Plant Management Systems: Urban Horticulture

Urban horticulture is an extremely broad topic, which in some ways could also cover the work done by this agent under other Plans of Work. It is this agent’s most active POW field, encompassing all home-owner interactions, most commercial operation interactions, most site visits and phone calls, most committee and conference work. Topics covered under this broad heading include home vegetable gardening, urban tree care, lawn and landscape care, xeriscape issues, insect identifications, and related subjects. The Master Gardener program assists the agent considerably in this area, though not without some cost of agent’s time.

We have about 200 active Master Gardeners in the county. Due to the large size of the program, and the many and varied other duties of the agent, this group has developed its own governance structure and momentum. Agent acts as Faculty Advisor, and reigns in the wild ideas as needed, but much of the credit for the success of the program is due directly to the wonderful volunteers we have. Many put in way more than the 40 hours of volunteer time we require. They enjoy the learning, the educating of others, and the camaraderie of the corps. While acknowledging the very positive feedback the members give me, I feel that the program would benefit from a bit more active involvement on my part.

In a typical year, our Master Gardeners report about 10,000 hours of volunteer time in service to our County office. I do not have final numbers for 2008 yet, but those numbers will be comparable. Many of those hours are logged on the Hotline, every call of which is one that I don’t have to take (though a good number get referred on to me for further elucidation). Other volunteer activities include staffing tables at various libraries on certain weekends, 4-H Seeds Program, ARCA group home garden projects, Organic Demo Garden, and various others.

In 2008, we enrolled 60 new students in our county Master Gardener classes. Of these, 10 paid extra to take the classes without becoming volunteers. Over the 13 weeks of the class, we lost 5 students. A simple evaluation tool administered on the last day of classes yielded the following information: 47 people responded. Of these, 100% indicated they learned new information and/or skills; 100% indicated they would use this new information/skill set; 25.5% felt the new information would be "quite" useful to them, while 74.5% indicated the information would be "very" useful to them. 100% indicated they would recommend the program and the presenters to other people. I also asked for commentary on my direct role as one of the instructors (I teach approximately 25% of the classes in this county). Comments received tended to sound like the following direct quotes:
"One of our better speakers, most interesting"; "Has always been available and extremely helpful. Very approachable. Excellent interpersonal skills."; "He is very knowledgeable, entertaining and makes lectures more interesting - he should present more often."; "Joran is as good as it gets - an excellent presenter, enormous knowledge in the field, personable and entertaining as well as informative - a true expert whose enthusiasm shows - inspirational! 5 stars"; "Very practical, down to earth information and relaxed knowledgeable presentation style."

2008 was a good year for urban tree care in Bernalillo County. This agent is currently the only International Society of Arborists (ISA) certified arborist working in Cooperative Extension in New Mexico. Over 50% of calls, walk-ins and site visits are tree-care related. Information requested by the public ranges from selection and planting, through pest/disease identification and old-tree-health/hazard assessment. Given the large amount of mis-information available to the general public, agent feels he makes a huge difference not only to the trees’ owners, but for the trees’ health as well.

Agent arranged and led two tree pruning workshops early in the year. One focused on young fruit trees, and was attended by about 8 Master Gardeners, as well as two people who worked with the hosting institution, the Center for Action and Contemplation. No formal evaluation was done; however, the participants all reported having learned new information. The second workshop was hosted by the National Hispanic Cultural Center. For this workshop, I enlisted the aid of a number of local arborists, including: Bryan Suhr (UNM Physical Plant), Nick Kuhn (City of Albuquerque), George Duda (recently retired from State Forestry), and Lance Davisson (Duda’s replacement as State Urban Forester). We had about 40 people in attendance, including Master Gardeners, employees of some landscape care companies, grounds crew from the NHCC, and interested area residents. The workshop was publicized with the help of University Communications. The workshop format was instructional/hands-on: the first part of the day was spent with the various experts discussing pruning practices (why prune, where to prune, etc.) and addressing specific trees on site; the latter part of the workshop involved having the participants actually pruning the trees. These were all small trees that did not require safety rigging, and all pruning was done with hand tools. No formal evaluation was done, but several people remarked how much they appreciated the experience, and the NHCC has contacted me recently to set up another such workshop next year.

