Bluebonnet Master Gardener AssociationTexas AgriLife Extension Service

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2020 Master Gardener Open Houses

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The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association is hosting three Open House events in January, 2020.  If you are interested in learning more about the Master Gardener Program in Texas or want to sign-up for the intensive 5o- hour certficiation training class, please be our guest at one of these three events:

La Grange Open House
January 8, 2020
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Fayette County AgriLife Meeting Room
255 Svoboda Ln, Rm 134
La Grange, TX 78945

Brenham Open House
January 9, 2020
11:30 a.m.– 1:00 p.m.
Washington County Fairgrounds Sales Facility (Entrance on Independence St across from Sherriff’s Office)
1305 East Blue Bell Road
Brenham, TX  77833

Bellville Open House
January 9, 2020
10:00 a.m. 12:00 noon
AgriLife Extension Office – Austin County
800 E. Wendt St.
Bellville, TX 77418

The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association 2020 Training Class will be held in Brenham.  Space is limited.  For more information and to apply online visit our Application Page.

 

Earth-Kind Landscape Short Course in Somerville

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The 2019 Earth-Kind Landscape Short Course by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Horticulture Sciences Program is a continuing education program designed for professionals responsible for managing and maintaining urban green space such as residential landscapes, parks, commercial properties and golf courses.

The course will also benefit municipal, schools, city personnel and landscape businesses, particularly those interested in developing sustainable urban landscape conservation programs.

Texas Master Gardeners earn CEUs for this course.

When:
December 16 – 18, 2019

Where:
Texas A&M HortTREC
3199 CR 269 E.
Somerville, TX 77879

Speakers:

  • Dr. Mike Arnold
  • Dr. Gerald Bergner
  • Ms. Wizzie Brown
  • Dr. Becky Grubbs
  • Dr. Mengmeng Gu
  • Dr. Young-Ki Jo
  • Dr. Mark Matocha
  • Mr. Shea McLamore
  • Ms. Laura Miller
  • Dr. Genhua Niu
  • Dr. Kevin Ong
  • Dr. David Reed

Tree Give-Away!

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Hurrican Harvey Community Tree Recovery

American Legion Hall
442 Meyer Street
Sealy, Texas  77474

UNLOAD AND SET UP OCT 24, 2019
GIVE AWAY OCT 25, 2019 9:00 am -5:00 pm

Please CALL,TEXT, OR EMAIL RENEE TO sign up for one or both days

RENEE@IRCSURPLUS.COM
832492329

Trees availalbe:
Live Oak
Shumard Oak
Overcup Oak
White Oak
Southern Magnolia
Mexican Plum
Baldcypress
Tree Give Away Poster

Hurricane Harvey Community Tree Recovery Tree Distribution

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Tree Give Away Poster

Trees available:
Live Oak
Shumard Oak
Overcup Oak
White Oak
Southern Magnolia
Mexican Plum
Baldcypress

Are you one of the many who lost trees due to Hurricane Harvey?  If so, please join us for the Hurricane Harvey Community Tree Recovery Tree Distribution on October 25, 2019 in Sealy, Texas.  All area residents are eligible to receive free trees to replace trees lost due to Hurricane Harvey damage.  The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association is proud to join event sponsors International Paper, FedEx, Arbor Day Foundation and Texas A&M Forestry Service to distribute the trees and provide planting instructions to citizens seeking to replace lost trees.

Through the Arbor Day Foundation’s Community Tree Recovery Campaign — a partnership between the Arbor Day Foundation, International Paper and FedEx — Bluebonnet Master Gardeners Association will distribute 500 trees to homeowners in Sealy and surrounding areas on Friday, October 25th beginning at 9:00 a.m. at American Legion Hall, 1630 Meyer Street in Sealy, TX. These new trees will be free of charge for residents and will help to replace trees damaged and destroyed by the past four years of weather devastation.

