Extension Educationin Williamson County

• A 4-week session series exploring other cultures. Each session will be a different country.
• In this program we dive into various world cuisines, traditions, and nutrition aspects of the foods.
As the participant you will learn alongside cultural cooking experts to expand your palate and culinary skills. Get ready to try some tasty food!

Any competitive Wilco folks up for a challenge? We are hosting our second annual PUMPKIN GROWING CONTEST. Reserve your plants now so your pumpkins will be ready for judging at the Wilco Fair and Rodeo on October 26th. We will have 2 classes. Heaviest pumpkin (Big Max) and Best Mini pumpkins (Jack be Little).

Have you been wanting to learn to Water Bath Can so you can preserve all the wonderful produce from your home garden or local farmer’s market? Here’s your chance! It is vitally important that home canning is done safely, and this workshop will teach you what you need to know.
• The cost is $35; the date is Friday, June 7, 2024, from 1 PM to 5 PM. All required supplies will be provided.
• We will be Water Bath Canning pickled carrots during this hands-on workshop but if you have your own pressure canner, you can bring it with you for safety testing.
• You will leave the workshop with educational materials, Pickled Carrots, Sauerkraut and sourdough starter!

The annual Stiles Farm Foundation Field Day will be from 4:15 p.m.-8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11th, at 5700 Farm-to Market Road 1063. No pre-registration is required. In-person registration begins at 4:15 p.m. 2 CEU Credits are available. Farm tour will begin loading at 5:15 p.m. onto air-conditioned buses and will stop at four locations. Topics include:
• Fat up or fat down? What every Texan needs to know about BBQ — Jeffery W. Savell, Ph.D., vice chancellor and dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M, Bryan-College Station.
• Where the rubber meets the road: Soil and planter equipment interactions and profitable fertilizer decision making — Tony Provin, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension specialist and director, AgriLife Extension Soil and Water Testing Laboratory, and professor in the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
• John Deere See and Spray technology demonstration — Kyle Lanier, test supervisor, John Deere, Austin.
• Lessons learned from current growing season: Insect and weed control management in grain — Ronnie Schnell, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist and professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
Following the tour, Mark Welch, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension economist and professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, will provide a grain market update during the catered dinner.
NEW youth program added at the same time as our traditional farm tour. The program will feature an all-terrain vehicle and tractor safety course, fire safety demonstrations by the Williamson County Emergency Services District 10 firefighters, and a make and take plant project by the Williamson County Master Gardeners. A water slide and a sno-cone machine will also be available during the safety program. Youth are encouraged to bring swimwear and sunscreen.

Join Master Gardener Cheryl Cooper for her presentation on Earth-Kind Landscaping, she'll show us how to combine the best of organic and traditional gardening and landscaping principles to create a horticultural system based on real world effectiveness and environmental responsibility! Call us at 512-943-3300 or visit https://txmg.org/williamson/ for more information.