, investigate problems, and record measures taken to resolve problems;
- Identify causes, symptoms, prevention, and treatment of common vegetable disorders and diseases;Detect common insect pests and beneficial insects;
- Follow best practices for harvesting, handling, and storing produce.
After teaching the soils and mulch portion of the class, where she encouraged the students to use their hands to study the soil material, Master Gardener Christy Schweikhardt said, “in this age of keeping hand-gel-at-the-ready, kids seem reluctant to get their hands in the dirt. Besides a necessity for growing vegetables, getting a little dirty helps connect the students in a positive way to where their food comes from – the soil.”
Michelle Allen, Austin County Extension Agent-Family and Community Health, was asked last year by Angela Gutowsky, the Culinary Arts teacher at Sealy High School, about implementing a program with Sealy High School’s culinary students. “We didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to work with the students in order to increase their level of knowledge and skills in the area of gardening” said Ms. Allen. She recruited Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association members to provide gardening instructors “because of their expertise and knowledge in the area of gardening. It was a no brainer for me,” said Ms. Allen.
Ms. A
llen summed-up the Sealy project saying, “This program was a wonderful way to get the youth of our community engaged with the idea of gardening. It was also enlightening to see them actually take ownership of the project. It was a win/win moment for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association. This is education at its best!!”
BMGA Re-Purposes Plastic Food Production Barrels in the Garden
Planters & rainwater harvesting barrels made from re-purposed food production barrels
Under Master Gardener Pete Berckenhoff’s leadership, the Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association, built rainwater harvesting barrels and planters by re-purposing plastic food production barrels. Pete’s group of Master Gardener volunteers gathered at BMGA member Renee Kofman’s warehouse in Sealy and turned it into a busy production workshop for building the barrels and planters. These rainwater harvesting barrels are designed to collect roof rainwater run-off through a homeowner’s gutter downspout. Although the collected water is not suitable for drinking water, it is great for watering plants, gardens and adding water to your compost pile. Planters are available with a lightweight PVC frame or the wooden frame and are counter-top height.
BMGA will sell the rainwater harvesting barrels and planters until supplies last at its annual Spring Plant Sale in Sealy on April 14, 2018. The Plant Sale is one of BMGA’s two Texas Sales Tax Free events this year so during that event, the barrels and planters are sale tax free.
Cutting PVC for the planters
Inserting the planter barrel into the sturdy wooden frame
BMGA to Again Sell Rainwater Harvesting Barrels
BMGA will build and sell a limited supply of rainwater harvesting barrels for homeowners to collect rainwater from roof runoff. The barrels are made with 55 gallon barrels and will be sold at the Plant Sale for $55.00. While not suitable for drinking water, the water collected is great for watering plants and other outdoor uses. The State of Texas encourages citizens to participate in water conservation and rainwater harvesting.
BMGA member and veteran Master Gardener Pete Berckenhoff leads this project. Pete and his team will assemble the barrels and deliver them to the Plant Sale for sale to the public. Master Gardeners wishing to assist with building the barrels should contact Pete.
