Master Gardeners

All About Roses

23Jan

February 7, 2015 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Zilker Botanical Garden
2220 Barton Springs Road

Seminar is free; Zilker park entrance fee is $2 per adult, $1 per child or senior, $3 for non-Austin Residents.

Incorporate user friendly roses into your new or existing garden plans! Cher Groody is a master gardener with 30 years experience in the use of roses in a landscape. She will teach you methods for proper selection of rose varieties, site prep and maintenance like pruning, pest control and fertilization. This session is excellent for newbies and experienced gardeners and questions are encouraged.

See the Workshops & Events Calendar for more information.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/local-extension-resources/calendar-2/

Two great seminars for 2015!

18Dec

Growing Fruit in Your Home Garden & All About Roses

These seminars are presented by Travis Co Master Gardeners and are held at Zilker Botanical Garden.
Seminar is free; Zilker park entrance fee is $2 per adult, $1 per child or senior, $3 for non-Austin Residents.

Growing Fruit in Your Home Garden, 1/10/15, 10 am – Noon
All About Roses, 2/7/15, 10 am -Noon

See the Workshops & Events Calendar for more information.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/local-extension-resources/calendar-2/

Diverting 8 TONS of Nutrient-Rich Organics from the Landfill, Every Month!

10Oct

An Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf employee presents the in-store bin that provides small bags of grounds to customers.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Travis County and Compost Coalition started Ground to Ground in 2012. We had a lot going for us: a great model, two willing coordinators, and three local coffee shops who were brave enough to participate in our pilot program. One year later, we have twenty two businesses and numerous office buildings participating, and divert 8 TONS of nutrient-rich post-brew coffee grounds from the landfill every month!

This program is truly a model in community partnership and resource maximization. It is run by publicly-funded AgriLife Extension and grassroots Compost Coalition; populated with local coffee shops, restaurants, and roasters; supported by Master Gardener volunteers; and driven by community demand for grounds. It delivers educational outreach and free resources to people “where they are”, engenders partnership between private business and local gardening groups, and has given us all the opportunity to reduce a needless waste stream in our community. Oh, and it’s responsible for my garden being bigger, happier, and more productive than ever before. With 8 tons monthly going into local yards, gardens, and farms, there must be others who agree.

Get free grounds from these participating businesses (as of October 10, 2013):

The following businesses are loyal Ground to Ground participants, but their grounds are already spoken for!
Vintage Heart Coffee (1405 E. Seventh St.) – gives to Blackshear Community Garden
7-Eleven (South Lamar/Barton Skyway)
Galaxy Cafe (Triangle Ave.)

Edible Austin Spotlights Ground to Ground

27Jun

Edible Austin spotlights Ground to Ground as a “Local Hero in the War on Waste”!

“Thus was born Austin’s own Ground to Ground project, a partnership that includes Compost Coalition and Travis County’s Texas A&M AgriLife Extensions office, which uses their army of Master Gardener volunteers to recruit cafes to offer their used grounds freely to anyone who asks, and to educate the community in general about their myriad benefits. “Coffee grounds actually contain nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium,” notes Razzaz, “which are the three major nutrients in conventional fertilizer, and they contribute a range of micronutrients such as magnesium, copper and calcium that you don’t typically find in synthetic fertilizers. They add organic matter to your yard or garden, which helps retain moisture, and are just a fantastic soil amendment overall.”

“I say that using coffee grounds in your garden is a gateway drug to composting,” Compost Coalition founder Heather-Nicole Hoffman adds with a laugh. “You can actually put them directly on your soil, so you don’t even have to compost them first.” Not to mention the fact that they’re free.”

Read the full article (pg. 64) on Edible Austin’s website!