As the Garden Grows - Gonzales County

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1 As the Garden Grows A Publication of the Gonzales Master Gardeners Gonzales, Texas June 2013 Volume 3, Issue 6 'Crazy' Ants Driving Out Fire Ants in Southeast By Douglas Main, Live Science Staff Writer | LiveScience.com Invasive fire ants have been a thorn in the sides of Southerners for years. But another invasive species, the so-called "crazy" ant that many describe as being worse has arrived and is displacing fire ants in several places. "When you talk to folks who live in the invaded areas, they tell you they want their fire ants back," said Edward LeBrun, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, in a statement from the school. "Fire ants are in many ways very polite. They live in your yard. They form mounds and stay there, and they only interact with you if you step on their mound." Crazy ants, on the other hand, "go everywhere," invading homes and nesting in walls and crawlspaces, even damaging electrical equipment by swarming inside appliances. A study published in the April issue of the journal Biological Invasions found that in areas infested with crazy ants, few to no fire ants were present. Exactly how they are able to out compete fire ants is so far unknown. In areas with crazy ants, the researchers also found greatly diminished numbers of native ant species, according to the study. Fire ants are known for their painful stings and have spread through the Southeast since arriving from South America in the 1930s. Crazy ants were first discovered in Houston in 2002, and they have already spread to coastal areas from Texas to Florida, according to the researchers. Although the "crazies" don't have as painful a sting as fire ants, they multiply in even greater numbers. They are also difficult to control since they don't eat the same poison baits as fire ants do, the statement noted. Last year, the crazy ant species was identified as Nylanderia fulva, which hails from northern Argentina and southern Brazil, according to a 2012 study in PLOS ONE. It's also known as the tawny crazy ant and was previously named the Rasberry crazy ant after the exterminator Tom Rasberry, Photo by : LiveScience.com/Joe MacGown, Mississippi Entomological Museum- Nylanderia fulva, also known as the tawny crazy ant.

Transcript of As the Garden Grows - Gonzales County

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As the Garden Grows

A Publication of the Gonzales Master Gardeners Gonzales, Texas

June 2013 Volume 3, Issue 6

'Crazy' Ants Driving Out Fire Ants in Southeast

By Douglas Main, Live Science Staff Writer | LiveScience.com

Invasive fire ants have been a thorn in the sides of Southerners for years. But another invasive species, the so-called "crazy" ant — that many describe as being worse — has arrived and is displacing fire ants in several places.

"When you talk to folks who live in the invaded areas, they tell you they want their fire ants back," said Edward LeBrun, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, in a statement from the school. "Fire ants are in many ways very polite. They live in your yard. They form mounds and stay there, and they only interact with you if you step on their mound."

Crazy ants, on the other hand, "go everywhere," invading homes and nesting in walls and crawlspaces, even damaging electrical equipment by swarming inside appliances.

A study published in the April issue of the journal Biological Invasions found that in areas infested with crazy ants, few to no fire ants were present. Exactly how they are able to out compete fire ants is so far unknown. In areas with crazy ants, the researchers also found greatly diminished numbers of native ant species, according to the study.

Fire ants are known for their painful stings and have spread through the Southeast since arriving from South America in the 1930s. Crazy ants were

first discovered in Houston in 2002, and they have already spread to coastal areas from Texas to Florida, according to the researchers. Although the "crazies" don't have as painful a sting as fire ants, they multiply in even greater numbers. They are also difficult to control since they don't eat the same poison baits as fire ants do, the statement noted.

Last year, the crazy ant species was identified as Nylanderia fulva, which hails from northern Argentina and southern Brazil, according to a 2012 study in PLOS ONE. It's also known as the tawny crazy ant and was previously named the Rasberry crazy ant after the exterminator Tom Rasberry,

Photo by : LiveScience.com/Joe MacGown, Mississippi Entomological Museum- Nylanderia fulva, also known as the tawny crazy ant.