The agent also presented a lecture on urban arboriculture to both the Albuquerque Area Extension Master Gardeners (AAEMG), as part of their regular training schedule, and to some Santa Fe County Master Gardeners, as a special presentation followed by a hands-on pruning demonstration. Of that latter group, 12 filled out evaluation forms. 100% stated they had learned new information; 58% felt the new information would be “quite a bit” useful to them, while 42% felt it would be “very much” useful to them. Some of the written observations included: “Very specific, down to earth presentation. The speaker is very clear.”; “Very dynamic speaker. New info presented that he just got from a professional conference. Also older info presented in a new light.”; “Joran Viers is an excellent speaker – enjoyed his pruning session as well.”.

Eleven AAEMG members and two non-members also attended a day-long Tree Tour, organized in conjunction with Ms. Judy Nickel (ISA certified arborist, member of Think Trees, and an AAEMG member). This driving tour of notable Albuquerque trees is something we try to do once or twice a year, and provides a hands-on venue to learn tree identification, cultural issues, and pest problems. All participants expressed having learned valuable new information.

The agent has recently been appointed to the New Mexico Forest Re-Leaf Tree Planting Advisory Committee, operating under the State Forestry Division of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. This committee reviews grant requests made by NM cities, towns and other public entities, and awards funds for tree planting projects on public lands with a strong community benefit factor.

Much of the work I do is with area greens industry members, whether that is in identifying insect and disease problems brought to me, or meeting with industry professionals on-site to diagnose problems. This industry is in great need of good information and accurate identification of issues that may, or may not, be problems. I’ve not introduced a way for them to formally evaluate these interactions, but based on the large number that keep coming back for assistance, they must be benefiting.

Agent is also a member of the Xeriscape Council, which puts on a top-notch water-conservation conference every year, a conference of national and international stature. The main conference aims mostly at the design professional, which is appropriate in that many landscape problems are due to a lack of understanding by the designer about the horticultural constraints at play in a given site. There is also a series of free workshops (known as the expo) that immediately follow the conference, and these are aimed at the homeowner who wants more hands-on information on a variety of topics. In my role with the Xeriscape Council, I help set the agendas for the conference and expo, and do presentations at one or both each year. Given the tremendous water issues facing us today in the Southwest, this work with xeriscaping is very important. I do find, however, that out in community, many of the ideas are poorly, or only partially, employed. Often I advise homeowners and landscape care professionals on the pros and cons of different irrigation and mulching schemes, as those two aspects are often inappropriate.

This year I submitted grant proposals to the Rio Grande Basin Initiative, for the purposes of helping establish three school gardens. The funds were used exclusively for drip irrigation systems, but my involvement went far beyond designing and installing these relatively simple systems. One school is a charter Montessori elementary school; one a middle school program working with behaviorally challenged students, and the last a post-high school transition program for behaviorally/developmentally challenged young adults. As part of the process at all these schools, the students were involved in putting the irrigation systems in place. I asked the teachers to provide some evaluation, by way of having the students make comments. Only one teacher really followed through, at the elementary school. Some of the kids comments were, “Awesome, I like doing this work.”; “I think it will grow. This was really fun. This will give our plants a way to drink water.”; “I was so disappointed that I had to leave before we finished. I really enjoyed learning about a drip system. Now I really understand how one works.”
With the young adults group, I also took them on three field trips to see local gardens/small farms. This was both entertaining and challenging, but thankfully their teachers were there to respond to the challenges. Robert Burnett, the lead teacher for this program, writes, “Dear Joran, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all your assistance over the past few months. With your help we have been able to achieve our objectives of planting a community garden, improving our growing skills, and learning about the agriculture industry. We have enjoyed working with you and truly appreciate your flexibility and special attention. Our Garden is doing well thanks to the drip irrigation system you supplied and helped us install. Plus, the field trips we took with you this summer provided great examples of what we can do if we put in the time and effort. I look forward to working with you more in the future as we continue to pursue our gardening goals.”

Approximately 75% of agent’s phone calls, office visits, and site visits are with private citizens. Topics they need information on vary widely, from home vegetable gardening and fruit growing to plant identification and care advice. The following quote from a homeowner is illustrative of typical responses from contacts: “…He spent over an hour with me, discussing the problems with my tree…solving problems that I have had with other plants…He is obviously intelligent and knowledgeable. He listened to me carefully and answered my questions with great patience, kindness and completeness. Moreover, he took pains to make certain that I understood his explanations…Those who consult him will painlessly learn much, improve their skills, and thereby improve the Albuquerque landscape.”

