BOERNE – Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program is hosting a residential rainwater harvesting and turf management training Sept. 20 in Boerne.
The free event will be from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Cibolo Nature Center, 140 City Park Road.
The training is offered in collaboration with the Upper Cibolo Creek Watershed Partnership.
Seating is limited, so attendees are requested to RSVP online at https://hlhw.tamu.edu/workshops/2018/september-20-boerne/ or to contact John Smith, AgriLife Extension program specialist, College Station, at johnwsmith@tamu.edu or by calling 979-845-2761.
Coordinators said the Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program aims to improve and protect surface water quality by enhancing awareness and knowledge of best management practices. At the training, attendees will learn about the design and installation of residential rainwater harvesting systems and appropriate turf and landscape species based on local conditions.
Dr. Becky Grubbs, AgriLife Extension turfgrass specialist, College Station, said management practices such as using irrigation delivery equipment, interpreting soil tests and understanding nutrient applications can help reduce runoff and provide additional landscape irrigation water.
“These trainings can improve participants’ understanding of rainwater harvesting and landscape management,” she said.
Dr. Diane Boellstorff, AgriLife Extension water resource specialist, College Station, said proper fertilizer application and efficient water irrigation can protect and improve water quality in area creeks and collecting rainwater for lawn and landscape needs reduces stormwater runoff.
Reagan Hejl, research associate in the soil and crop sciences department, College Station, said participants can have their soil tested as part of the training.
Residents can pick up a soil sample bag with sampling instructions at the AgriLife Extension office in Kendall County, 210 E. San Antonio Ave. Suite 9 in Boerne. Bags containing residents’ soil samples may be brought to the training.
Hejl said soil samples will be submitted to the AgriLife Extension Soil, Water and Forage Testing Lab in College Station for routine analysis, including pH, conductivity, nitrate-nitrogen
and other parameters. He said the training will review how to understand soil test results and nutrient recommendations so residents can interpret results once they receive their analysis in the mail.
The soil sample bag and analysis are free to Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program participants.
For more information about the Upper Cibolo Creek Watershed Protection Plan, go to https://www.ci.boerne.tx.us/147/Upper-Cibolo-Creek-Watershed.
Funding for the Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program is provided in part through Clean Water Act 319 grants from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 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.