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who first discovered it. The "crazy" moniker comes from the ant's quick, seemingly random movements.

Luckily, the crazy ant doesn't spread as quickly as the fire ant, advancing only 650 feet (200 meters) per year on its own, the release noted. Therefore, it's vital that people don't accidentally transport the ant, the prime method by which it has spread, according to the release.

CONGRATULATIONS

CLASS #3 GRADUATES

Standing: Thomas Pirkle, Bill and Sally Storey, Nancy Foster, Carl Bauer, Nick Wentworth, Lowell Turner.

Front row: Brenda Thompson, Nancy Boothe, Irene Rinehart, Frances Homann, Cheryl Hillman and

Class Coordinator David DeMent

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Graduation Trip to Gonzales Wholesale Nurseries

Lots of folks did those little things in May that make things so much better. Have you seen the great

chair cabinets that Carl made for us? The doors are on and they are all finished. They look just

fantastic. And how about Fran’s quilt blocks of the caterpillar and the butterfly? Really beautiful and

Graduates await Test Results!

David Dement thanks class assistant Cindy Turner David Dement thanks class assistant Lori Behlen

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so much a fit for the building. Noticed the bulletin boards? A flea market find ( as they say on TV)

updated with some paint trim to match the building. Good job, Fran and Arline. Been in the

greenhouse? It’s all cleaned up and neat. Thanks, Irene and Bill, for taking leadership of that

important ingredient. Thanks, Jim J. and Lowell, for the drip irrigation system in there. And thanks to

all the volunteers who did such a great job on the Teacher Event. It was really special and I think the

teachers really did appreciate it—and they got to see the building. Good job, David, getting the corn

and gourds planted. And Jim M. for hauling the compost and helping spread it. Too bad the weather

didn’t help us on the corn more. Way to go, Eggleston team. A fantastic year. I loved hearing the

teachers talk about what that program has meant to them this year. I know I’ve left someone out.

Ever noticed how Master Gardeners are always busy doing something that moves the cause along?

Good work, Master Gardeners!!!

(Submitted by Gail Johnson)

A Thought from Gail

Congratulations again to the members of Class 3. We are so very proud of all

of you and so pleased to have you. You have made tremendous contributions

this year and we are so very glad you came.

We had a really nice social to celebrate the end of the school year and the

start of summer. It’s so nice to have our building to spend some time together

and share what we cook. It really does feel like home. Thanks to everyone

who came and brought a dish and set up and cleaned up.

There’s not much planned for the summer at this point. Of course, recruiting our next class is high on

the list. Bring your families, friends and neighbors!!! Our classes are a center part of what we do and

it is that constant learning we all do that keeps us fresh. By the time you read this, Jim J, Jim M and

Bill will have installed a water line to the front of the building to give us the option of irrigation for some

landscaping out front. Some of us will likely try to plant a few things out there and make our building

look a little better. And we are waiting for word from Gonzales Elementary about helping the kids in

summer school this year. There’s Summer Saturdays going on. And maybe some more dialogues

about where we are going and what we want to accomplish. It’s good to pause and reflect from time

to time, I think. So enjoy summer and see you on Summer Saturday and do stay in touch!!!!

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Got a Vegetable Question?

If you have a question about growing vegetables, we have two new specialists ready to answer!!!

Lori Behlen and Jim Johnson have been to specialist training this month. As Vegetable Specialists, they will

be available to help take the mystery out of those cranky beans. Each of them will be working to finish their 20

hours of specialist teaching and volunteer work to earn their wings as Certified Specialists. So—put ‘em to work!!!

“Join Master Gardeners to learn for self & hopefully you’ll go further to spread your new knowledge to others.”

(Dennis Hale Wilson County Extension Agent)

Recruit Today!

Your challenge for the summer is to recruit at least one interested person to join the next Master Gardener class starting in September. Thanks to all of you who have volunteered to be class assistants for Class #4? If so, contact Cindy Turner or Gail Johnson for more details.

