Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program will host a residential rainwater harvesting and turf management training on Aug. 18 for Guadalupe and Comal counties.
The free event will be at the Irma Lewis Outdoor Learning Center, 1865 East US Hwy 90., Seguin, from 1 -5 p.m.
Attendees who RSVP to the event will receive updates and materials related to the training via email. They can RSVP online or contact Mandy Stamnitz, Geronimo-Alligator Creeks Watershed Coordinator at mandy.stamnitz@ag.tamu.edu or (979) 321-5944 with any questions.
The training is offered in collaboration with the Geronimo-Alligator Creeks Watershed Partnership.
“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
John Smith, AgriLife Extension Specialist, College Station, 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,” Smith said.
Dean Minchillo, Texas Water Resources Institute program specialist in Dallas, said “Proper fertilizer application and efficient lawn irrigation can protect and improve water quality in area creeks, and collecting rainwater for lawn and landscape needs reduces stormwater runoff.”
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 office in Guadalupe County, 210 East Oak Street, in Seguin. Bags containing residents’ soil samples should be returned to the location where they were obtained prior to or by one week after the training, soil samples may also be brought to the training where we will have soil bags to transfer the sample into. Please 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 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality through a Clean Water Act § 319(h) grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The project is managed by the Texas Water Resources Institute, a unit of Texas A&M AgriLife Research that combines expertise across The Texas A&M University System.
