Ready to Become a Texas Master Gardener Volunteer? Apply Now!

If you like to learn about plants and would enjoy sharing your knowledge with people in our community in various ways, consider becoming an El Paso County Master Gardener volunteer. In our yearly fall classes, which begin with an orientation, you will receive intensive horticultural training. The classes include xeriscaping principles, vegetable gardening, lawn and tree care, soils, identifying garden pests, and more.

After training, you’ll apply your new knowledge by volunteering at least 62 hours within the next year at approved sites to become a certified Texas Master Gardener. Recertification yearly is encouraged through continued volunteering and by taking continuing education classes.

Master Gardeners are members of the local community who take an active interest in their lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers, and gardens. We are enthusiastic, willing to learn and help others, and can communicate with diverse groups of people.

You can learn more about the El Paso County Master Gardener program and our history by reading the About Us pages.

To register online, go to: https://evs.tamu.edu/application/master-gardener by August 1st.

Come to Learn Which Plants and Trees Thrive Here in Summer

Save the Date!   

Live educational events and online webinars are some of the ways we present learning opportunities for gardeners in our area. During the year, look for our Information Tables where you can get handouts and ask questions about landscaping or gardening. You can also find previous webinars on our YouTube channel.

Here are some upcoming event dates so you can mark your calendar. Click the event link, if shown below, for more information, or watch for our Events page to be updated.

• June 13 — Top Summer Superstars You Can Grow in the Heat! – A GROWS Community Workshop
• July 11 — Collect and Direct Desert Downpours to Transform Your Landscape – A GROWS Community Workshop
• August 1 — Deadline to register for the El Paso County Master Gardener Program (see flyer on this page and this page about Texas Master Gardeners in El Paso).
• August 8 — Desert Fall Gardening: Prep Soil, Conserve Water, Time It Right! – A GROWS Community Workshop

Read AgriLife TODAY for Texas Gardening News

Texas A&M AgriLife has a news blog page called AgriLife TODAY with several topics like Lawn & Garden, Environment, Life & Health, and Science & Tech. As gardeners, we’re especially interested the Lawn & Garden category and we want to share these articles with you.

• Boost Plant Growth with a Simple Soil Test
• Why Should I Get My Soil Tested?

• Proper Tree Planting for More ‘Fruitful’ Results
• Foundational Tips for No-Dig Gardening
• Newly Named Earth-Kind Roses Support Sustainable Gardening

Plant and Gardening Questions

Do you have gardening or landscape questions and don’t know who to ask? The El Paso Master Gardener Help Desk will be happy to assist you. You’ll be helped by a volunteer who will provide research-based horticultural information. When you complete the Ask the Help Desk form, you’ll be able to send photos and choose the option to receive an answer by phone or email.

Descriptions of the plant in question or problem are more helpful if they include some background details, information about its growth or decline, and plant care practices you’ve been using or have tried. All photos are appreciated and are especially useful if they show the plant in flower, if possible, as that aids in identification.

Another way to leave questions for our Help Desk volunteers is through the Ask the Help Desk contact form on our Ask Us page. You will receive an answer from a Master Gardener volunteer by phone or email. 

El Paso Master Gardeners provide a free service for the public by answering your gardening questions. We follow Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service guidelines and do not endorse or recommend specific products or places of business.

By the Season – Gardening in El Paso

Find other helpful articles at Gardening in El Paso – Articles and Gardening Topics – Links. Find more videos at Videos and More.

June Monthly Tips

Vegetable Planting Calendar for El Paso County
Vegetable Varieties for El Paso County
Vegetables – Easy Gardening Series (scroll down for Spanish)

Bermudagrass Lawn Management Calendar
Pests of Foliage and Flowering Plants

Weeds of Texas Turf (good photos for ID of weeds)
Weeds-Pest Notes Library (see weed management tips)

Easy Steps for Drip Irrigation 
El Paso Desert Blooms Water Smart Landscaping Guide
Gardening with Perennials (including dividing; sections in Spanish)

Pruning Shrubs in the Low and Mid-Elevation Deserts in Arizona
Follow Proper Pruning Techniques