Summer Saturdays at Fair Street

Gail Johnson will host our next “Summer Saturdays” at FSB on June 15, 2013 from 9:30 until 11:30 am. Gail will give a short talk about the most common mistakes people make composting. Come enjoy a cup of coffee, visit and discuss horticulture and gardening with other Master Gardeners. This event is open to the public. The next two Summer Saturdays will be on July 20 and August 17.

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Greenhouse Management Committee (Submitted by Irene Rinehart)

The Greenhouse Committee has begun developing the scope/purpose of the Gonzales MG GH. Irene and Bill are co-chairs of this committee. At this point, we have the following: Purpose and Scope of the Fair Street Greenhouse:

To educate adult and children in horticultural practices

To provide a location for research

To be home for plant sale committee activities

To propagate plants for plant sale We have also allocated space in the GH for these projects

Eggleston Garden Gonzales Elementary Misting Table Propagation Table Research Plant Sale Committee Activities MG Classroom Activities Space for temporary activities: (Example: Teacher Appreciation pots…)

At present the GH plants are either MG landscaping plants, mother plants (only a few of these), butterfly garden plants and a few plants for next year’s plant sale. All of these are on a drip irrigation system. Bill, Carl, Fran, and Pam are making every other day checks of plants. Just a reminder: 1. Please check with the GH committee before bringing any plants to the GH. 2. Any person bringing plants is responsible for the care of their plants.

Fair Street Programs

(Submitted by Gail Johnson)

Fair Street is up and running and one of its missions is to support the students and teachers at Gonzales Elementary. Master Gardeners were off to a good start with the corn planting again this year with help once again from the Morgan family and Mr. Bert Ehrig. We had sure hoped to be picking corn again this year but we just couldn’t catch a break on the weather. Which also scuttled the cotton patch. Mother Nature just could not decide if it should be spring or not!!! So the cotton seeds are in storage and we will try again next year. But the gourds are in and if you stop by Fair Street and look along the back fence you will see the little heads of gourds pushing up through the ground. All the third graders at Gonzales Elementary—and their teachers—turned out to plant gourd seeds. They got a brief lecture from David on the history of gourds and how they have been used through time. Frances brought her beautiful painted gourd bird houses and the kids were fascinated with the beautiful art done by a local artist. Then Jim M and Gail joined David and Frances in passing out seeds and helping the third graders plant a seed. Of course, the children knew all about planting

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seeds. After all, they are Eggleston Garden graduates!!! And they are looking forward to getting to make their bird houses in the fall. We only had one complaint. One student told us it just wasn’t fair. She’s moving away this summer!

WIC Garden (Submitted by Bill Storey)

Cynthia Green reported that May was the highest attendance of clients since she has been working at the WIC garden. Cynthia had twenty-two clients participate in May. Also, Brenda Sheridan has been assisting Cynthia with maintenance in the garden and has proved to be a great asset to the WIC garden program. Contact Bill if you want to help with education opportunities on Fridays from 9-10 am.

Playing Hide and Seek in the Children's Garden (Submitted by Arline Rinehart)

If you haven't been to the Children's Garden in a while, you will be amazed how everything has grown. On recent visits to the garden to harvest tomatoes, squash, and green beans, it has become almost a game of hide and seek trying to find the veggies. The warmer days and the rain showers have certainly made the plants experience a growth spurt. In fact, if Nat King Cole were alive today to visit the Children's Garden he might be inspired to change the lyrics of his popular song. Is a rambling squash or rambling tomato as romantic as a rambling rose? At any rate, the beans, tomatoes, and squash have intertwined creating the need to play hide and seek when harvesting!

