Hidalgo County Master Gardeners to speak at home show

Spring is in the air and your garden is ready for some love and care!

Come out to the annual RGV Home and Garden Show at the McAllen Convention Center from March 22 to 24, and spring into your garden with everything you need. Free entry all weekend!

The Hidalgo County Master Gardeners will be there selling plants and answering all your gardening questions. As a nonprofit organization Master Gardeners depend on the support of the community to continue providing gardening education for all of Hidalgo County.

In 2023, the Hidalgo County Master Gardeners hosted 22 educational programs and events and volunteered over 3,000 hours of service. None of that would be possible without community support. So make sure to stop by to visit with your local Master Gardeners.

The Home and Garden Show will have a full line up of educational presentations that you can find here: Rio Grande Valley — Home and Garden Shows (showtechnology.com).

Our own Master Gardeners will be delivering three presentations:

>> 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 23 — My Forest Garden by Master Gardener Janet Schofield

Janet is a retired teacher who has continued to share her love of knowledge as a Master Gardener in both Cameron and Hidalgo Counties. As a Master Gardener she has honed her skills with Advanced Trainings in Composting, and Growing Herbs and has spent countless hours teaching all who will listen. Make sure to catch her presentation to learn all about Forest Gardening; a low-maintenance sustainable plant-based food production system based on woodland ecosystems. This presentation will give you a step-by-step guide to creating your own forest garden.

>> Noon Saturday, March 23 —Vermicomposting: The Art of Raising Worms to Compost for You by Master Gardener Jennifer Hall

Jennifer is employed full time in the medical profession and still finds the time to share her knowledge and skills with us. She has been utilizing vermicomposting in her own kitchen for years and is excited to share this minimal effort technic of composting. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to keep food waste out of the trash and put it to work in your garden!

>> 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 24 — Grafting Desert Roses by Master Gardener Ruben Salas

Don’t miss your chance to meet our very own Desert Rose Doctor, Ruben Salas. As a long time, Master Gardener, Ruben has taken his passion for desert roses to the next level with a simple grafting process to create some truly stunning flower combinations. You too can learn how to turn your impressive desert rose into a showstopper!

We will have a booth full of plants and garden décor so stop by and visit. Master Gardeners are ready to answer your questions, and offer advice. We will have a kids booth also on Saturday and Sunday where we will be making flower bracelets and seed bombs with the kids.

Hope to see you there!

Ashley Gregory is the Horticulturalist for Hidalgo County with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. She can be reached at the Hidalgo County Extension Office at (956) 383-1026 or by email at [email protected].