The Western Heritage Horticultural Society website pages can be found under the "Horticulture" tab here - http://www.nmjc.edu/museum, please visit it often to find out about upcoming training and events.  Additionally, you will find gardening articles, videos and other resources.  To contact the society, email [email protected] or call 575-492-2678.

August 5, 2016
Lots of info in this newsletter....
just keep scrolling, it's worth it.

Just in case you haven't heard about this historical opportunity...

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  • "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" opened to the general public at 9 a.m. Thursday, July 28 and will run through November 6.
 
For more info go here: http://www.nmjc.edu/museum/events.aspx.
Photo by Charlotte Mapes
Now is the time to plant fall gardens, and for the WHHS to plan our upcoming calendar of Events and Training.  More information will be forthcoming soon with events beginning in September 2016...
Plans are in the works for:
 
  1. HOW TO GROW ANYTHING: Make Your Trees and Shrubs ThriveBy Melinda Myers - Horticulturist, Certified Arborist, Author and Lecturer 
     
Tentative plan:  Two hour training over 3 or 4 days, using the 12 DVD's listed below with a Q & A session devoted to local terrain growing.
    1. A Framework for Your Landscape
    2. Form and Function in the Landscape
    3. Trees and Shrubs for Challenging Conditions
    4. Shopping for the Best Trees and Shrubs
    5. Planting Your Trees and Shrubs
    6. Spring and Summer Care of Trees and Shrubs
    7. Fall and Winter Care of Trees and Shrubs
    8. Pruning Old and Young Trees
    9. Pruning Shrubs
    10. When Trees and Shrubs Fail to Thrive
    11. Restoring a Landscape to Health
    12. Expanding Your Landscape's Framework
2.  THE EVERYDAY GOURMET: Essential Secrets of Spices in Cooking By Chef-Instructor Bill Briwa / The Culinary Institute of America
 
6-DVD's - Spices add incredible dimensions to what would otherwise be plain, ordinary meals. (One or two training sessions)
    1. India - Heart of the Spice World
    2. China -From Peppercorns to Tea
    3. Mexico -Chiles for Every Palate
    4. Mediterranean -Exotic Blends
    5. Treasured Spices in Northern Europe
    6. New American Cuisine -The Global Kitchen 
Woo Who**** We are planning to have local chefs prepare sampling parties for each of the countries' cuisine. Bring your taste buds!

3.  Fall is for Planting Series / Irrigation Systems: Hands-on Workshop for Drip Irrigation Systems By Cheryl  Garing - Horticulturist, Landscape Designer, Irrigation Tech-Specialist
 
Saturday Morning Workshop - Hands-on presentation and demonstrations for the attendees from making a connecting to water sources to end of Irrigation line emitters.
 
September 2016 - Dates are tentatively being set for the 17th or 24th --TBD

4.  Gardening Like Grandma Did / Teaching GARDEN BASICS and Leading-up to the Water Wise Conference 2017
By Hort-Professionals Local and Invited to Hobbs - TBD
 
3 Lecture Series - Garden basics, plants identification and care, plants featured in a landscape design, building information towards Water Wise Conservation and the 2017 Conference.
 
Dates, Times - TBD

5.  OTHER POTENTIAL TRAINING and INTEREST  (Comments Welcome, send email to [email protected])
 1. Fall Canning Seminar - Highland Junior High Kitchen
              Martha Deitz and Tracy Curry, NMSU AG in the Classroom
         2. Lea County School Gardens -Grants and Programs
         3. County-wide Gardening programs and trainings (The Hort Society will do  
              custom training upon request).

 

6.   TOURS

  • Return for Tasting Tour - Newsom Vineyard
***Our chance to sample the wine grapes - pick ends for fresh grapes, winemaking, or jelly (TBD, just waiting on the grape harvest).
  • Other Tours on the horizon..... (to be announced)

Articles & Tips
A Little Follow Up from the WHHW High Country Gardening Tour (June 25, 2016)...
The Lodge
From the driver's seat.... 
 
Good morning, on June 25th, 2016 I had the pleasure of driving a group of Western Heritage Horticultural Society members to Cloudcroft, NM and Alamogordo, NM.  For me it was a fun and educational trip.  While driving up David Hooten was sharing facts of the different areas as we went through them along the way.  We stopped in Cloudcroft and did some shopping, then ate at The Lodge.  A local gentlemen came and shared some history of Cloudcroft and The Lodge.  Afterwards we left for Alamogordo and arrived at the Pistachio farm and went on a tour, which was very educational.  We all did some shopping and we left back for Hobbs America, making 2 more stops, first a pottery place and then we visited the site of the only train trestle still standing.  It was an awesome experience for me and I met some really nice people.
 
Contributed by Randy Johns (New Mexico Junior College)
 
Photos contributed by David Hooten...

