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Gardening Educational Programs

On this week’s Good to Grow, hosts Denise, Jan, and John will discuss the upcoming master gardeners program as the back-to-school season begins. Master gardener classes bring professionals, experts in different areas of gardening, to help provide a larger view of the impact of recognizing weather patterns, how to maintain trees, landscape materials, rose pruning, and much more! Anybody with a master gardener badge, which is not for the faint of heart, has dedicated time and hours of study to become community ambassadors of their knowledge in plants. Don’t miss this edition of Good to Grow, and stay tuned for the next episode!

The El Paso County Master Gardeners started in 1981 and has been growing with many volunteers and Master Gardeners ever since. The love of gardening and search for knowledge are primary reasons people join the program to become trained and certified Master Gardeners. Texas Master Gardeners are united in name, but the program’s strength lies in its ability to meet the diverse needs of the communities it serves.

Additonal Information/Links :

This program originally aired on August 30, 2025.

Denise S. Rodriguez, County Administrator and Horticulture Extension Agent, is an El Paso native who earned her BS and MS in Horticulture at New Mexico State University. Denise previously worked at the AgriLife Research Center at El Paso where she was part of a research team focusing on determining the drought and salt tolerance of low water use plants in urban horticulture. She has tailored her home gardens to be kid friendly in hopes of inspiring her own children to engage in gardening.
Jan Petrzelka is a voluntter host on Good To grow on Saturdays at 11:15 AM. She is a Master Gardner with the Texas A&M Extension service and conducts workshops on gardening.
John White is a co-host of Good To Grow on KTEP and a curator of the Chihuahua Desert Garden at the University of Texas at El Paso. John is a professional Horticulturist and earned his Masters of Science in Horticulture from New Mexico State University.
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