Agent also provides presentations to groups of private citizens, such as garden clubs and homeowners’ associations. Over the almost-five years that agent has been in this position, approximately 90 presentations have been made to a wide variety of groups, from home-school children to senior citizen groups, and on a wide variety of topics. Some of these have been lecture style, some have been hands-on. I have been weak on doing formal evaluations, but the online evaluation system that the IT people are helping me set up should make that process much easier, both for clients and me.

Eddy County Extension conducted Master Gardner program with 27 participants and 20 graduates of the program. Volunteers reported over 35,000 contacts and about the same number of hours. Participants attended 14 two and a half hour class. The graduates voluntered to conduct various work shop in the county, both nort and south.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE - MASTER GARDENERS
For the past ten years, Sandoval County has trained Master Gardener volunteers. An average of 35 students take the classes and about 28 is the average retention as some take classes for business purposes or belong to city, county or state government.
We have approximately 100 volunteers on average at the end of the season.

MASTER GARDENER - IMPACT
In 2007-2008, 100 Sandoval County Master Gardeners contributed over 5,500 hours of volunteer time in Sandoval County educating residents on plant science, demo gardens, farmers markets, etc. This is equivalent of 3 full time employees. They have logged over 9,000 contacts of which 4,000 were children at Water Festivals, Heritage Days, Harvest Festivals and school demonstration gardens.

SOUTHWEST HOMEOWNER CLASSES
Each week in February and March a different class is held to teach homeowners and new residents about horticulture practices. Topics are soil, climate, appropriate trees, shrubs, vines, fruit trees, landscape design, small fruits, herbs, lawn and ground covers. An average of 80 residents attend classes and gain knowledge they can implement in their home landscape.
Classes are held at a County facility and the tourism department is very impressed with the attendance and the quality of the programs, not to mention the residents attending the classes.

GARDENING WITH THE MASTERS
This is a once a month education program that is conducted by Master Gardener and agent. Topics vary greatly. Average attendance at these programs is 20 per session.
Many of the residents praise or provide favorable comments about subject matter. this past year topics were: Xeriscaping, Olla Irrigation, Herbs, Soils, Bees, Installing Drip system, Fruit Trees, Vegetable Gardening, Preventing Soil Erosion, Water Harvesting, and Pruning the Home Landscape.

SENIOR CITIZEN HORTICULTURE SERIES
Master Gardeners/Agent taught a mini series of horticulture classes at a Senior Center. Average attendance was 15 per week. Topics varied from square foot gardening, potting plants, cactus, watering, fertilizing, making flower arrangements, container gardening, and raised beds. Programs were set up so Senior citizens could continue gardening thereby enhancing their quality of life.
PLANT CLINICS
This past year we hosted 5 plant clincs to provide information and to diagnose problems homeowner's were experiencing. These provide outreach and provide exposure to our Master Gardener program, but most important it provides hands on instruction to veteran and new Master Gardener interns.

THE WATER-WISE DEMONSTRATION GARDEN-SANDOVAL COUNTY EXTENSION MASTER GARDENERS
The Project is the WaterWise Demonstration Garden located in Rio Rancho, Sandoval County, NM. In 2000 Rio Ranch oinvited the Sandoval County Extension Master Gardeners to join a committee researching the establishment of a waterwise demonstration garden for this quickly expanding community on a tight water supply. The challenge: educate New Mexicans about the Southwest's very alkaline, high desert soils at 5000 feet with 9 inches annual rainfall - establishing a yard or garden that is beautiful and low-water as possible using plant material. Convince New Mexicans: Landscaping is no longer hot gravel and a Yucca.
The WaterWise Garden is a xeriscape template for homeowners in the community. The Garden demonstrates hands-on learning experience for Master Gardeners and a teaching opportunity for Master Gardeners on projects in the garden.
The WaterWise Demonstsration Garden is divided into five different landscape venues displayed as separate, easily accessible xeriscape tools for the homeowner. Homeowners and visitors visually understand several design techniques that can be easily replicated in thei rown yeards. The WaterWise Garden demonstrates various mkulching materials, mulching techniques showcasing flexibility and effective use of materials. Irrigation systems are set up in a number of ways. Example: Bubblers on large trees; spray and sprinklers systems in grass areas, drip irrigation, with variable rate per hour measurement on all other plant material. In this arid climate mulch and irrigation intensify in importance to the homeowner's understanding of waterwise gardening. The WaterWise Garden is free and open very day, morning to evening.

