Plant Management Systems: Urban Horticulture

2009 HOMESCAPE COURSE

Many new homeowners have moved in recent years to Sandoval County. Many bought new homes with little or no landscaping. They are at a loss as to what to do with their properties. Requests began coming to the extension office wanting help in assisting them with design and landscape. Three master gardeners came up with a course where these people go design and put a plan together for their property "Homescape Solutions."

They instructed them to bring current diagrams from home. How to plan a landscape was based on their immediate and future desires. 21 residents attended and they all completed designs for their yards.

Many were grateful as they had called architects, landscape designers and had been quoted several hundred dollars for the work they did themselves.

They were given tours, adaptable plant lists and how to design focal points.

VEGETABLE GARDEN FOR DONATION TO FOOD BANKS

Master Gardeners in Sandoval County teamed up with a landowner in Corrales to raise vegetables. The purpose was to grow proudce for donating to food banks in Sandoval County. They have so far donated 1,200 pounds of tomatoes, 500 p0ounds of green beans, and a ton of other vegetables. Recipients are Storehouse West and St. Felix Pantry. Sister Edna said the garden has helped fill a much needed gap. She said there has been an increase in demand for the pantry mostly from people who have lost their jobs recently. Often she says the pantry does not have much to offer when it comes to fresh vegetables so people anticipate delivery of the fresh Corrales crop. Vegetables tend to be expensive and it's something many cannot afford.

SUMMARY 2009

Sandoval County trained volunteer Master Gardeners have provided science-based horticultural education and information to citizens. Today a network of over 100 volunteers provide advice on practices that help protect the environment and foster community stewardship.

The Agent needed to respond to the growing number of requests from the urban and suburban public for advice and information on home gardens and landscapes.

Extension created the Master Gardener Program to utilize university-trained volunteers as field educators. Volunteers receive between 40 plus hours of specialized horticultural education from NMSU specialists and other experts. In return, they volunteer to provide horticultural instruction and answer questions from the public. They also write horticultural articles and columns that appear in local media, including the state's largest newspapers and provide numerous public workshops and seminars.

Sandoval County Master Gardener programs are active in the county. There are more than 100 active Master Gardener volunteers working on behalf of Sandoval County, contributing more than 5,000 hours of volunteer effort toward Extension projects and focusing on the following educational priorities: 1) water conservation, 2) protection of water quality, 3) reduction of the economic and ecological damage by invasive species, 4) increasing the application of sustainable management poractices to home and public landscapes, 5) increasing local knowledge of the economic and ecological value of home and public landscapes and 6) promoting increased health and well-being through gardening. The time contributed by these volunteers is valued at over $100,000. Master Gardener volunteers each give an average of 62 hours of volunteer service during the year, each assisting over 60 people and in total serving over 20,000 people with science-based horticultural information and programs. They also educate over 2,000 children each year.

SANDOVAL COUNTY PLANT CLINICS PROVIDE ONE-ON-ONE ASSISTANCE

Master Gardener volunteers in Sandoval County work one-on-one with community residents and the green industry to provide assistance with plant problems and treatment recommendations, as well as education on sustainable gardening methods.

There is an ongoing need among residents for knowledge about sound horticulture practices such as sustainable landscaping, water conservation and water quality protection, integrated pest management, and control of invasive species. Adoption of these practices by home gardeners can lead to increased economic and ecological value of home and public landscapes and improved health and well-being through horticulture. Many need one-on-one assistance to identify plant problems and obtain treatment recommendations. Commercial pesticide applicators and green industry personnel also use extension staff assistance and Plant Clinic resources.

The Sandoval County Master Gardener Plant Clinic provides assistance to community residents and green industry personnel on an individual basis to assist them with gardening problems and provide horticulture education. Clients can access Extension staff, master Gardener Volunteers, and Plant Clinic resources by visiting in person March through October or via phone and email year-round. Plant clinic resources include books, fact sheets, publications and videos on plant identification, pests and diseases, weeds, landscape trees and shrubs, perennials, grasses and groundcovers, native plants, greenhouses, plant propagation, and many other horticulture topics. Services provided include plant and weed identification, plant problem diagnosis, advice on horticulture methods and practices, and pest management recommendations.