What Tree is for Me?
Help Your Tree Survive in El Paso (PDF)
Regional Recommended Tree List (TPG List)
Trees for High Desert Communities
Fruit Trees for El Paso
Training and Pruning Newly Planted Deciduous Fruit Trees
Texas Tree Planning, Planting, Pruning, and Care Guide (text and video; Spanish version at page bottom of selected pages)

Rainwater Harvesting
Lawn Water Management
Efficient Use of Water in the Garden and Landscape
Watering Trees and Shrubs: Simple Techniques for Efficient Landscape Watering
Watering Tips for Lawns, Vegetable Gardens and Trees – Gardening in El Paso

Videos:

Soil Testing by Skip Richter, Horticulturist—Agrilife.org
Why Test the Soil? by Ignacio Munoz, El Paso Master Gardener
How to Prune Small Trees by Southwest Yard & Garden (nmsuaces)
How to Build a Drip Irrigation System by Southwest Yard & Garden (nmsuaces)
How to Apply Drip Irrigation Systems by Southwest Yard & Garden (nmsuaces)
Irrigation Quick Fixes by Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas

Good to Grow Radio Shows
(Current and Archived)

Good to Grow Home Page

Vegetable Container Gardening
Container Gardening, Pt. 1
Container Gardening, Pt. 2
Indoor Plants and Gardening
Evergreen Gardening (caring for houseplants)

Weeds

Rainwater Harvesting
Watering Your Landscape
Irrigation, Part 1 of 2
Irrigation, Part 2 of 2

Garden Pests

Landscape Designs for Desert Gardens
Native Plant Selection
Container Gardening

Toxic Plants and Your Pets
Rose Care

The Efficiency of Irrigation with Trees and Turfgrass
Maintaining Desert and Adapted Trees

Garden Design Tips
Garden Design Trends

Benefits of Mulching
Composting
Native Plants

Tree Selection and Planting
Trees-What to Know Before You Buy

Tree Pruning (2015)
Tree Pruning (2018)
Proper Pruning Tips

Listen live on Saturdays at 11:15 a.m. on 88.5 FM or stream from the archives at KTEP Good to Grow.
Read more about our Good to Grow Radio Show, here.

Newcomer’s Gardening Snapshot for El Paso County

Many new residents arrive in El Paso each year from climates and growing conditions much different than the Chihuahuan desert. This Newcomer’s Gardening Snapshot highlights some main features of El Paso’s climate and provides links to helpful, informative websites. It also provides links to local gardens exhibiting native and adapted plants for local landscapes. We hope this information assists new gardeners in getting off to a fast start in their new Texas home.

Read more »

Improve Your Skills with Our
Informative El Paso Gardening Handbook

El Paso County Master Gardeners created a one-of-a-kind illustrated gardening handbook for our area. The El Paso Gardening Handbook addresses El Paso specific gardening concerns and best practices.

Read more » 

Texans Ask About Gardening–Vegetables, Herbs and More

Vegetables Grown at Ascarate Demonstration & Teaching Garden        (El Paso Master Gardeners Facebook)

From Asparagus to Swiss Chard plus “Non-Crop” plants and Herbs, you’ll find many of your questions answered in Everything Texans Ask About Gardening, an informative 67-page publication by Joseph Masabni and Patrick Lillard. Organized largely by vegetable name, the questions and answers cover general issues, diseases, and insects. Since this is a digital document produced by Texas A&M AgriLife, you can easily search for a topic or keyword by using the “Find” command if on a PC. Otherwise, here are some page numbers by section:

Vegetable Q&A – pages 1-54
Minor Crops – pages 54-61
Herbs – pages 61-63
Non-Crop Q&A – pages 64-67

Who We Are

The El Paso County Master Gardeners Association, as a member of the Texas Master Gardeners Association, is a non-profit educational and charitable organization supporting the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in providing quality, relevant outreach and continuing education programs and services to the people of El Paso County. Our local volunteers receive extensive training and experience in a wide range of subjects before certification as Texas Master Gardeners.

In collaboration with the County A&M AgriLife Horticultural Agent we educate the community through various events, workshops, and demonstration gardens. Our Master Gardeners volunteer through our Outreach programs and community Projects to provide information and recommendations on horticultural topics to all residents of El Paso County.

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