Dan Lambe, Arbor Day Foundation president said, “By replanting, we strive to bring healing and hope to the people and the communities in which they live, as well as help return the beauty and the value trees bring back to their properties.”

“Through the Arbor Day Foundation’s Community Tree Recovery program, International Paper is able to contribute to the resilience of the communities where our employees live and work,” said Tom Eugate, International Paper’s Sealy Container site manager. “Our entire business depends on the sustainability of forests, and we are proud to help provide healthy trees for this community and for the generations to come.”

The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Chapter in Texas is associated with its four county Texas A&M AgriLife Agricultural Extension offices. The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association is a four-county chapter receiving guidance from four AgriLife professionals; one from each of Austin, Colorado, Fayette & Washington Counties.

With the flooding from Hurricane Harvey, many trees in the area have been seriously affected, and they will present a decrease in tree vigor and stability. Because of the growth patterns of trees, flood damage effects are usually only expressed 2-4 years after the event. Due to the massive number of stressed trees in the area, pests will reach peak populations and present a management problem for as many as 5 years into the future.

 

Horticulture Conference – 5 Hour CEUs

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5 Hour CEU Conference hosted by the Horticulture Committee of Austin County, Texas on Friday, August 23, 2019 at the Liedertafel Hall in Sealy, TX.

Topics to be covered:

Gardening 101
Urban Gardening
Lawns & Ornamentals
Fruit & Nut Trees
Feral Hogs: Environmental Impact & Control Options

****Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association members may contact the Extension Office about volunteer opportunties connected to this event.

 

2020 Training Class

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Our  2020 Master Gardener Certification Training Class is scheduled each Thursday from January 16th – April 23rd with the final graduation class on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.  Participatants from Austin, Colorado, Fayette & Washington Counties are welcome. The 64 hours of classes will be held at the Washington County Extension Sales Facility at 1305 East Bell Road, Brenham, Texas 77833 (use the Indepdance Rd entrance) , plus some field trips to be announced in class.  The updated training manual compiled by the Texas Master Gardener Assocation, is inlcuded in the $175 registration fee.  You may register online below or contact the Washington County Extension office at (979) 277-6262 for more information.

 

Bluebonnet Master Gardener Volunteer Program Application

 

2020 Training Class Flyer

Map to Open House & Class Location

2020 Training Class Flyer

Tree Care Advanced Training for Master Gardeners

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Master Gardener Tree Care Advanced Training

Conducted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Personnel,
Texas Forest Service Personnel and Tree Care Industry Professionals

Tree related questions are one of the primary things that make the phone ring in an Extension office. This training is designed to teach Master Gardener volunteers about landscape trees and troubleshooting common tree problems so they can serve county residents and extend the outreach of Extension programming into the community. The training is design to go above and beyond what you learned in the Master Gardener Training Course. Highly qualified instructors will provide advanced training in the classroom as well as outdoor demonstrations of tree care practices.

To learn more and apply visit the online registration at: https://dallas-tx.tamu.edu and follow the Horticulture and Master Gardener tabs

For more information contact the Collin County Extension Office at 214-904-3050 or Stephen.hudkins@ag.tamu.edu

 

 

Fruit Tree Pre-Sale Extended Thru February 2019!

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Photo of peachsThe BMGA Fruit Tree Pre-Sale is Extended!

If you missed out and did not order your fruit trees in January, the Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association is extending its follow-up sale from the 2019 Multi-County Fruit Tree Management Seminar organized by Texas A&M AgriLife County Extension Agents in Austin, Colorado, Fayette, and Washington Counties.  Pre-order fruit trees are now on sale through February 2019.
This sale offers a variety of reasonably priced fruit trees that are specially selected to fit the growing environment in South Central Texas.  All selections are in 3-Gallon containers unless otherwise specificed. This sale varieties of :

Citrus Ginger Coffee Banana
Avocados Loquat Fig Coffee
Blueberry Mulberrry Plum Peach
Blackberry Nectarine Tumeric Persimmon
Apple Olive Pear Pomgranate

 

 

 

The tree pick-up location, dates and other information are included on the order form.