At the Teacher Appreciation Event a tentative harvest date was set for the last week of school. However, it became apparent a couple of days later that we needed to harvest much sooner than that because there were many green beans ready. The tomatoes and squash were growing fast and even the potatoes might be ready. An email was sent to the principal, teachers, and students explaining the need to harvest sooner. First-grade teacher Noelle Stowers responded with the following: "Thank you so much for hosting the Teacher Appreciation Celebration. It was lovely and the snacks provided were wonderful! I have really enjoyed working with Master Gardeners this year and so has my class. They are so excited when they know we will be going to the garden!”

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"I am unsure what will work best for the other teachers, but mornings are always best for my class and really any day is fine. I just need a day or so of advance notice for planning purposes.” "Thanks again so much for all of the time and effort that the Master Gardeners group has put in for our students. It is a wonderful experience." Trying to schedule anything extra during the last few weeks of school is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but persistence pays off. Teachers and Master Gardeners both learned on a Friday afternoon that on Monday, May 20, the first graders would be coming to the garden every twenty minutes to harvest potatoes, squash, green beans, and tomatoes. The children were very surprised to see how the plants in their raised garden beds had grown and changed. There were many squeals of delight as Master Gardeners Fran, Arline, Thomas, Shirley, Carl, Bill, Sally, Nancy, Frances, and Extension Agent Janie used garden forks to dig up the potatoes. Potatoes of all sizes were retrieved from the soil and washed off before being bagged for the trip back to school. Even though the green bean plants were loaded with beans, it still was like playing a game of hide and seek because the leaves covered the beans quite well. We even went on a search for tomatoes and squash and found some to harvest. Each class went back to school with several bags full of veggies that were distributed for students to take home. A few days later, I sent an email to the principal, teachers, and students thanking everyone for their participation and asking for their feedback and evaluation. The following email was received from the principal Christi Leonhardt: "Dear Mrs. Rinehart and Master Gardeners, On behalf of East Avenue Primary, I want to thank you for introducing our children to the wonderful world of gardening. They are excited and want to garden at home! Our children have learned so much from you all. Thank you again and we look forward to another year of gardening with children." And so what is happening now that the school year is over? The garden continues to be harvested and the produce is taken to the cafeteria at Gonzales Elementary which is the hub for meal preparation during summer school sessions at GE and East Avenue Primary. Meals for the summer youth program at the park are also prepared at the same cafeteria and delivered to the park. GISD Director of Food Services Cathy Connor was indeed happy to have the bounty from the Children's Garden. If you are interested in helping with the "hide and seek" harvest during June, please contact Arline for more details. Thank you to all the MGs who have helped at any time with the Children's Garden project during the recent school year.

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2013 Texas Master Gardener Conference

McAllen Convention Center in McAllen

Thursday through Saturday, October 17 – 19.

Hosted by Cameron and Hidalgo Counties

Experience the Blooms, Birds and Butterflies of South Texas!

Registration is now open http://2013tmgaconference.org

As most of you know, the GMG Association has submitted application for various awards (see March 2013 issue of “As the Garden Grows”) and the winners will be announced at the 2013 State Conference. Let’s ALL attend and see who the winners will be!! The program agenda is available online and looks to very interesting and informative. There are seven tours available for your enjoyment, many great topics, and workshops to participate in and two dinners with entertainment. Some of the topics included are:

Gourd Birdhouse Garden Journaling Hummingbird Gardens Coping with Drought Low Tunnel Backyard Strawberry Production Butterfly Gardening Good Sense Organic Gardening

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Plant of the Month (submitted by Fran Saliger)

Common Name: Bat-faced Cuphea Botanical Name: Cuphea llavea Category: Perennial Blooms: March to October; red and purple flowers resemble a bat’s face Height: 2-3 feet Width: 3 feet Light: Full sun or in filtered sun Water: drought tolerant but will flourish with watering during long dry spells

Propagation: From cuttings taken during growing season Notes: Pinching back in early summer will allow more branching; fertilize in midsummer and again in early fall with a light application of a balanced, slow release fertilizer. Work well with zinnias and Firebush or planted in front of cannas and upright-type elephant ears. No major pest or disease problems

