Note: This site is for reviewing legacy plan of work data from 2007-2011. If you are looking for the current plan of work interface, visit pow.nmsu.edu.

Plant Management Systems: Urban Horticulture (Otero County)

Plan Goal

Increase, enhance, and sustain New Mexico urban and rural lifestyles by teaching proper landscape plant selection, management, and efficient water use.

Situation Statement

New residents, beginning gardeners, and New Mexico 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 New Mexico’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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico landscapes.

Target Audience and Actions

Target audience is composed of citizens of Alamogordo, Tularosa, Boles Acres, Bent, Cloudcroft, High Rolls, Dog Canyon, Mayhill, and Weed. Information will be distributed through extension publications, published scientific studies, Master Gardener’s workshops, Master Gardener Website email/answer question/ideas sharing, presentation and individual verbal communication with anyone interested in creating, protecting or enhancing water conservation. Assistance will be provided through Agent/Master Gardener verbal communication (hotline/email/website) and/or site inspection of the area being considered for change of plants planting/diagnosis/eco-friendly plants for this area recommendation/eco-friendly material used/water conservation/water collection techniques/soil management/etc. Additionally, management recommendations will be incorporated into the Master Gardeners Website, event proceedings, workshops, clinics, local newspaper (Alamogordo), and extension publications.

Short-Term Objectives

Right now there are about 200 calls in the spring and summer time for the Hotline per month. When the Master Gardener’s website started running about 4 months ago, there has been an increase of questions posed to the website rather than calling the Extension Office. In fact more people are using the website to ask questions which is good because we can give them more detail answer to their questions and also give them links to New Mexico State University website where the publications are found regarding their concerns. We should have a 100% increase over time as we advertise about our Master Gardener’s website through verbal communications, workshops, clinics, public events participation.

Medium-Term Objectives

There should be an increase in awareness of water conservation as the Master Gardener participates in local event giving talks, Master Gardener's website hits going up. Through the visitation of the public on the Master Gardener website, we can track how people are visiting the website, which part of the website the public are visiting, what percentage of the questions posed are regarding about water issues, water conservation, water protection, water collection techniques, and so on and so forth.

Long-Term Objectives

Collecting the phone calls hotline issues, website statistic monitoring of which part of the website are visited often, what questions are posed frequently on water issues, on water conservations, plants considered to be planted by homeowners. All this information will be kept up and evaluated to see if there is an increase in number of citizens in Otero County calling the Extension hotline, visiting the website for advice on water conservation.

The target is to double the number of people visiting the Master Gardener’s website by the end of this year growing season.

Evaluation Plan

There will be a survey posed on the Master Gardener's website to ask the public when they visit the website, how extensive their knowledge of this area regarding what plants to grow here before they visited the website and after they visited the website knowledge of it. Questionnaires will be put out to public when the Master Gardeners participate in events that has a booth and public can respond by filling out the questionnaires regarding their knowledge of this area what are the best plants to grow here and water conservation techniques and ideas that they have or in use.