Rainwater harvesting workshop set for April 13 in Amarillo

Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu Contact: Brandon Boughen, 806-373-0713, bwboughen@ag.tamu.edu AMARILLO – A rainwater harvesting workshop will be held April 13 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office in Potter County, 3301 S.E. 10th Ave., Amarillo. This course will provide an overview of rainwater harvesting, its uses and applicability to conserving rainfall as a [...]

Seventh-annual East Austin Garden Fair to be held April 20

AUSTIN — The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Travis County Master Gardeners Association and City of Austin will present the seventh-annual East Austin Garden Fair from 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. April 20 at Zaragoza Park, 2608 Gonzales St., Austin. The fair’s theme this year is “Get Up, Get Green!” The event is free and open to the [...]

A rose lures a nose: from Pakistan to Texas, doctoral student wants to master the flower

COLLEGE STATION – Fragrance. That and the potential to boost his country’s economy are what brought a student halfway around the world to learn about horticulture at Texas A&M University. Roses, it turns out, are as popular in Pakistan as in the U.S., albeit for slightly different reasons. And those reasons are what has Pakistani [...]

Vegetable garden, lawn care seminars set for March in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – With spring on the horizon, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist for Bexar County has lined up some March gardening programs to help get area homeowners and backyard gardeners ready. “We wanted to help people get ready for spring by having some seminars focusing on vegetable gardening and lawn care,” said [...]

Homeowners asked to help with citrus greening disease

Public meeting on vector control slated March 7 SAN JUAN –  A meeting to discuss the threat of citrus greening disease to a way of life in South Texas will be held from 6-8 p.m. March 7 at the San Juan Memorial Library, 1010 S. Standard St.in San Juan, according to Barbara Storz, a Texas A&M [...]

AgriLife Extension program March 26 in San Antonio will show how to grow backyard vegetables

SAN ANTONIO – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will present the “Let’s Grow Some Vegetables” program, part of the Backyard Gardening series, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. March 26 at the agency office, Suite 208 of Conroy Square, 3355 Cherry Ridge Drive, San Antonio. Backyard Gardening programs are part of the Backyard Basics self-reliance series now [...]

New books will increase knowledge about grasses across the state

Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu Contact: Dr. Bob Shaw, 979-845-8642, rbshaw@tamu.edu COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Bob Shaw would like to see more people out picking grass. Not just any ol’ grass, but new species that haven’t been documented in a particular county of Texas. Shaw, a Texas A&M University ecosystem science and management professor, has [...]

Natchez thornless blackberry named New Texas Superstar

Easy to grow, painless to harvest and nutritious to boot Writer: Robert Burns, 903-834-6191, rd-burns@tamu.edu COLLEGE STATION – Say “blackberry” today and most people will think of smartphone first and the fruit second. Like the phone, there is an upgrade available to Texas growers: Natchez thornless blackberries, one of the new Texas Superstar selections for [...]

AgriLife Extension challenges Texans to save 40 gallons of water daily

Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu Contact: Diane Boellstorff, 979-458-3562, dboellstorff@tamu.edu COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is strengthening its challenge to Texans to save millions of gallons of water annually as well as money on their monthly water bills. The 40 Gallon Challenge is a program that calls on residents and businesses [...]