WHAT WAS DONE
SCMG coordinate planning, design and implementation of projects with Agent. Once SCMG have a design or activity planned, it is taken to rio Rancho or appropriate organization for approval. The total Garden area consists of a little over an acre of planted space.
MAIN GARDEN
The main garden was established in 2001 and updated by the SCMG in 2006 (approximately 24,000 square feet). An example of that expansion was a grape arbor establishing shade and creating an iris garden. A wedding was held uner the arbor the following season.

UPLAND FOREST GARDEN
The Upland Forest Garden was established in 2006 (8,000 square feet) and illustrates water drainage with a dry creek bed lined with river rock that directs water to a predetermined destination further into the garden. The SCMG planted 30 roses against a fence to harvest water from neighboring slope watered with sprinklers to demonstrate water harvesting and resourcefulness in planning. During rains the adjacent roof water runs off on the lawn side and enhances both lawn and roses. Harscape includes walls to differentiate garden spaces, paths, large moss-rock benches, 10 boulders (3,000 lb.+) and a latilla bridge across the dry creek bed. Plant material includes several varieties of trees, evergreen and decidous; perennial shrumbs/flowers all recommended and available to homeowners. All information is taught for tour groups, to individual visitors, MG trainees and community volunteers. They can take this information home and begin to see how to use water wisely and maybe benefit from their neighbors watering practices too!

MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN
The Mediterranean Garden was established in 2007 (8,000 square feet). A team of 16 master gardeners designed this area as a dry, heat, wind tolerant garden. A grant was applied for and received in March and had a completion date of 4 months later! M.G.'s demonstrated great team work to implement the design, including coordinated efforts with Rio Rancho Parks and Recreation, Water Utilities and Cultural Enrichment departments for the use of heavy equipment, pick up and delivery of materials. SCMG also worked with businesses in the community for donations of certain materials not included in the grant such as irrigation supplies and hardscape materials. Neighborhood homeowner's watched the process and/or learned by working with us to obtain first hand experience to use in their landscaping project.
Project includes hardscape of 2 - 16' X 8' water catchments connected with a small culvert; 2 moss rock benches, path system connecting all garden area; 16 tres; hundreds of perennials and native grasses; water harvesting, drip irrigation and 4 kinds of mulch. Sandoval Master Gardeners and homeowner's learn about extreme heat, drought tolerant trees like Hackberry, Honey Locust and Kentucky Coffeetree. Volunteers involved have experienced ease of care of these less planted perennials and ornamental grasses that are highly recommended for the southwest.

VETERAN'S MEMORIAL WALK
The Veteran's Memorial Walk was established in 2007 (1,300 square feet) and is the entrace to the Veteran's Memorial Garden. The SCMG were inveited to design and implement a renovation of this area by Rio Rancho Veteran's Association. SCMG updated the irrigation system, added salvias, yuccas, fountain butterfly bushes, agastache mint plants, dwarf plumbago and crabapple trees mirrored on each side of the walk. SCMG replaced 3 steps that impeded wheelchair movement with a ramp. With the ramp in place, SCMG and Park & Recreation were able to complete the path system that connected the entire garden and Park in February 2008. The response from the visitors about accessibility to the gardens with the ramp was overwhelming.

LANDS END
The Lands End was established in 2008 (4,000 sf) was contentious with the library next door view gnarly weeds and debris from their main windows. MGs implemented our normal design, funding procedures and came up with an eye pleasing - waterwise space for on-lookers from the library windows and a new teaching tool for the community and Master Gardeners. The garden includes a water retention berm allowing water to fill to certain level and spill over one side and flow into dry creek bed in Upland Forest Garden 30 feet away. Master Gardeners planted on the berm for erosion control. MGs built second berm with 6-10% rocks. This is planted appropriately to slow and retain water off library roof during heavy rain storms. All these techniques are shown and taught to homeowners, visitors and tours. Since 2006 no pesticides have been used inside the gardens or commercial fertilizers.

