Texas Master Gardeners
Texas Master Gardeners Website 		Fort Bend County Master Gardeners, Inc. Texas AgriLife Extension

Texas AgriLife Extension Website
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Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Who do I contact if I have a home gardening question?
Q. Where are the Fort Bend County Master Gardeners located?
Q. How do I become a Master Gardener?
Q. I am a commercial grower. Can the Master Gardeners help me?
Q. What is composting and how do I get started?
Q. Where can I find information about composting containers?
Q. I tried growing tomatoes this year and had some problems. Where can I find information to help me solve my problems?
Q. My vegetable garden shows signs of insect damage throughout it. What kind of controls can I use?
Q. I have an insect that I don't know what it is. How can I get this identified?
Q. I like butterflies. What plants should I have in my yard?
Q. How can I control these pesky imported red fireants?
Q. I've seen bees swarming. Are they Africanized bees?
Q. I want my lawn green and alive. Where can I find out information about how to do this?
Q. I want to raise roses but I don't want to have to spend all my time with them. What varieties work best in Fort Bend?
Q. Is my soil too acidic/alkaline? How can I find out?

General Questions

Q. Who do I contact if I have a home gardening question?
A. For Fort Bend County, we definately recommend you contact our Hotline volunteers! They provide timely, researched answers to most of your questions. If they don't have the answer immediately, they will use the numerous resources available to them (such as the Aggies websites and our horticultural extension agent). To contact our hotline, visit our Hotline page for phone, fax, email, or physical location informtion.

Q. Where are the Fort Bend County Master Gardeners located?
A. In the Texas AgriLife Extension office annex at 1402 Band Road, Rosenberg. Go to Our Map Page for a map to the offices.

Q. How do I become a Master Gardener?
A. Visit our Master Gardener Training Page for information on our upcoming training class, requirements, cost, and application forms.

Not in Fort Bend County? Then visit the Aggie Horticulture's Texas Master Gardener Homepage to find the nearest Extension office with the program.

Q. I am a commercial grower. Can the Master Gardeners help me?
A. No. Master Gardeners are not equipped to help commercial growers. Please contact the Fort Bend County Extension Office. Their website is Fort Bend County Extension Office.


Composting Questions

Q. What is composting and how do I get started?
A. Whether you want to cold compost, hot compost, or use worms (vermiculture), a good place to start is the Aggie Horticulture® website at the Gardening Tips For Northeast Texas - Composting provided by Smith County Master Gardeners.

Q. Where can I find information about composting containers?
A. The Aggie Horticulture® webiste has the answer for you on their Composting Strucures page.


Insects and Vegetables

Q. I tried growing tomatoes this year and had some problems. Where can I find information to help me solve my problems?
A. The Texas AgriLife Extension Service's Aggie Horticulture® should be your first stop in finding that kind of information - particularly the Tomato Problem Solver website.

Q. My vegetable garden shows signs of insect damage throughout it. What kind of controls can I use?
A. Visit the Department of Entomology's Integrated Pest Management for the Home Vegetable Garden at Texas A&M to identify the specific insect problem and some recommendations for their control.

Q. I have an insect that I don't know what it is. How can I get this identified?
A. You have several options.
  • First, bring the insect to our office (map to Annex) and ask our Hotline volunteers. All visits like this will create a great excitement for everyone!
  • Or, if you have a high quality digital image, you can submit it electronically to our Hotline volunteers at FortBendmg@ag.tamu.edu and ask for an indentification.
  • Next, you can visit Insects in the City&trade to obtain an insect identification form and ship the subject to Texas A&M.
  • Finally, you could visit the Texas A&M Department of Entomology's website at Http://insects.tamu.edu/links/ to search for your information.
Q. I like butterflies. What plants should I have in my yard?
A. One of our Master Gardeners has a listing of the butterflies common to Fort Bend County and the plants they prefer. Each plant is designated as either a 'host' or 'nectar' plant. You can see this listing in our Entomology section under 'Attracting Butterflies to your Garden'.

Q. How can I control these pesky imported red fireants?
A. By following the recommendations of the experts at A&M Imported Fire Ant. Addtionally, you can find specific broadcast bait recommendations at Texas Imported Fire Ant Research and Management Project page Broadcast Baits for Fire Ant Control.

Q. I've seen bees swarming. Are they Africanized bees?
A. You cannot tell native honey bees from Africanized bees simply by observing. See our page on Bees for more information.


Miscellaneous Questions

Q. I want my lawn green and alive. Where can I find out information about how to do this?
A. Check the information at the Texas A&M University Turfgrass program - AggieTurf - website.

Q. I want to raise roses but I don't want to have to spend all my time with them. What varieties work best in Fort Bend?
A. Although many varieties work here, the most extensively tested roses are Earth-Kind® Roses. You may learn more about these at Earth-Kind® Roses.

Q. Is my soil too acidic/alkaline? How can I find out?
A. Think you need your soil analyzed. You can call our Hotline and request we send you a kit that you can use to gather the soil and send to Texas A&M for analysis. Or you can visit http://soiltesting.tamu.edu/ for all the information you need about getting your soil tested.