Chapter Meeting – Sens Center
2022 Master Gardener Training Class Announced
The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Assocation is pleased to announce that its 2022 Master Gardener training classes begin January 13 in Bellville, Texas. Registration is now open.
The series consists of 50 hours of training held every Thursday until April 21, 2022 (Two classes will be on Wednesday February 16th and April 6th). Master Gardener Faye Beery of Bellville is the coordinator of the 2022 training program. Ms. Beery was certfiied as a Master Gardener in 2012 and coordinated several training classes in Austin County. The BMGA class is designed for trainees from any of the four Bluebonnet Master Gardener counties of Austin, Colorado, Fayette and Washington. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service provides the training material and many of the expert horticulture and related speakers used by Master Gardener programs statewide.
This is a unique opportunity for individuals who are interested in horticulture and serving their community. Master Gardeners are trained in all facets of horticulture such as plant & soil science, entomology, plant pathology, fruit and vegetable gardening, and much more. Upon completion of their training, Master Gardeners will be required to give at least 50 hours of volunteer service time in their local community in order to receive the title of “Master Gardener”.
An Open House is scheduled January 6, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at the Austin County Extension Office, 800 E. Wendt St., Bellville Texas 77418. for anyone interested in learning more about the program. This event will provide a great opportunity to visit with current Master Gardeners, learn about projects in each of the counties, and enjoy a few Master Gardener goodies.
Multi-County New Landowner Program: Trees, Pecans, Grapes for Small Acreages
Lunch & Learn Series-Wildflowers
John Thomas formed Wildseed Farm in 1983 and has over 1,500 acreas in Texas dedcated to wildflower production. He is consider one of the nation’s experts on wildflower. John will be the presenter for this program.
Learn more about John Thomas.
2021 Fall Horticulture Seminar
Please join Texas A&M Agrilfe Extension Service August 27, 2021 for the Fall Horticulature Seminar, hosted by Texas A&M Agrilfe Extension Service for Austin County. Topics, which will be presented by AgriLife Extentions Agent Robert “Skip” Richter and Specialists Tim Hartmann, Ph.D and Monte Nesbitt, Ph.D include:
Planting Fall Vegetables
Fruit Tree Care and Maintenance
Citrus Tree Care and Maintance
Prepping Plants for Freezes
RSVP HERE by August 25, 2021 or call 979-865-2072.
2021 Virtual Advanced Training in Rainwater Harvesting
Think you know everything about Rainwater Harvesting? Think again! and then sign up for the online 2021 MG Advanced Training in Rainwater Harvesting. Most sessions will be led by Dr. Dotty Woodson, retired Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Water Specialist. Those that have had classes with Dotty know she is an excellent speaker and a super educator. Sign up for the class and learn new things about Rainwater Harvesting from Dr. Dotty Woodson.
The Master Gardener 2021 Rainwater Harvesting Advanced Training Class is being offered to certified Master Gardeners only by Tarrant County Master Gardeners. The training will be an online event on three consecutive Fridays in May, meaning participants can remain at home (living more cheaply than being on the road) and still obtain excellent Rainwater Harvesting training. Remaining at home is also good for spring gardens!
Three consecutive Fridays – May 7, 14, & 21, 2021
Virtual Presentation hosted by the Tarrant County Master Gardener Association
Tuition is $125.00
Registration Deadline April 30, 2021
Click for Registration Information
Texas Master Gardener Association Virtual 2021 Conference
The 2021 Virtual Texas Master Gardener Conference is open for registration!
The 2021 Texas Master Gardener State Conference will be held virtually this year on May 18-19, 2021. The leadership workshop will be on May 17, 2021.
Join a virtual walk-through of Texas gardens and an amazing line-up of inspirational speakers ready to share their favorite topics in horticulture.
See the Agenda & speaker’s bios
The conference offers continuing education hours for Master Gardeners including three keynote presentations, twenty-four breakout sessions, and four virtual tours.
The conference is also time to celebrate the Search for Excellence Awards and the incredible achievements our volunteers are accomplishing in education across the state.
Please visit https://txmg.org/2021-virtual-conference to learn more and to register for the conference.
This is a unique opportunity to hear from many of our AgriLife Extension Horticulturists and Specialists as well as many public experts.