RESULTS
Already during 2008, the WWG had approximately 6,700 visitors. The SCMG developed a directory wtih short plant descriptions and maps for self-guided tours. SCMG's actually have hands-n experience working the WaterWise Garden, that will aid answering homeowner's garden questions. there has been great cooperation with Rio Rancho and the Master Gardeners. Homeowners can visualize xeriscape techniques for their yards and gardens. In 2007 Rio Rancho held a "Garden Party" for the community celebrating the expansion of the WaterWise Garden, and to honor the Sandoval County Master Gardeners as "Aquifer Ambassadors" for the water savings generated by many homeowners using the techniques demonstrated in the WaterWise Garden. Since 2006 SCMG have work3ed over 9,500 hours in the gardens.

Rio Rancho noted water usage in the WWG diminished beginning in 2006 after completion of Upland Forest Garden project. Water usage continues to be monitored and is in a range that is clearly a savings comparing 2005 and earlier percentages.

LEARNING AND IMPACT
Impact on the community continues to grow. SCMG conducted tours of the garden for a master's class from NMSU in Las Cruses, NM; Esther Bone Library personnel, many departments of the City of Rio Rancho, Southwest Homeowner's classes, Meadowlark Senior Center Gardening Clases; a third grade class researching "Bugs and Plants" as well as less formal individual tours for homeowners coming to the gardens on our work days. SCMG participated as part of the 2007 Esther Bone Library series of presenters in June with a PowerPoint presentation: 'History of the WaterWise Garden' followed by tour of the gardens with lemonade, cake, cookies and handouts about waterwise gardening.
Curtis Smith - Extension Horticulture Specialist NMSU Cooperative Extension Service invited 20 Kansas Extension Agents to see the WWG during their tour of the state. The Kansas agents had Master Gardener programs and were interest in seeingMG activity in New Mexico. It is interesting to discover that many homeowners have replaced blue-grass lawns with buffalo mix lawns after seeing the beauty of low-maintenance native grasses. Howeowners are adding more perennial space; cutting back on the grass areas and their landscaping looks great and is much less labor intensive for them. Rio Rancho homeowner's are also taking away their "gravel" yards and becoming creative with their outdoor space with ideas from the gardens. Howeowners like to see the drip system in the WWG. WE move bark, uncover the irrigation lines and demonstrate assembly. the WWG gives homeowners confidence to take on the project of updating their landscape to be more efficient and beautiful at the same time. People tell us they had professional landscapers update their yards and gardens with ideas brought from the WWG, while others do the landscalping themselves.

NATIONAL EXPOSURE!
Home & Garden Television (HGTV) contact Agent in Sandoval County about filming the WaterWise Garden in May, 2008. Following the progress and implementation of the gardens via the internet on the Sandoval County Web Site:
[http://cahe.nmsu.edu/county/sandoval/mastergardener/water-wise--garden.html], Paul James - "Gardening by the Yard" program, brought his crew from Seattle, Washington. A feature story on the Garden will appear on one of the episodes to be shown in a few months. "Gardening by the Yard" is internationally viewed, so the Agent and the Sandoval County Master Gardener's think it's an honor that the WaterWise Garden can be seen all over the world! What an excellent venue to spread information about waterwise gardening and the education provided by NMSU Extension!

Rio Rancho painted a photo of the WaterWise Garden on it's new Water Utility Van. Ruben Archuleta, Water Conservation Technician for Rio Rancho, is always directing people wanting to know where that "place" is - to the WaterWise Garden as he works around the city.

The 2007 Water Utilities Calendar featured the WaterWise Garden and explained steps to a waterwise garden. The gardens are recognized by National Wildlife Backyard Habitat area by the National wildlife Federation.

Signage for the garden includes WaterWise Garden Principles plus a free handout to take with you; a Miracle Mulch sign with an explanatory handout and 12 signs with handouts, maps and plant directories to assist with touring the WWG.

THE CORRALES VILLAGE GARDENS
The Corrales Village Gardens, which are designed and maintained by SCMG, are located on the grounds around the Corrales municipal buildings on Corrales Road. These demonstration gardens exhibit close to 100 species of drought-toleeerant trees, shrubs and perennnials which can be grown successfully in clay soil.