WHHS members waiting for their VIP lunch. Mr. Ed Woten, Mountain Monthly's Contributing Editor and local historian spoke to the members and answered questions during their meal. http://mountainmonthly.com/
The Lodge has some beautiful flowers around the grounds at a mile-high plus elevation that do wonderful with the cool days and nights, and the mountain rain showers during the summer in Cloudcroft.
A clump of firey red-hot pokers growing around the entrance pond and driveway to The Lodge facility. From the dining room windows you can see White Sands National Park, a spectacular view framed by the tall pines.
One of the many rooms in the Eagle Ranch pistachio processing plant north of Alamogordo, New Mexico. 1500 pound of pistachios are processed at a time, in unique machinery created to do the processing, roasting, flavoring and packaging.
These are the crates/bins that hold 1500 pounds of pistachio nuts to be processed on the front-end of the plant's intake room. Production and harvest runs 7 days around the clock with over 70 employees working the pistachio nuts.
A little fun and laughter with the Hort-Society. Yes we all had to don hair nets and beard covers to maintain the strict cleanliness in the processing facility...but we all had fun ribbing one another.
A stop at Patty and Dug McIntyre's (Dug's Woodworks, High Rolls, NM), a "wooder" (builds outdoor furniture), pots of all shapes, colors and sizes and more art-work for indoors and outdoors decorating. His brilliant colored furniture is on the Museum's Nature Trail and NMJC grounds.
On April 16th this year, David Hooten along with Darrell Beauchamp, presented "How to Grow Your Plants in a Raised Bed" in the WHM's Garden located in the back parking lot.  Now, as of July 23rd, the beds have went from potted plants planted in organic dirt or hay to WOW and densely lush with veggies.
 
The Society invites you to visit and see the garden's beautiful outcome.  In the near future, check the website's Horticultural Photo Gallery page (http://www.nmjc.edu/museum/horticulture_photogalleries.aspx)  to see more photos of the garden.

The beds before planting.
April 16th planting veggies in hay bales in a raised bed border.
Planting in organic potting soil using a large galvanized tub with drain holes.
July 23rd "veggies gone wild" in the beds.
New plant signs show gardening tips.
Thanks to the following kids in Art Camp A and instructor Nancy Powell for adding some color to the raised bed planters:

Estevan Flores, Gregory Silvey, Jacob King, Logan Reeves, Ty Wakeland, Reese Zebas Logen Lee, Joshua Jones
Duke P. Nbroh, Karley Frame, Eden Ayala
Treasure Ann Cash, and Bradley King


From the Web:

For penny-pinching hobby farmers....

Old Time Tips on pest control, using citrus and sweet potatoes as an ant defense, homemade tools and garden protection, etc....and links to other practical tips.

As many natural and organic growers already know, a gardener can experience success without leaning on big-box stores, harsh chemical sprays, pre-mixed fertilizers and pricey garden tools. For many of our parents and grandparents, remedies for garden challenges, such as pest repellants or fertilizers, originated from household staples and repurposed everyday items. While these garden hacks can save you money and a trip to the store, they can also provide a more natural approach to gardening that many growers-and eaters-desire.


Contributed by Ron Humphrey

Please Visit Our Nature Trail...

From the desk of David Hooten...

The Western Heritage Museum and the Lea Cowboy Hall of Fame Nature Trail has been accepted as a National Wildlife Federation's Certified Wildlife Habitat site. The approval and official letter dated July 11, 2016, came from David Mizejewski, (NWF Naturalist, Media Spokesperson, and Author). Certainly good news as this project has taken a few diligent years and people to complete and will continue to be added to. When you come to the museum, the Certified Wildlife Habitat signs from the National Wildlife Federation are displayed near the front entrance of the Museum and in strategic locations on the trail.

The Museum's Nature Trail ranks in the 1-5 acre size. It has meandering walkways through the Nature Trail with landscaping that ties in the Llano Estacado and the Quircho Plains of southeastern New Mexico. Native plants, trees and shrubs, cacti and native-adapted plants are contained within the system's trails. Local wildlife has moved into these landscaped areas replicating their natural settings. Food plants, grasses are planted for the wildlife. Along with this, a water feature, containing a bog-garden and pool with fish and invertebrates hosts as a water place for animals, birds and insects are part of the trail. This whole eco-system has been developed as part of an outdoor learning lab exhibit from the Museum's educational standpoint. It is an active training and educational trail system, that takes on seasonal changes with blooming plants, grasses and various species of wildlife living in it year around or those migrating through Lea County, New Mexico.

Additionally, the Nature Trail has been submitted and accepted as a Million Pollinator Garden.  Signage for this honor is coming to the Nature Trail to help promote pollinator restoration and education to the public.
The Nature Trails are marked with museum educational signs depicting the plants with botanical information, identified bronze-animals of the Plains, and other signage that supports the nature trail environment. We are honored to be part of the National Wildlife Federation Community Habitats initiative and part of the affiliated New Mexico program.
These honors have or will be publicized in the local Hobbs News Sun and on the Radio. 
 
P. S. **The new Western Heritage Horticultural Society Brochure has been printed, go here to check it out and please share:

Remember...

Notes
The Western Hertitage Horticultural Society anticipates sending out an event calendar newsletter (or fliers) on a regular basis along with an expanded quarterly newsletter with articles on gardening and "when to do it" tips.  The Society is looking forward to being a resource to the general public and helping to improve your yard and landscape.  If you'd like to join the Western Heritage Museum and the Society to take advantage of everything both have to offer, use the Quick Links at the top of this newsletter to see how to join.  Use the links to receive the newsletter and take a look at the Society Facebook page.  Please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might want a greener thumb.