Some things you can expect at this year’s conference:
- Skilled speakers
- Leadership training (additional half day at minimal cost)
- Virtual Tours
- Awards Ceremony
- Directors meeting
- Agents meeting
- Conference t-shirt option
Master Gardener General Conference $50.00
Master Gardener Leadership Workshop $25.00
We look forward to hosting this virtual conference. Because of the virtual aspect, diligent explanation has gone into the registration and participation process. Please carefully read all correspondence associated with the conference so that you have a positive virtual experience. If you have any questions, please contact txmastergardeners21@gmail.com.
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
Cultivate! Earth Friendly Gardening & Landscaping
Bexar County Master Gardeners will host CULTIVATE!, its semi-annual educational seminar with 7 different gardening topics offered free and online. Each workshop is an hour long and full of great gardening information. Join them for one or all seven! For workshop descriptions, and all the details go to https://bexarmg.org/cultivate-
Our workshops this spring:
Succulents with MG Stephanie Jones
Texas Native Ornamental Shrubs for Your Landscape with MG Lynn Cox
Growing Vegetables in Bexar County with David Rodriguez Bexar County Extension Agent-Horticulture
After the Big Freeze…What to do in your Garden (Special session with David Rodriguez)
Gardening Begins with the Soil with MG Bill Swantner
Spring into Texas Superstar Annuals with MG Lynn Cox
Shady Characters in the Garden with MG Lynn Cox
Cultivate! Earth Friendly Gardening & Landscaping
Bexar County Master Gardeners will host CULTIVATE!, its semi-annual educational seminar with 7 different gardening topics offered free and online. Each workshop is an hour long and full of great gardening information. Join them for one or all seven! For workshop descriptions, and all the details go to https://bexarmg.org/cultivate-
Our workshops this spring:
Succulents with MG Stephanie Jones
Texas Native Ornamental Shrubs for Your Landscape with MG Lynn Cox
Growing Vegetables in Bexar County with David Rodriguez Bexar County Extension Agent-Horticulture
After the Big Freeze…What to do in your Garden (Special session with David Rodriguez)
Gardening Begins with the Soil with MG Bill Swantner
Spring into Texas Superstar Annuals with MG Lynn Cox
Shady Characters in the Garden with MG Lynn Cox
Online Chapter Meeting – Texas Tough Roses
ONLINE TEAMS MEETING
Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Time: 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 a.m.
Format: Online Microsoft Teams meeting
Topic: Texas Tough Roses
Presenter: Suzanne Gilbert-President, Houston Rose Society
General BMGA business meeting to follow.
BMGA members will receive an email with the link to the meeting. Be sure to check your “junk” or “SPAM” folders if you do not see the email in your Inbox
Online Horticulture Learning Could Never be Easier
So many online horticulture learning opportunities you don’t know where to start? This guide can get you started learning from horticulture experts.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension recorded many of their programs for viewing on your own schedule. These recorded presentations are free to the public.
Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association members may claim Continuing Education Units (CEU) for these all AgriLife programs that pertain to gardening and horticulture; live or recorded. Just watch the presentation and record your time as CEU. BMGA members, remember to get your CEU credits recorded by December 31, 2020 to apply those hours to your re-certification requirement. For 2020, you need 6 CEU credits.
Below are links to some of these programs to start learning from our Aggie experts.