PURPOSE
One purpose of these gardens is to oprovide a "plant list" for people who live in the river valley with its colder temperatures and heavier soils. Many xeric plants will not tolerate these conditions.
Providing gardening information to the community around us is the other main goal of these gardens. We work in a very visible location with a great deal of traffic passing by or visiting the municipal buildings. It is easy for people to stop and ask a question.

WHAT WAS DONE
Planning new projects and determining the renovation and maintenance needs of the gardens is a collaborative process with the SCMG who are involved. The staff of the Public Works Department checks in with us most workdays to see if their services are required.

RESULTS
Almost all of the origional plants are thriving five years later. This year, we have added two new sections to the gardens. The first new planting area is located on the west wide of the new courthouse/visitors' center. This area is highly visible to passing traffic and borders the new walking path constructed in Corrales last year. A medium-sized cottonwood tree dominates the bed and will allow us to focus part of this project on shade plants. A dry stram bed was constructed along the west side of the bed, and will provide a focal point for the area. With water harvesting becoming more important, this rock feature will illustrate how easy to build attractive and functional this structure can be.
The second planting site is located on the west side and is the first thing people see when they park in front of the Village offices. Completing this area will allow us to unify plantings on either side, as well as provide a focal point for the north (entry) side of the building.

SIGNIFICANT LEARNING AND IMPACT ON COMMUNITY AND ORGANIZATION:
Most plant selection information in this area concentrates on xeric plants, which often do not thrive in our clay soils. The gardens provide living examples of a wide choice perennials, shrubs, trees and grasses that can be used successfully in the valley landscaples. SCMG work at the gardens each week from February through November. We are available to answer questions throughout the growing season.
We have also become a resource for the Public Works Department, Recreation Center and Office staff in Corrales. When they need information related to pruning, plant selection or maintenance, they consult us.

THE FARMERS MARKETS
On average per week, we have 5 Master Gardeners at two Farmers Markets. They pass out an average of 100 bulletins plus answer an average of 20 questions on trees, insects, watering and plant selection for both ornamental and vegetable clients. This is a great service as they are recotgnized by market managers as a great resource and keep the NMSU Sandoval County Extension in the public arena as many residents go to the markets. This was evidenced at the College of Agriculture Town Hall Meeting in Albuquerque when the Corrales Market Manager and also the Village Counsilor mentioned that it was great to have Master gardeners. Due to the popularity of the Sandoval County Master Gardener program, there is curently a waiting list for the 2009 Master Gardener Classes.

ISSUE
Home horticulture saves water. Sandoval County is experiencing rapid population grown, yet many residents are not familiar with desert horticulture. The Sandoval county Extension Service's basic gardening classes teach general and specific classes for gardening in the Southwest.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE
To make current information available to all who could benefit required reaching out to Sandoval County residents through a variety of venues. Classes, workshops, tours, information booths at communtiy events, demonstration gardens, newspaper articles, farmers markets, web site additions, and plrinted materials were utilized. In addition to this, phone/walk in questions plus home visit helped troubleshoot problems.

IMPACT
All participants in the Sandoval County Extension sponsored events said their general gardening knowledge improved and they would change one or more gardening practices. Our largest city in Sandoval County sugested calling the Extension Service and Master Gardeners for information on using low water alternatives in a special mailing to all residential water users.

IMPACT
Master Gardeners provide free research based horticulture information in Sandoval County. They are volunteers who learn advanced plant science skills from at least 40 hours of classroom instruction by New Mexico State Extension professional. After training Master Gardeners volunteer a minimum of at least 40 hurs a year to transfer knowledge gained through media, talks and workshops. They answer phone calls, send out nformational materials and develop demonstration gardens.

