The East Texas Turfgrass Conference focuses on the management of turfgrass, and is of particular interest to those who are involved in the management of commercial, sports and home lawns and turf, including school districts, city parks and recreation departments, lawn and landscape managers, as well as homeowners. The Conference is Thursday, February 5, at the Texas AgriLife Research & Extension Center at Overton. Topics include controlling turfgrass weeds and diseases,  aquatic weed control in ponds, designing and maintaining efficient irrigation systems, how to correctly identify common turfgrass… Read More →

The Smith County Master Gardener program begins a new training class in January, 2009, and we are seeking gardeners who are interested in 1) increasing their gardening knowledge through an intensive series of classes covering a wide range of gardening and horticultural topics, and 2) who would then be willing to share their knowledge, love of gardening and expertise with adults and/or children in Smith County. The Smith County Master Gardener program is a very active program with several educational activities ranging from hosting conferences, speakers for garden… Read More →

Now is the time to be purchasing and planting bulbs for next year’s blooming display. Not all bulbs are equal in terms of having long-term stay in your garden and landscape. Too often, bulbs will bloom the first year, and then just come back as leaves – no flowers, or worse, not come back at all the following year. This is why the Smith County Master Gardeners, a volunteer organization of Texas AgriLife Extension Service, several years ago set about providing heirloom and other bulbs that are known… Read More →

More and more folks are being drawn by the allure and romance of growing wine grapes. But before getting involved, it pays to do your homework on this intensive enterprise. Fran Pontasch, North Texas viticulture adviser for Texas AgriLife Extension Service, announced a July 22 workshop in Stephenville, designed for persons thinking about, or already are growing, wine grapes. Pontasch serves the North Texas area, which includes Tyler, and will be conducting the workshop at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Stephenville from 9 a.m. to… Read More →

Mark you calendars June 26 for the Horticulture Field Day. This is a fun and free event, where you can see the latest flowering plants going head-to-head in the field at Texas A&M at Overton. You can vote for your favorites, which eventually become the “People’s Picks” and listed at the flowers.tamu.edu web site. It starts at 8:30 at the Horticulture Farm north of the Overton Center, and then moves mid-morning to the Center where you can enjoy more flowers at the Demonstration Garden. After lunch, enjoy presentations… Read More →

Mark your calendars for the 2008 Spring Home Garden Tour on May 3, sponsored by Smith County Master Gardeners, a volunteer organization of Texas AgriLife Extension Service. This year’s tour features 5 private gardens in Tyler. Tour times are from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and will be held rain or shine. Tickets are on sale for $8.00 prior to the date of the tour at Brookshire’s, 100 Rice Rd, Tyler; The Potpourri House, 3320 Troup Highway, Tyler; Al H. Horaney’s, Inc., 5520 Old Jacksonville Hwy, Tyler; and… Read More →