Gulf Coast Gardening Online Series
There are 22 videos for more than 24 hours of learning. Topics include:
Young Tree Care – Video #5
Earth Kind Pest Disease & Weed Control – Video #10
Texas Superstar Plants – Video #19
Horticulture & Gardening Webinar Series with David Rodriguez, County Extension Horticulture Agent, Bexar County
There are currently 17 of these recorded sessions for more than 13 hours of education. Topics include:
Getting Your Lawn and Landscape Ready for Summer Heat – Video #9
Tomato Basics 101 – Video #13
Butterfly Gardening – Nectar Plants – Video #5
Aggie Horticulture Facebook Live Recordings
There are 55 horticulture recorded events. Wow! You do not need a Facebook account to watch. Topics include:
Homeowner Greenhouses- Video #41
Transitioning to a Fall Garden, Two Parts – Video #40 & #45
Toys for Vegetable Gardening – Video #50
Fall Blooming Flowers & Biennials Planted in Fall – Video #51
Growing Blueberries in Containers – Video 18
BMGA Chapter Meeting – Washington County Sales Fac
THIS IS AN IN-PERSON MEETING
Board Meeting: 8:30 – 10:00
Social: 10:00 – 10:30
Program: 10:30 – 12:00
Fragrant Plants from the Garden, presented by Henry Flowers
Henry Flowers is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds both Bachelor and Master of Agriculture degrees in Horticulture. He is currently a horticulturist with Glasco & Co. Landscaping in Brenham, TX, where he enjoys doing a wide variety of tasks. He was Garden Director at the Round Top Festival Institute for 16 years, where he oversaw a variety of display gardens with the support of a large number of volunteers and also coordinated a variety of educational garden-related events. At home he and his wife Melissa grow a wide variety of herbs that they enjoy for their beauty and usefulness in the kitchen. He is a lifetime member of The Herb Society of America and was the 2009 recipient of The HSA’s Joanna McQuail Reed Award for the Artistic Use of Herbs.
Live Lunch and Learn Gardening Series – September 2020
Live Lunch and Learn Gardening Series – September 2020
Join Horticulturist David Rodriguez and Entomologist Molly Keck for their Live Lunch and Learn Gardening Webinar Series. Learn about your landscape and vegetable gardening. To join, click link below and put in the meeting id and passcode at the date and time of the presentation.
Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central Time
Meeting ID: 990 2593 9574
Passcode: Garden2020
September 16: Where do Insects Go When it Rains?
September 23: September is Butterfly Month!
September 30: Dragonfly Watching
Live Lunch and Learn Gardening Series
Live Lunch and Learn Gardening Series – August 2020
Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central Time
Join Horticulturist David Rodriguez and Entomologist Molly Keck for their Live Lunch and Learn Gardening Webinar Series. Learn about your landscape and vegetable gardening. To join, click the link below and put in the meeting ID and Passcode at the date and time of the presentation.
Join the Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 990 2593 9574
Passcode: Garden2020
Schedule:
August 11: Tomato 101: Growing Basics
August 12: Pests of Tomatoes
August 18: Lawn 101: Turfgrass Basics
August 19: Lawn 101: Turfgrass Pests
August 25: Growing a Fall & Winter Vegetable Garden
August 26: Managing Cool Weather Fall Veggie Pests
Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central Time
For more information, contact David Rodriguez, dhrodriguez@ag.tamu.edu
All About Trees: Forests – Living Pharmacies
All About Trees: Forests – Living Pharmacies
Registration: Please cut and paste the link into your browser.
https://tfs.webex.com/tfs/onstage/g.php?MTID=e46376572ab72e9dea2d947c49b06c626
June 25, Thursday
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
All About Trees: Forests – Living Pharmacies is bringing the science, the chemistry, the biology to the field of wild edible and herbal medicine. Dr. Mark Merriwether Vorderbruggen is a chemist, with an MS in medicinal chemistry and a Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry.
“An estimated 50,000 plant species are used medicinally. Within the plant kingdom, trees make a substantial contribution to this figure, and many species are used in traditional and modern medicine.”
“Medicine from trees, extracted from the wood, bark, roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, or seeds is fundamental to the well-being of millions of people. Where access to modern pharmaceuticals is limited, trees offer living pharmacies open to anyone with traditional knowledge on their medicinal properties.” (Global Tree Campaign)
Texas A&M Forest Service’s ALL ABOUT TREES has moved our live presentations to a web-based platform. This is in response to the important stay-at-home ordinances related to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Join us for this presentation series created to bring experts in forestry, arboriculture, chemistry, and science to answer your questions interactively through a dynamic CHAT feature.
Check with your local Texas Master Naturalist or Texas Master Gardener chapters for Advance Training AT credits. For CEUs from ISA, SAF, TNLA, and other organizational providers, a certificate of participation may be sent to you upon request for verification of attendance.
This class will be live on our WebEx platform allowing experts to answer your questions in real-time meeting state AT requirements.
__________________________________
For more information, contact:
JOHN R. WARNER, CF, CA, AF
URBAN DISTRICT FORESTER IV
Texas A&M Forest Service
1328 FM 1488, Conroe, TX 77384
936/546-3169 cell
tfsweb.tamu.edu
Invitation to Virtual Master Gardener College
Texas Master Gardeners are inviited to join the online Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener College June 25-28, 2020. This is really a neat opportunity to learn from another state’s Master Gardener program. Although not all of the information pertains to Texas gardeners, much will. Please take this opportunity for more innovated learning.