An average of 200 people use Plant clinic services each year. Clientele visiting the Master Gardener Plant Clinic in 2009 were surveyed for changes in knowledge and practices as a result of information and advice from Extension staff and volunteers. 99 percent reported increased knowledge and horticulture issues and 97 percent reported intent to change gardening practices.

SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPE GARDENING

Master Gardener volunteers in Sandoval County are teaching home horticulturists sustainable landscape practices that help save water and protect the environment.

There is an ongoing need among residents for knowledge about sound horticulture practices such as sustainable landscaping, water conservation and water quality protection, integreated pest management, and control of invasive species. Adoption of these practices by home gardeners can lead to increased economic and ecological value of home landscapes and improved health and well-being through horticulture. For some people the preferred method of attaining knowledge is to attend classes.

In 2009 a variety of classes covering multiple aspects of home horticculture have been offered by Sandoval County Master Gardeners. Teaching emphasis was placed on water conservation, protection of water quality, reduction of economic and ecological damage by invasive species, increased applicatio of sustainable management practices to home and public landsclapes, increased public awareness of the value of home and public landscapes, and improved health and wellness through gardening. A combination of lecture, demonstrations and hands-on teaching activities were provided.

According to evaluations administered at the end of each class, 98 percent of the attendees reported an increase in knowledge, 60 percent reported a personal benefit from the classes, and 98 percent reported an intent to change their gardening practices.

Courses included SW Gardening Series; 7 - 2 hour courses
Gardening with the Masters - 9 - 1 1/2 hour classes
Cabezon Horticulture Series - 6 - 2 hour classes
meadowlark Senior Center - 10 - 2 hour classes
Urban Tree workshop - 1 - 4 hour class
Pruning - 5 - 2 hour classes
An average of 500 residents attended classes this past year at each class. Attendees were provided with numerous free handouts and offered the opportunity to get questions answered.

SANDOVAL COUNTY WATERWISE DEMONSTRATION GARDEN AWARDED 2009 INTERNATIONAL MASTER GARDENER SEARCH FOR EXCELLENCE AWARD

The Sandoval County Extension and Master Gardeners in cooperation with the Rio Rancho WaterWise Demonstration Garden was awarded the 2009 Search for Excellence Award at the International Master Gardener Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada March 23, 2009. The International Master Gardener, Search for Excellence is the recognition program of Master Gardener volunteer work throughout the United States and Canada. Search for Excellence has seven categories in which Master Gardeners can demonstrate their outstanding contributions to their communities. The Award shows that significant learning took place, whether by the Master Gardeners or the general public they were involved with. All volunteer projects done are significant to their communities, but not all are Search for Excellence projects. The Search for Excellence is designed to recognize outstanding group projects, not an individual who does outstanding work. The award was received by Rudy Benavidez, Program Director, Sandoval County Cooperative Extension and Linda Poe, Sandoval County Master Gardener.

HGTV PROGRAM FEATURES SANDOVAL COUNTY GARDENING EVENTS

The national television program ‘Gardening by the Yard’ hosted by Paul James visited Sandoval County and filmed several points of interest. He discovered what he wanted to visit through the Sandoval County Extension website. He contacted the County Agent, came to New Mexico and along with his crew filmed the Rio Rancho WaterWise garden because of the unique garden design. He also selected High County Gardens in Bernalillo, NM because of the xeriscape plants shipped nationwide. He discovered a vineyard and Anasazi Fields Winery which is partly owned and managed by a master gardener. He expressed to the County Agent that he really enjoyed his visit and what he saw in Sandoval County and would like to do a follow-up in the near future. The program aired in May, 2009.