Cooking What We Grow

(Submitted by Sherri Wagner)

Sour pickles are all the rage with younger gourmets (your grandchildren), but pickling a large batch can be daunting. This recipe for smaller batches makes things easy. Even better, you can put it in the back of the refrigerator and it will be ready in seven days. Since okra and cucumbers are coming in now, it's the perfect time to enjoy. 25 pickling cucumbers or okra 2 heads of dill 2 cloves garlic 2 hot peppers 1/4 cup salt 1 cup vinegar 2 cups water Clean 2 quart sized jars. Place 1 clove garlic and 1 hot pepper in each jar. Parboil vegetables for 2 minutes and place in jars. Heat vinegar and water (do not boil). Add salt and stir constantly until salt is dissolved. Pour over veggies, cover and place in refrigerator for 7 days. Serve cold.

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Tip of the Month

(Submitted by Fran Saliger from the Birds and Bloom website)

New Uses for Utensils

Old utensils and tools become handy garden helpers.

Dinner knife: Run the blade between bricks or cracks to remove shallow-

rooted weeds.

Fork: Easy to work in tight spaces of a rock garden or container planting, or for transplanting seedlings. Also useful for light weeding.

Garden hose: Use as a support for hanging baskets, or cut into pieces and weave together as a recycled doormat.

Tire iron: A great tool for removing rocks or uprooting stubborn weeds.

Area Events (Submitted by Julian Hennig)

San Antonio: “Watersaver Landscape Design School”, sponsored by Gardening Volunteers of

South Texas in partnership with San Antonio Water System, will be held Saturday, June 15, from 9

a.m. until 1 p.m.at the San Antonio Garden Center, 3310 N. New Braunfels. Presentations will be

offered on xeriscape principles, design, plant selection, and full-landscape drip irrigation installation

and conversion. $25 for individuals, $40 for households of two people. Fee includes three full-color

plant and landscape guides, CD version of the book “Drip-Line Gardening,” and one-on-one design

idea consultations. For more information and an application form, visit www.GardeningVolunteers.org

or call 210-251-8101. Enrollment deadline is Friday, June 7.

Austin: A “Composting and Soil Health” seminar, presented by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Service and its Travis County Master Gardeners volunteer horticulture program, will be held from 9:30

a.m. - 4 p.m., Saturday, June 15, in Room 1130 on the south campus of Austin Community

College,1820 W. Stassney Lane. The seminar will include presentations and demonstrations related

to composting and maintaining and enhancing the nutrient value of soil used for growing plants.

Attendees must register at https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu or by phone at 979-845-2604. If

registering through the website, enter the word “soil” in the keyword search field. The $35 fee

includes all presentations, a box lunch, water and snacks. Seminar topics will include: “Composting

— Life After Death,” (learn how to improve your soil no matter what kind or how much you have by

composting kitchen and yard waste); “Some Like it Hot and Some Like it Cold,” (acquire knowledge

about hot and cold composting and how your plants should determine the type of compost you needs

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to make); “Ground to Ground,” (learn about AgriLife Extension’s citywide initiative to divert nutrient-

rich spent coffee grounds from landfills and put them back to work in yards, gardens and farms);

“Worms’ Gift to Mankind — Vermiculture,” (some of the very best compost is created by worms, and

this presentation provides instruction on all phases of vermiculture, including supplies, worm sources,

moisture, heat, food and harvesting); “Who Would Like a Drink of Compost Tea?” (produce your own

“liquid gold” by setting up a home brewing system using a five-gallon bucket equipped with an

aquarium pump and air stones); and “Zero Waste by 2040!” (Austin’s goal is to reach zero waste by

2040, which means reducing the amount of trash sent to landfills by 90 percent. Austin Resource

Recovery has implemented multiple measures to achieve zero waste, including a home-composting

program and rebate. Learn more about what Austin Resource Recovery is doing and how to qualify

for a rebate on a composting system). This event is not sponsored by Austin Community College.

