Plant Management Systems: Urban Horticulture

Two separate classes of the Master Gardener course were offered once again during the winter and spring months of 2008 in Santa Fe and Eldorado. The 15 week course prepared a total of 51 citizens from Santa Fe County with research-based knowledge on proper gardening techniques of the Santa Fe area. The information which was gained will assist the course participant not only with their own gardening experiences, but also to assist the County Agent in disseminating sound home horticultural advice to other gardeners who have inquiries or wanting to know how to correct their own horticultural problems. Of the 51 students who enrolled in the classes, 47 completed the course successfully. Furthermore, of those students submitting their course evaluation forms, 75% rated the course as "highly satisfactory" in terms of meeting their expectations, with the other 25% of the participants rating it as "satisfactory". The Agent took on the responsible for contacting speakers, developing the course syllabus, ordering manuals, and teaching the session on Integrated Pest Management and Pesticide Safety. Many calls are received throughout the year from individuals wanting to get on a list to receive information and an application for the 2009 Master Gardener course. As of the end of September 115 people are on the list. On one August afternoon many of these prospective students were invited to attend a social gathering at the Audobohn Center (which is one of the sites in which the Master Gardeners do some volunteer work) so that they could interact with Certified Master Gardeners and ask questions about the program. Many of those prospective students were hoping to fill out their applications at this event.

As Master Gardener interns and Certified Master Gardeners, this group of volunteers continues to provide a great amount of service to the greater Santa Fe area in the form of education, outreach and community service. Over 2950 hours of volunteer service valued at minimum of $47,200 was provided by the Master Gardeners from the Fall season of 2007 to the late summer of 2008.

Some of the ways in which the Master Gardeners provide volunteer hours to the County Extension Office is through the following:

The fourth annual Gardening Fair was organized and facilitated and with 12 different presentations made by Master Gardeners, the Extension Specialists, and other gardening experts from the Santa Fe area. Once again the master gardeners also developed a directory of landscape and gardening related businesses and organizations along with several pages of water conservation tips which were distributed at this one day event and other public outreach venues. The cost of printing the directory was underwritten by the Rio Grande Basin Initiative. Also inclusive of the Gardening Fair once again this year was the trade-fair in which 32 organizations and businesses were invited to have an information table. While trying to determine the exact number of fair attendees is a cumbersome task, it is estimated that over 1200 people attend the event.

A plant sale was held once again in conjunction with the annual Garden Fair with the proceeds being used to cover the cost of projects that the Master Gardeners have been working on or are in the process of developing. Some of the plants that were sold were plants which the Master Gardeners themselves propagated in the hoophouse which they share with the Santa Fe Botanical Gardens.

The Master Gardener Home Gardening Hotline continues to be staffed 2 mornings every week from early May to the end of October. Typically 3 volunteers are available to staff and answer questions at each session. A dedicated phone line provided by the County Extension Office was established in 2002 which includes an answering machine that is checked mid-week by a volunteer. The Master Gardeners answer an average of 20 calls per week on the hotline.

With the relocation of the Santa Fe Farmers Market into a large space, the Santa Fe Master Gardeners were once again able to have an information table which they staffed on Tuesday Saturday mornings. Through the information table the master gardeners provided literature, answered questions, promoted the hotline and promoted the Master Gardener course. Approximately 1200 contacts were made through the course of the market season with the vast majority of the contact being related to gardening questions or problems.

Several demonstration gardens continue to be managed and cared for by the Master Gardeners.

1) The management of the Herb/Drip Irrigation Demonstration Garden continues to be managed by the County Agent and the master gardeners. This demonstration garden is a Rio Grande Basin Initiative project which demonstrates efficiency of drip irrigation in backyard gardens while demonstrating varieties of culinary herbs suitable to grow in the Santa Fe area.
2) The Xeric Demonstration Garden in front of the County Extension Office continues to be maintained to demonstrate low water use ornamental landscape plant material.
3) The Audobohn Native Plant Demonstration Plot is a small garden which was planted and has been maintained since 2003 at the Randall Davey Audobohn Center. The purpose of the plot is to demonstrate native plants that can make for an attractive landscape and yet attract small wildlife into the landscape.

The Santa Fe Master Gardener Association once again worked with Habitat for Humanity by assisting with the planting of new plant material around newly built homes for the fourth consecutive year. This year 6 new homes received the assistance from the master gardeners and provided home owners with garden care and maintenance information.

One of the local nurseries once again asked the Santa Fe master gardeners to setup an information table every Saturday morning for 3 hours from May through July. The program lasted for 13 consecutive weeks. The nursery recognizes that these volunteers are well trained in the subject of horticulture and can provided unbiased and sound information to the public. The team leader for this project reported that they received many good questions from the public. In addition, a second local nursery requested the Santa Fe Master Gardeners to setup an information table their location on Sunday afternoons during the month of September, however, this location wasn't as busy due to the fact the growing season was winding down.

Also new this year, the Master Gardeners began doing some site preparation for a new demonstration garden that will be installed at the Eldorado Community Center. This initiative is in collaboration with the Board of Directors of the community center. Along with some site preparation, the Master Gardeners also conducted a workshop on composting in which 32 gardeners participated in an effort to reduce and recycle yard waste.

Urban Horticulture contacts have been an increasing interest in Quay county. In 2007-08 horticulture calls received in the office amounted to over 41% of the total. Weekly gardening articles address issues such as irrigation management, xeriscape principles, native plant materials, pest management, vegetable gardening, and timely practices.
Actions are being taken in implementing a demonstration garden at the City of Tucumcari Historical Museum. Efficient gardening priniciples will be highlighted. Topics to be covered will include irrigation technology, native plant material, and other landscape principles.

Impact: During the growing the season a number of calls were sought needing information pertaning to horticulture issues. Most calls requested information and site visits concerning tree, shrub, and lawn concerns. Eighty percent of the calls were in May and June and the primary cause of all problems was drought conditions. Most residents were not applying enough water for proper growth and maintance. Several calls dealt soil analysis. Soil samples were taken and sent to the lab and the agent would get the report and and notify the resident of what was required for proper fertilizer application.

Impact: The Master Gardener course in Lea County is a 13 week course that begins in mid-January and will end in April. This years group of 11, finished with a nursery tour the last weekend of April. This set of individuals help in two landscaping projects that took place in June and in August. These projects were in conjuction with the beautification projects in the City of Lovington and Hobbs. An additional irrigation program was held for the residents of Lea County which was utilized as a recruitment tool for future participants. With the graduating class of 2008 the number of Certified Master Gardeners grew by 4 additional members. These certified members assist or host the annual flower and garden show at the annual Lea County Fair.

Furtermore, the agent conducted six presentation to local clubs and local leaders of the county. The local groups that were invloved were the Llano Estacodo group which is a womens organization in Lovington, the Green Thumb ladies of Hobbs, the Eunice Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club of Hobbs, the kiwanins Club of Lovington and teh Hobbs Rotary group. These presentation were conducted in May and June with the main emphasis on lawn and tree care. Many contact were made, thus resulting in the Lea County Extension Office receiving many calls pretaining to tree and lawn concerns.

Impact: In January of 2008 the Lea County Extension and NMDA hosted its 18th Annual Pesticide Applicators Training. The program has two purposes 1) assist clientele in maintaining there pesticide license by obtaining CEU's, and 2) train future license holders and preparing them for the required examinations that will have to be taken. Presenters for this program are specilaist and NMDA employees. There were 91 participants in the 2008 workshop. Most participants work for local communities and schools, with participants from surrounding counties. Most of the participants are getting there CEU's. Preparation for 2009 has began.