1. Media
TV and newspaper: Numerous readers and viewers have approached me personally at various events and a.)stated that they have learned much about gardening in the Southwest from Southwest Yard and Garden (both print and tv), b.) people attending Extension Programs state that one reason they attend is that they learned from Southwest Yard and Garden (print and tv) that the Extension Service has information that benefits them and they want more Extension information, c.)many questions for the print Yard and Garden are prefaced with a thank you regarding what they have already learned, d.)viewers of tv SW Y&G have requested more shows and some potential underwriters have expressed willingness to help fund production o f new shows.
I have received messages on my office answering machine that just said “Thank you for all you do to help us garden in New Mexico.”

2. Master Gardeners
With specialist assistance Master Gardener programs in the counties are growing and providing increased assistance to the Extension Service agents as stated in the Agents’ impact statements.
Some Master Gardener programs have resulted in significant teaching opportunities for county residents:
Lea Co. – Waite House – the oldest residence in Lovington was donated to the Historical Society and Museum. The museum then gave access to this house to Lea County Master Gardeners to develop a demonstration garden and access to the house as a classroom.
NM Jr. College in Hobbs has been impressed by the Lea County Master Gardener program and has offered to provide classroom space for teaching Master Gardeners, advertising for the Master Gardener classes, and willingness to offer Junior College continuing education credits to people who take the Master Gardener classes.
Santa Fe - Habitat for Humanity has been using Santa Fe County Master Gardeners to design and install water efficient landscapes at the homes they build. The Master Gardeners then teach the new homeowners how to garden appropriately and conserve water.
El Rancho de los Golondrinos has worked with Master Gardeners maintaining a heritage apple orchard to demonstrate historical gardening practices to visitors.
Master Gardeners have maintained demonstration gardens and collaboration with NMSU Extension faculty (George Dickerson’s herb garden and Curtis Smith’s olla garden). This provides hands-on experience for the Master Gardeners who then teach this to their fellow citizens and to visitors to the demonstration garden site adjacent to the County Extension Service office.
Otero - An Otero County Master Gardener has become a regular landscape and garden columnist for the local newspaper providing appropriate information to the citizens of her county.
Sandoval - A demonstration garden in developed in cooperation with city of Rio Rancho, Sandoval Extension Service, and Master Gardener has been highly regarded locally and nationally.
3. Partnerships with other institutions:
CNM (formerly TV-I) – as chairman of the advisory committee for the Landscape Horticulture training program at CNM the Horticulture Specialist was in a position to encourage cooperation between NMSU and CNM. Dr. St. Hilaire on the NMSU end and Paul Zalesak at CNM have developed articulation agreements between NMSU and CNM. Distance learning venues were developed so that NMSU professors could teach some of the classes at CNM and some CNM teaching could be made available to NMSU students as desired by the faculty.
Northern NM Jr. College requested advice regarding landscape problems on the campus in Espanola, NM. A visit by the Horticulture Specialist and County Agent resulted in several solutions to the problems that the Physical Plant director and Grounds supervisor stated that they would implement. They were very thankful for the help and want to increase cooperation with NMSU.
4. As reported in County Agents’ impact statements, specialist support of county agents and county Master Gardeners has enabled them to meet the changing needs of the nursery industry and home gardeners in their counties, to develop educational programs in schools and among the public.
Specialist support of county Extension programs have enhanced agent respect within the counties to the point that they are often the source of information that cities, counties, and other organizations use for referrals.

Based on the objective to respond to 95% of the requests for horticultural information providing the clientele which will lead to a minimum of 20% increase in knowledge.

Impact: The agent made 1214 one-on-one contacts with Los Alamos residents in the area of integrated pest management during the program year. Each client contact is approached with a strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques such as pesticide use, biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices, and use of resistant varieties. Of the 439 contacts surveyed, all indicated at least a 50% gain in knowledge.