Master Gardener
Association of Blanco County:
Volunteer Horticulturists
At Your Service
The Master Gardener Association of Blanco County is just one of many in the counties throughout Texas. In 1991, the Texas Master Gardener Association, a statewide,non-profit organization, was first formed by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. The purpose of the organization is to increase the availability of horticultural information and projects throughout the state. A program was developed to train volunteers to achieve this goal and is offered by Texas Cooperative Extension of the Texas A&M University System. The training sessions are now available at the county level.  The Association in Blanco County began in the spring of 1996 under County Agent Todd Swift and has been continued by our current agent, Stephen Zoeller. There have been three 50 hour training sessions to educate volunteers with approximately 25 certified active members at this time.
To maintain certification after training (and 50 hours of volunteer work) requires an additional 12 hours of volunteer work per year and 8 hours of advanced training. Stephen Zoeller provides the Blanco County Commissioner's Court with an update each quarter on the Master Gardener projects andhours. The Court may use these hours as credits when applying for grants and documenting community service. The next training sessions scheduled for spring, 2007 are currently being planned by the members. Topics such as plant growth and development, environmental horticulture, vegetable and herb gardening are taught by various experts from the surrounding area. Since increasing horticultural education in the county is the main objective, the Association has implemented a number of projects to that end.
 We have had Junior Master Gardener classes in the fourth grade science classes in both Johnson City and Blanco with plans to continue this upcoming school year.
 Also, there is a Master Gardener at the Extension Office on Thursday mornings to answer homeowners' gardening questions as well as accept requests for our Speaker's Bureau.
If you have specific plant-related questions, you may call our County Extension office on Thursday mornings from 8:00-12:00 to speak with a Master Gardener. The phone number is 830 868-4691.
A recent project has been initiated with the LBJ Historical National Park to establish an area of various native grasses to help people identify and appreciate the importance of these grasses.
 For our own Bindseil Park, members helped with the planting and maintenance of the trees and shrubs. These projects are representative of the many varied activities in our county and, with continued training and growth of our team of volunteers, we hope to provide even more.
To learn more about the Texas Association of Master Gardeners, go to http://www.texasmastergardeners.com. For information about planting times and other recommendations for our area, go to http://www.klru.org/ctg/tips, click on the "to do list" and then the month.
 Access the Master Gardeners Newsletter HERE Click here to bookmark this page
Check back for updates on projects and training.
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