Gardening

Don't let the worms crawl in and the worms crawl out -- put them to work! We'll teach you to use specialized red worms to compost your food waste. These use their waste as a fertile soil amendment to benefit your plants. Learn to set up and maintain a worm bin, and to harvest and use the worm castings. 

Class meets at the Environmental Education Center, 4116 W. Plano Parkway. Plano, TX 75093

Thursday, March 1, 2012 7:00pm-9:00pm 

Please register for this class by visiting the website below:

http://livegreeninplano.obsres.com/Info.aspx?EventID=3

SCREEN Geoff Lawton's Five DVDs in Rockwall.

On March 4, "Intro to Permaculture" and "Soils." 

Documentary: Introduction to Permaculture Design

Documentary: Permaculture Soils

On March 11, "Urban PC," "Food Forest," "Water."

Documentary: Urban Permaculture: Sustainable Strategies for Urban Living

Learn how to be Water-Wise to endure the drought!

1st annual conference on soil and water issues in North Central Texas

This is a gathering of like-minded amateur and professional gardeners for the purpose of
demonstrating practical solutions toward reducing water use and improving soil health.

Featured Speakers: 

Sabino Cortez of Erath Earth
Using Organic Compost to Heal Soil and Water Less

Bruce Blevins of Preservation Tree Service
Intelligent Irrigation in a Hydro-Illogical World

Tom Motley, North Texas Gardens
Organic, Drought Surviving Herbs and Produce in Raised Bed Gardens

Harold Spiegel, Preservation Tree Service
Native and Adaptive Tree Species-Water Savvy Choices,
General Tree Care and Effective Watering of Trees

Dedicated time for your questions.

Come out and visit the many vendors participating for more water wise solutions!

FREE

Hands-On Organic Vegetable Gardening Class

Don’t have a lot of time, money, patience, or space…but want a
productive vegetable garden?

learn about DFW’s unique growing season(s), climate, soils, plants,
and water resources
raise safe, nutritious food for your family
teach children to know and enjoy gardening
What will I do in the class?

Basics: Gain knowledge needed to turn your bare ground or Bermuda
grass lawn into raised-garden beds – in the right place, with the
right soil, at the right time, with the right plants. Small enough to
manage, big enough to provide real food.
Techniques: Raised beds; soil, mulch, and compost;
bio-intensive/square-foot gardening, organic methods.
plant varieties that work best in the North Central Texas area
water management
plant starts, seeds, and propagation
good and bad bugs
80% hands-on -- Remainder of class is discussion time

Science Saturdays are held the first weekend of every month and feature numerous events hosted by BRIT’s botanists: plant IDs, demonstrations of BRIT’s digital herbarium, Plant Preservation Studio tours, access to the BRIT libraries, and books on display from the BRIT Press. Come and go as you please.

Irrigation Quick Fixes 

Tuesday, May 8, 6-8 p.m., Southwest Branch Library, Dr. Dotty Woodson, Texas AgriLife Extension Service 

To work efficiently, an irrigation system requires, at the very least, an annual check-up. An inefficient system may waste as much as 50% due to minor problems that are easy to fix. This class will provide step-by-step instruction on how to perform an irrigation check up as well as how to make minor repairs and adjustments.  Information on how to select a licensed irrigation professional for larger more complicated jobs will also be presented.

We have developed a class schedule with a focus on preparing and managing your landscape during drought conditions.  We are also offering a few classes and ideas if you want to get rid of that old turf grass and make that space more useful and enjoyable to you.

Drip Irrigation: Do-it-Yourself
Monday, April 9, 6-8 p.m., Southwest Branch Library, Dr. Dotty Woodson, Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Efficient irrigation is essential to sustainable landscapes. Drip irrigation is the most efficient irrigation method for applying water to your landscape.  In this class you will learn how to install a drip system or convert an existing system to drip. 

We have developed a class schedule with a focus on preparing and managing your landscape during drought conditions.  We are also offering a few classes and ideas if you want to get rid of that old turf grass and make that space more useful and enjoyable to you.

We have developed a class schedule with a focus on preparing and managing your landscape during drought conditions.  We are also offering a few classes and ideas if you want to get rid of that old turf grass and make that space more useful and enjoyable to you.

Native and Adaptive Plants for a Water Conserving Landscape 
Tuesday, March 6, 6-8 p.m., Lake Arlington Branch Library, Dr. Dotty Woodson, Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Native and adaptive plants require less water, fertilizer and pesticides and create a beautiful sustainable landscape. This program will address how all future sustainable landscapes must conserve water. Plant selection and placement are key elements for conserving water in your landscape.

We have developed a class schedule with a focus on preparing and managing your landscape during drought conditions.  We are also offering a few classes and ideas if you want to get rid of that old turf grass and make that space more useful and enjoyable to you.

Activities for Kids: 

Water Conservation, Library Craft Project, Composting,  Wildlife, Watershed Protection, and more.

Classes for Adults:

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m.:  Managing Lawns During a Drought, Warren Tingley, Tarrant County Master Gardener

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m.:  Backyard Composting, Donna Fry, Tarrant County Master Gardener

10:30 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.:  Drought Tolerant Landscaping with Native Plants, Callie Mitchell, Tarrant County Master Gardener

11:15 a.m. – 11:55 a.m.:  Vegetable Gardening, Lance Jepson, Tarrant County Master Gardener