Order forms are available at the AgriLife Extension Offices for the four counties and online with the forms below. Please email the order form to BMGAtrees@gmail.com by March 1, 2019.   Payment will be due at the time of tree pick-up.

2019 February Fruit Tree Order Form – Excel

2019 February Fruit Tree Order Form – PDF

Washington County Lunch-N-Learn – Trees

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Gardening Lunch-N-Learn Series – Washington County Fairgrounds Sales Facility

1st Tuesday of February-May & September-November 

The Bluebonnet Master Gardeners of Washington County are pleased to present the 2018 “Lunch-N-Learn” series to be hosted on the first Tuesday of each month, February-May & September-November.  The series boasts topics related horticulture with the homeowner and backyard gardener in mind!  Speakers are experts in their fields and practical gardeners with great tips and information for everyone.  As we see spring on the horizon this will be a great opportunity to begin thinking about plans for spring gardening, composting, microgreens, and much more!

 

Program registration will begin at 11:50am with the program beginning at 12:05pm and concluding at 12:55pm. At the conclusion of each session the speaker and our Washington County Master Gardeners will be available to answer questions.

 

The Lunch-N-Learn Sessions will be held at the Washington County Fairgrounds Sales Facility, 1305 E. Blue Bell Road in Brenham. All Master Gardener Lunch-N-Learn programs are free to the public and you are welcome to bring your own lunch and drink.  Light refreshments will be available courtesy of the wonderful Master Gardener Hospitality Committee!

 

February 6th – Vegetable Container Gardening

March 6th – Irrigation

April 3rd – Plant Diseases

May 1st – Ants, Ants, Ants

September 4th – Wildflowers

October 2nd – Trees

November 6th – Moles & Gophers

 

The Master Gardener Program is a state-wide volunteer development program offered by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and is designed to increase the availability of horticultural information and improve the quality of life through horticultural project. Bluebonnet Master Gardeners serve Austin, Colorado, Fayette, and Washington counties and have project gardens in each of the four counties.  Classes to become a Master Gardener begin every January and meet weekly through April.  If you are interested in becoming a Master Gardener or would like additional information about the class be sure to give us a call or ask one of our Master Gardeners at the Lunch-N-Learn programs!

 

For more information, contact the Washington County Extension Service at (979) 277-6212 or visit the Washington County Extension Service website at http://washington.agrilife.org/ag/master-gardeners-lunch-n-learn/  Be sure to check out the Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association and Washington County AgriLife Extension on Facebook also!  Miss one of the Lunch-N-Learn sessions?  Check out our website for the publications for each session!  http://washington.agrilife.org

Order Fall 2018 Fruit Trees Now!

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BMGA member Charlene Koehler once again graciously volunteered to organize BMGA’s Fall Fruit Tree Sale which is a sales tax exempt fundraiser for BMGA.  Information on how to order is below along with a link to the order form.  Due to Hurricane Harvey, many gardeners and fruit tree growers lost trees in the floods.  BMGA’s sale offers an opportunity to replace flood damaged trees and fill in the gaps in your orchard.  The trees available for order are appropriate for BMGA’s four county area, but if you have any questions, please contact Charlene at 979-885-4250 or email her at citrusbmga@gmail.com

Also, check-out further information about growing fruit from AgriLife.

How to Order
Fill out order form
Email form to citrusbmga@gmail.com
All orders must be submitted by October 15, 2018
Fall Fruit Tree Sale 2018-Order Form

NO PAYMENT UNTIL PICK-UP

Pick-Up Your Order
When: Trees will be delivered on Monday October 29, 2018
Place:  Sens Activity Center, Bellville
Time:  8:00 -9:00 a.m. and 10:15 – 10:45 a.m.