CHILDREN'S GARDENING EVENTS AT CAS SAN YSIDRO
The Albuquerque Museeeum's historic Casa San Ysidro is a recreation of a 19th century Spanish Colonial ranchito located in the village of Corrales, just north of Albuquerque. The original home dates to the 1870's and includes a small family chapel, a central plazuela and an enclosed corral area. Every spring, the Casa hosts an open house on Heritage Day n mid-May. On the last weekend in September, the Casa has a second open house durin the Corrales Harvest Festival in Sandoval County.
Since April 2007, the SCMG has also assisted teachers and the museum staff in planting a vegetable garden at the Casa with children from Corrales Elementary School. The children plant the garden as 3rd graders in the late spring and return in the fall as 4th graders to see the results. this year the garden was planted with "Old World" vegetables (vegetables that the Spanish colonists brought with them) on the east side of the plot and with "New World" vegetables (vegetables grown by the indigenous Pueblos and also those grown by natives from Central and South America) on the west side of the plot. the goals were to provide the children with hands-on learning activities to increase their interest in gardening and to help them understand where some of their food comes from and the impact of history on our available foods.

Partnerships are with the Casa San Ysidro Museum, Corrales Elementary School, and the Sandoval County Extension Office.

WHAT WAS DONE
For all events, we designed brochures appropriate for young children describing the plants they we4re growing and providing interesting facts about the plants, how seeds grow, and the culture of the plants. We also sprouted seeds to peruse and showed the children the embroyo inside the seed, the cotyledons, the primary root, etc.

Heritage Day - SCMG provided seeds (Indian corn, pinto beans, sunflowers, marigolds and zinnias) and 4-pack plastic planters. After the seeds were planted, we put them in a plastic baggie (mini-greenhouse) and gave the children a brochure about seeds and how they grow.

Corrales Harvest Festival - SCMG volunteers assembled and distributed approximately 500 growing kits containing garlic cloves or hollyhock seed (examples of plants brought to North america by the Spanish) a bag of compost and a brochure with growing instructins and historical information.

3rd/4th Grade Vegetable Garden - SCMG assisted the museum staff and Corrales Elementary School with planning and coordination. SCMG also offered guidance to the teachers and parents on the appropriate landscape plants and vegetables for the children to grow, provided instruction and helped supervise the planting. When the 4th graders coame back to the Casa in the fall, they were given the opportunity to sample some of the vegetables they had planted as well as other local specialities such as quince jam and "nopallitos" (the prepared pads of the prickly pear cactus).

Results:
The children enjoyed the hands-on activities, learning how seeds turn into plants, where their food comes from, and why some seeds are planted at different timesof the year. Seeds were planted with abut 59 children on Heritage Day, and we distributed over 500 growing kits at the Corrales Harvest Festival and planted seeds and landscape plants with approximately 100 3rd/4th graders.

Significant Learning and Impacts: Working with the museum staff, the Corrales Elementary School and the Sandoval County Extension Service nable the integration of horticulture and history in a unique hands-on environment. In the future we would like to get other youth groups involved in tendintg the garden at the Casa during the summer months.

Short-term outcomes:

Eighteen (18) VCEMG were recertified during the 2008 program year. A total of 1,225 volunteer hours were logged in Valencia County Cooperative Extension Service (CES) sanctioned educational/outreach activities. These activities included the installation of a rainwater harvesting and waterwise gardening demonstration at the Valencia CES office, and numerous plant clinics at local businesses, the Belen Farmers Market, and schools. In addition, VCEMG spent a large portion of their volunteer time teaching children gardening basics at the Los Lunas Youth Development, Inc. location.

In addition, VCEMG members also developed an educational brochure specific to gardening and landscaping in Valencia County. Valencia county is experiencing a rapid population growth, which has resulted in an increase in new citizens to the area, with little to no experience in gardening in Valencia's environment. The brochure was designed with these people in mind. It includes basic information on soil, fertilization, watering, plant selection, climate, and contact information for additinal resources. Approximately 100 brochures have been distributed at VCEMG functions and area libraries and Chambers of Commerce.