Parking is free, but is not allowed in the reserved area. Check in with campus security and provide

them with your vehicle’s license number.

San Antonio: Austin Landscape Designer Pam Penick will speak on “grass-less" yards at the

monthly Essentials of Gardening class, Monday, June 17, at San Antonio Garden Center, 3310 N.

New Braunfels, from noon until 3 p.m. Penick is the author of “Lawn Gone!—Low Maintenance,

Sustainable, Attractive Alternatives for Your Lawn.” The class will include a book signing. The

second session of the class will be “Full Landscape Drip Irrigation Conversion” with Ron Csehil,

Bexar County Master Gardener and co-author of “Drip-Line Gardening.” Free and open to the public.

Presented by Gardening Volunteers of South Texas. For more information, visit

www.GardeningVolunteers.org or call 210-251-8101.

College Station: The “Master Gardener Specialist First Detector-Plant Disease Program” will

be held in College Station on Monday, June 24 through Wednesday, June 26. The First Detector

Training program is a national program established by the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN)

to promote the early detection of invasive and exotic pathogens and pests through education and

enlisting the help of citizen “scientists”. The program will cover the importance of monitoring for high

risk pests, basic plant disease diagnostic skills, proper methods and procedures to sample and

submit a diagnostic sample, photography for diagnostics, methods for preventing the introduction of

diseases of concern and other related disease problems. Registration cost: $175 and the deadline to

register is June 17. For more information, call 979-845-8032.

Victoria: A program on “Container Gardening – Flowers and Vegetables” will be presented by

Linda Hartman and Gloria Spell, Victoria County Master Gardeners, at the Victoria Master Gardener’s

Lunch and Learn with the Masters on Monday, July 8 from Noon – 1 p.m. at the Pattie Dodson

Health Center, 2805 N. Navarro, Victoria. Bring your lunch and drink. Free and open to the public.

San Antonio: “Superpower Plants – Our Summer Heroes” will be offered Friday, July 12, from

10 a.m. – noon at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Discover the superpowers of native plants!

We’ll introduce you to succulents, grasses, perennials, and trees that are botanical heroes. Find the

best choices for your garden and learn how to create beds and care for these plants. Sponsored by

SAWS. Fee: $10 ($9 members). Please contact [email protected] or Sasha Kodet at

210.207.3270 or [email protected] for more information or to register.

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Georgetown: A dynamic and intensive 3-day “JMG® Specialist Training” conference will be held

Tuesday, July 23 through Thursday, July 25, from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. at the Williamson County

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office in Georgetown. The National Junior Master Gardener®

Program is growing good kids by igniting a passion for learning, success, and service through a

unique gardening education. And to support these efforts, this training is designed to assist those

coordinating or supporting JMG programs at the local and regional level. Upon completion of the

JMG® Specialist Training Conference, you will receive certification as a JMG® Specialist by the

National Junior Master Gardener Program office and a host of invaluable resources that will help

grow JMG® and youth gardening programs in your area. Attendees will participate in JMG® Program

presentations, including a comprehensive program overview, curriculum reviews to bring you up to

date on the various program components available, current research on the benefits of gardening

with youth through JMG, ideas for creating successful partnerships, and strategies for cultivating

community support and fundraising. Registration Cost: $275 ($300 after July 2, 2013). For more

information or to register, contact Stacey Gomez, Conference Coordinator, at 512-943-3300.

