Rainwater harvesting, turf management training Aug. 4

Free hybrid program in Wimberley will address optimal irrigation, soil sampling

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program will hold a residential rainwater harvesting and turf management training Aug. 4 for Blanco and Hays counties.

The Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters program, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, helps residents with rainwater harvesting and lawn irrigation best management practices.

The free event will be offered in person and online from 1-5 p.m. The in-person training will be at the Wimberley Community Center Conference Room, 14068 Ranch Road 12, Wimberley. The online program will be held on the Zoom meeting platform.

Online registration is required at https://tx.ag/HLHWCypressCreek or contact John Smith, AgriLife Extension program specialist, Bryan-College Station, at john.smith@ag.tamu.edu or 979-204-0573.

Once attendees register, they will receive emails with updates, instructions to join the Zoom online meeting and materials related to the meeting.

The training is being offered in collaboration with the Cypress Creek Watershed Partnerships.

“The Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program aims to improve and protect surface water quality by enhancing awareness and knowledge of best management practices for residential landscapes,” Smith said.

On the agenda

Becky Bowling, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension urban water specialist, Dallas, said attendees will learn about the design and installation of residential rainwater harvesting systems as well as appropriate turf and landscape species based on local conditions and other practices.

“Management practices such as using irrigation delivery equipment, interpreting soil test results and understanding nutrient applications can help reduce runoff and make efficient use of applied landscape irrigation water,” Bowling said.

Dean Minchillo, AgriLife Extension program specialist, Dallas, will address proper fertilizer application and efficient water irrigation, how to protect and improve water quality in area creeks, and how collecting rainwater for lawn and landscape needs reduces stormwater runoff.

Nick Dornak, watershed coordinator for the Cypress Creek Watershed, will provide updates on watershed protection plan activities to improve and protect water quality in the watershed.

Soil testing

Participants can have their soil tested as part of the training. The soil sample bag and analysis are free to Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program participants.

Residents can pick up a soil sample bag with sampling instructions and the Urban and Homeowner Soil Sample Information Form at the AgriLife Extension offices in Blanco County at 101 E Cypress St., Suite 109, Johnson City, or in Hays County at 200 Stillwater Road, Wimberley. Soil sample bags should be returned to the location where they were obtained prior to or by one week after the meeting or brought to the training. Do not mail the soil sample to the lab.

Samples will be grouped into one submission and sent to the AgriLife Extension Soil, Water and Forage Testing Lab in College Station for routine analysis, including micronutrients, pH, conductivity, nitrate-nitrogen and other parameters.

The training will include information on how to understand soil test results and nutrient recommendations so residents can interpret results once the analysis is mailed to them.

Funding for the Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program is provided in part by the Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreements with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The project is managed by the Texas Water Resources Institute, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University

-30-

Susan Himes

Susan Himes is a writer and media relations specialist for Texas A&M AgriLife. She writes news releases and features from science-based information generated by the agency. She also covers human interest stories and events across the state.