New residents, beginning gardeners, and Grant County natives confront challenges due to unique soils, climate, and limited water supplies. Successful development and maintenance of landscapes and gardens require understanding of these unique challenges and appropriate techniques for adapting to them. While over three-fourths of New Mexicans live in urban areas, both urban, and rural gardeners face the same challenges. Approximately 60 percent of residential water consumption is used to maintain landscapes. As Grant County’s population increases the limited availability of water becomes a limiting factor, even in years with normal precipitation. Proper plant selection and management reduce water deficit problems. Failure to adapt to the challenges of gardening in Grant County will result in declining quality of life and will increase competition for limited water. New Mexico State University’s Extension Service has taught gardeners to adapt to challenges offered by soil, climate, and drought. These efforts must continue applying new technology and science to New Mexico’s gardening challenges. Evidence of successful Extension Horticulture teaching will result in gardeners changing their landscapes without loss of beauty or livability. Individual landscape water use will be decreased. Residential, commercial, and institutional landscapes will employ a variety of water conserving practices, and soil preparation. Appropriate planting, pruning, and plant maintenance practices will be employed in Grant County landscapes. Silver City Farmers Market producers face many challenges in the production of fruits and vegetables and these challenges include soil and water alkalinity, pest and disease problems, orchard and garden management. Farmers Markets (2) – Silver City, NM (250+) contacts, gardening (IPM’s), and general horticulture questions
Small Farm Workshop- Silver City, NM 11 Farmers Market Producers, Viticulture, Fruits and Berries, Vegetable Gardening , Mimbres Fall Festival- Mimbres, NM –(Co-Presenter) Planting Fruit Trees 200+, three Farmers Market over 300 contacts, topics winter apple orchard management, and insect and weed identification.

The target audiences will include Grant County home owners with limited skills and experience in landscaping and wise water use will learn yard management using best management practices (BMP’s). Small business owners will be invited because there is an ordinance in the city limits that every business is responsible for providing greenery on their sidewalk as part of the Grant Co. Beautification Project. Master Gardeners will be both a target audience (as part of their training) and a source for teaching BMP’s. Agent has assisted between 250 and 600 individual calls, office visits, home visits, (site visits) and Earth Days/Farmers Markets booths per year, with insect, disease, and cultural issues they face in their yards and trees.

Those questions are logged by topic areas of concern and presented to the Advisory Committee the following season to evaluate potential program efforts to be offered for the next year. Those logs are also shared with the appropriate Extension specialists at the end of the year, as a tool to help guide their decision making about upcoming program efforts.
The major program goals for the program efforts include: 1) Home owners will learn how to identify pest and cultural problems how to deal with them; 2) Home owners will use the BMP's to better manage their yards and will educate neighbors and friends of the availability of the Grant County Extension service's ability to assist; 3) Yards will become better managed and use of urban water will decline along with less mortality to plants and 4) Farmers Market producers will adapt BMP’s to increase production and profitability for their small businesses.
Major program efforts included a number of workshops and public programs including ornamental and fruit tree pruning, zerioscaping, and soil management and testing, organic fertilizer options, and yard and garden management, tree care and the economics of windbreaks. The workshops were all announced in the local newspapers and on the two local radio stations. Our newsletters (Ag, He and 4-H) all announced the sessions and before each workshop, a reported interviewed this agent for the newspaper story. Through program evaluations, it has been found that publicity for programs offered by the Extension Service are best advertised in a variety of media and at least two weeks prior to the program date. Six programs and workshops to help producers manage their crops were designed and delivered using five specialist and County Agent. These workshops addressed soil testing, soil amendments, orchard management and pruning, vegetable, fruit, berries, and grape varieties and management. Extension faculty and
staff presented five educational booth programs during the 2007 season with agent delivering programs on plant identification and control, insect and disease identification and control, recommendations on vegetable management, and proper fruit tree planting procedures.

Farmers Market producers were the focus of the six series of workshops, concentrating on increasing production and quality. The Farmers Market sells out very early each week, because demand is greater than supply.
Speakers for program events have been numerous from university specialists and local county agent. Because of the size of the county, providing a variety of speakers helps to keep the programs fresh. As a consequence of urban horticulture programming, a strong partnership has been formed with the one Silver City nursery. They have donated plants for events and request agent’s advise on difficult identification questions.
In addition to the major effort to offer clientele horticultural programs, there has been several requests to hold a County Master Gardener (MS) certification program. The only holdback to this request is enough office space for master gardeners to volunteer.
Through program evaluations following new workshops, this agent has been able to provide clientele and businesses with the most desired types of programs. The county website now has a web page devoted to the most frequently given presentations by specialist and agent where Power Point presentations are posted. One individual has approached this agent asking for information to create a new landscaping business in Silver City. Agents responsibility is to provide quality, timely, research-based information through extension specialists, researchers and own knowledge and experience.