BMGA CEU credit.
BMGA Interns Only: Apply time to their volunteer hours.
Register by June 19, 2020:
Aggie Horticulture Live Facebook Events!
Join Aggie Horticulture on Wednesdays & Fridays at 1 p.m. Central time on the Aggie Horticulture Facebook Page to watch Facebook Live events!
Aggie Horticulture Live Facebook Events
Upcoming Events:
- 5/22/2020 – Friday 1:00 pm – From Garden to Glass DIY Mocktails/Cocktails
- 5/27/2020 – Wednesday 1:00 pm – “Some Like it Hot” – Growing Vegetables in Summer
- 5/29/2020 – Friday 1:00 pm – TBD
- 6/3/2020 – Wednesday 1:00 pm – Check your crape (and other plants) for scale
Qualifies for Master Gardener CEU Credits.
Prior Live Event Videos Available on Aggie Horticulture’s Facebook page:
- Raised Garden Beds, Location, Soil Mixtures and more!
- Starting vegetable seeds at home
- Planting vegetable transplants or direct seed into your garden!
- Home Fruit Production – Tips for Success!
- Small fruits for the backyard
- Floral Designs from your backyard – Growing, Cutting, Using your flowers and shrubs!
- Growing Herbs: Basil Bounty
- Backyard Grapes/Vineyards
- Pecan Grafting
- How to Prune Your Trees
- Lawn Care & Fertilization
- Drip Irrigation Essentials
- Grapevine Planting & Training Demo
- Tidying up your Irrigation System
- Keys to Successful Peach Production
- Indoor Gardening
- Growing Blueberries in Containers
All About Trees: Forests, Water and People Online Class
Thursday, May 21, 2020 2:00 pm
Central Daylight Time (Chicago, GMT-05:00)
COST: FREE
Thursday, May 21, 2020
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Click below link to register:
https://tfs.webex.com/tfs/onstage/g.php?MTID=e2b809db1e53296189759595ec886e545
Healthy forests are critically important for protecting water supplies.
Forests play an important role in providing clean water. More than 50 percent of the nation’s freshwater resources originate from forests that cover about one-third of the United States. In addition to providing clean water, forests also absorb rainfall, refill groundwater aquifers, slow and filter stormwater runoff, reduce floods and maintain watershed stability and resilience.
Several municipalities and water utilities have already recognized the important role forests play in supplying fresh drinking water, and, as such, have taken action to conserve these critical landscapes. Efforts are underway to explore these approaches throughout the South.
Approximately 89 percent of the South’s forestland is privately-owned, making it the nation’s stronghold for private forestland ownership. To sustain healthy forests and protect water resources, viable economic markets, careful forest management and well-targeted forest, conservation efforts are critical. (Southern Group of State Forester)
Texas A&M Forest Service’s ALL ABOUT TREES has moved several of our live presentations to a web-based platform. This is in response to the important stay-at-home ordinances related to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Join us for this presentation series created to bring experts in forestry, hydrology and arboriculture to answer your questions interactively through a dynamic CHAT feature.
Check with your local Texas Master Naturalist or Texas Master Gardener chapters for Advance Training AT credits. For CEUs from ISA, SAF, TNLA, and others organizational providers, a certificate of participation may be sent to you upon request for verification of attendance.
This class will be live on our WebEx platform allowing healthcare providers, certified forest therapy guides, foresters and arborists to answer your questions in real-time meeting state AT requirements.
Program information is available by emailing or calling John Warner, jwarner@tfs.tamu.edu or 936/546-3169.
BMGA Chapter Meeting – La Grange – Canceled
BMGA Board of Directors and Chapter Meetings-Sens Activity Center
Lunch-N-Learn Series – Fayette County: Horticulture Apps for the Homeowner by Kara Matheney
Washington County Lunch-N-Learn: Greenhouse Management by Allen Prescott
| Washington County 2019 Lunch-N-Learn Series. These gardening presentations are Free to the public. Light refreshments are provided or bring your own lunch. |
