Plant Management Systems: Urban Horticulture (Colfax County)

Gardening public and Professionals
Fifty- two weekly newspaper garden columns were published in numerous New Mexico publications and web sites (including the NMSU College of Agriculture web site) and 26 bi-weekly articles were written for The Albuquerque Journal. The impact of these articles on readers is made evidence by numerous weekly requests for information in which the articles are mentioned, and new questions for the question and answer articles.
In 2006 presentations were made to 8 garden clubs and public venues 6 New Mexico counties. I am frequently asked to return to give additional presentations because the garden club members state “your information is so useful to us”. At these return engagements, I learn that the information from previous presentations has been employed successfully by the garden club members as we discuss their successes.


NMSU Extension Agents
Twelve New Mexico Counties included Urban Horticulture in their plans of work. Each of these counties has requested and received assistance from the specialist. In addition, 14 counties that did not include Urban Horticulture in their plans of work also requested and received assistance from the specialist. This indicates the desire for even rural counties to have attractive landscapes that use water efficiently. Eleven appointments with county agents in the specialist office or the specialist on-site in the county were recorded. A greater number of unrecorded contacts resulted from telephone contacts and request for assistance.


Master Gardeners
The specialist drafted guidelines for starting a Master Gardener Program and core curriculum for Master Gardener classes. This draft was given to County Agents with new Master Gardener Programs (or considering programs), new County Agents with existing Master Gardener Programs, and selected other people for their comments.
The specialist advised new agents and agents considering establishment of Master Gardener Programs in their counties. In each case, the time commitment involved and the need for volunteer commitment was discussed and used in making the final decision. The result was redirection of some existing programs in some counties and development of a series of gardening programs in others to evaluate community interest and need. Master Gardener programs may develop in the future in some counties as a result of these “pilot garden series” programs.
The specialist taught Master Gardener 23 classes in 10 New Mexico counties and 3 classes for Navajo Nation (Master Gardeners and Master Growers). Following the classes the specialist supported agents and Master Gardener volunteers through e-mail, telephone, and on-site visits as they served their public. PowerPoint presentations were provided to county agents as requested.
The impacts of Master Gardeners in the counties were reported in Agent Impact Reports. Four counties reported number of volunteer hours (19,661) and two counties reported the dollar value of Master Gardeners volunteers in their county ($60,376). A great diversity of volunteer service to the public and communities was reported by the agents.