San Antonio – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will present a program on Selecting Texas Superstar Plants for the Landscape from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on July 30. The program will take place in Suite 208 of the AgriLife Extension office for Bexar County, located in the Conroy Square office complex, 3355 Cherry Ridge Drive, San Antonio. This program will provide attendees the opportunity to learn all about Texas Superstar plants and the advantages of choosing these plants for the landscape as well as how best to grow them. David Rodriguez and retired AgriLife Extension horticulturist Dr. Jerry Parsons will co-present this program as part of the agency’s popular Backyard Gardening series. The cost for the program is $10. For more information and to register, contact Torres at 210-467-6575. College Station: In conjunction with the Texas Garden Clubs, Inc. and Texas AgriLife Extension

Service, the next “Landscape Design School, Course III”, is going to be offered at Christ United

Methodist Church, 4201 State Highway 6, in College Station, Tuesday, September 10 and

Wednesday, September 11. These courses are offered in four separate schools, approximately six

months apart. Participants may take the four courses in any sequence. Garden Club members,

Master Gardeners, nurserymen and others who are interested in furthering their knowledge of

landscape design are welcome to attend. This is an opportunity for more in-depth training in

landscape design than is normally included in the Master Gardener curriculum. Each course is

typically approved by local Master Gardener chapters to qualify for 12 hours of continuing education

toward maintaining certification for Master Gardeners. For additional information or to register, click

here or contact: Mrs. Karin Wallace, Department of Extension Horticulture, at 979- 845-8565 or by e-

mail at [email protected].

San Antonio: For a list of various upcoming master gardener continuing education opportunities in

the San Antonio area listed by date, please visit http://www.bexarcountymastergardeners.org/master-

gardener-s-corner/master-gardener-ceus.

McAllen: Hosted by Cameron and Hidalgo Counties Master Gardeners, the “2013 Texas Master

Gardener Conference” will be held at the McAllen Convention Center in McAllen, Thursday through

Saturday, October 17 – 19. For conference information, please visit http://2013tmgaconference.org.

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RESOURCES:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension-Factsheets, guides and databases about horticulture and gardening

www.txmg.org

Texas Master Gardener Association

www.plantanswers.com

Gardening information by Dr. Jerry Parsons, TAMU

www.growgreen.org

Good source for Texas Landscape Plants-Click Native & Adapted Plant Guide

http://texastreeid.tamu.edu

Tree Identification and much more

www.texasstar.org

Native Texas plants identification and information

www.plantcare.com

Plant Identification

www.sabot.org

San Antonio Botanical Gardens

www.wildflower.org

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, TX

www.texassuperstar.com

Information about Texas Super Star plants

www.plants.usda.gov

Plant Database for the USA

www.austinorganicgardeners.org

Organic gardening information

www.sanantonioherbs.org

Information about San Antonio Herb Association

www.npsot.org

Native Plant Society of Texas

www.davesgarden.com

Great source for Plant Identification

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DATES TO REMEMBER: (Check elsewhere in newsletter for details)

Unless otherwise noted, all meetings/classes are at the Fair Street Building (FSB)

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

June 9 10 11 12 13 14 WIC Garden 9am

15 Summer

Saturdays 9:30 am

16 17 18 19 20 21 WIC Garden 9:30 am

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23 24 25 26 27 28 WIC Garden 9:30 am

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30 July 1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 Noon MG Mtg

12 WIC Garden 9:30 am

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14 15 16 17 18 19 WIC Garden 9:30 am

20 Summer Saturdays 9:30 am

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Editors: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office

Fran Saliger 1709 E. Sarah DeWitt Drive [email protected] Gonzales, TX 78629

Gail Johnson Phone: 830-672-8531 [email protected] Fax: 830-672-8532

E-mail: [email protected]

Web pages: http://gonzalesmastergardeners.org

http://gonzales.agrilife.org

Extension programs serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability or national origin.

The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas cooperating.

Individuals with disabilities who require an auxiliary aid, service or accommodations in order to participate in this meeting are

encouraged to contact the County Extension Office at 830-672-8531 to determine how reasonable accommodations can be made. The

information given herein is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the

understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Texas A & M AgriLife Extension Service.