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/Farmers Markets (Grant County)

Plan Goal

Increase, enhance, and sustain New Mexico urban and rural lifestyles by teaching proper landscape plant selection, management, and efficient water use.
Identify growing methods, water conserving irrigation systems, cultivars, etc that are adaptable to p

Situation Statement

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.

Target Audience and Actions

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.Grant County Home Owners will learn yard managment using BMP's.
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.

Short-Term Objectives

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.

Medium-Term Objectives

Home owners will use the BMP's to better manage their yards and will educate neighbors and friends of the availablity of the Grant County Extension service's availabiity to assist. Commercial full time and part time fruit growers (tree fruit and berries) along with potential new growers, hobby growers. This audience will be reached by the use of newsletters, media articles, workshops, and one on one communication.
The Grant County Farmers Market Association and the Market itself will be used to educate farmers and consumers of the benifts of consuming locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Long-Term Objectives

Yards will become better managed and use of urban water will decline along with less mortality to plants.
Fruit growers in Grant County will continue farming and in some cases increase their fruit production acreage. Fruit farms will become more sustainable and growers will be able to self-report an economic gain of at least 10% after implementing sustainable practices taught in workshops, newsletters,and one on one contact.

Evaluation Plan

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. Agent’s responsibility is to provide quality, timely, research-based information
through extension specialists, researchers and own knowledge and experience.