>I know, it’s still dry, dry, dry in Central Texas. It’s hard to remember what a banner year for water it was in 2007 when 2008 was so very parched.
Well, I have an awesome way to send some good rain vibes out for 2009. Fellow Austin blogger Vicki Blachman and I have just started our year as Co-Chairs of Education for the Travis County Master Gardeners Association and we would love to invite all locals to attend the first seminar of 2009:
Rainwater Harvesting and Waterwise Gardening
January 10, 2009
10am-Noon
Zilker Botanical Garden
Come enjoy a free seminar on capturing rainwater and lowering water usage in your landscape. This session will cover all the basics of building a non-potable rainwater harvesting system. In addition, learn how to design beautiful gardens designed for lower water usage. Don’t be misinformed, xeriscaping is not “zero-scaping”. Vendors representing tank and gutter companies will be available to answer specific questions. City of Austin representatives will be available to answer rainbarrel, permit and rebate questions.
This seminar is presented by the Travis County Master Gardeners Association, a volunteer arm of the Texas A&M and Travis County AgriLife Extension Service. For more details, see http://www.tcmastergardeners.org
I’ll post more about future programs as they come up, including roses, spring prep, and veggie gardening. Hope to see some of you on the 10th!
Kiss of Sun 
>Dear Bonnie,Congrats Co-Chair! Your first program sounds great! I can’t think of anything I would like more then a cistern and collection system.gail
>You go, girls! I know we will have a birthday party that day, but if my DH is in town, I may beg off and come to the harvesting party! I still covet Vickie’s system. I just need a kick in the pants.
>Thanks for the heads up on the program and congrats. I am tired of my water collection system, which involves taking the bucket into the shower and capturing the water that comes out before it gets hot. I can’t believe it is so dry.
>Congratulations on your new position. What an excellent topic you have chosen for your first program. I believe future water restrictions in our area will make it impossible to garden here without implementing measures like rainwater harvesting, sustainable irrigation, and native and adaptive plant selection.We built a rainwater collection system (10,000 gal) as part of our greenhouse when we built it several years ago. It collects about 1000 gallons for each measurable inch of rain which is great……when it rains. Problem is that we only got about 12 inches of rain this year, and 12,000 gallons gets used up quickly during a summer like we just experienced. That is why it is so important to use drought tolerant plants and low water output irrigation systems.Good luck with your new position. I’m sure you will succeed completely.Carol
>I attended the last one and found it very helpful. Still need to install gutters. (I was hoping to comment on your new square foot gardens, but I don’t see that post. Maybe I’ve lost my mind.)
>Well, bummer. I’ve just caught this post and missed the event by 1 day. Water collection is so very important, and just hearing another poster mention possible water restrictions puts the fear of God in us Texans. These droughts are brutal. I’m afraid to complain too loudly as many in the US are getting too much rain. Not sure which is worse.Congrats on your new position. I’m sure I’ll probably catch you around on the next event or so. Helen