February 21, 2014
The Northeast Texas Community College goats are pulling their weight and performing one of their many uses on the Eagle Ranch. You might say that the goats at NTCC are great at providing ?natural land enhancement services?. The farm interns in the AGMG 2286 Class just completed the project of moving the goat fencing and shelter next to the Whatley Ag Complex this afternoon. Future plans are to build and install a flower garden with raised beds on this side of the facility.††However, before the first raised bed can be built the goats are performing their job in preparing the ?foundation?.
† † † †A very green and sustainable practice is to utilize animals to graze down the grass instead of using chemicals to kill it.††It should take the goats about 2 weeks to completely remove all grass and weeds and they will leave behind a little fertilizer too! Once the layer of mulch is applied, then beds of compost will be put in and the fun part begins - planting the beautiful plants.††If you have some great roses or bulbs that you would like to donate to our garden, please let me know and I would be glad to send our farm interns to collect them.
† † † ††Planned plants for the flower garden are: earth kind roses, climbing roses on the ?green? screen trellises in front of the building, irises, daylilies and tulips. Ornamental grasses and annuals will be grown in the greenhouse and transferred to the beds in later spring.††All plants will be chosen to be easy to grow and maintain and have limited need of water.
† † † ††For questions about the farm internship class or goat care and handling, or perhaps to donate plants, please contact Rene? McCracken, NTCC Agriculture Director, at 903-434-8267.††Lastly, if you would like to help the NTCC Ag department recycle and reuse and you have old 6 packs or pots that you purchased plants in ? please bring them to the ag complex and donate them to be reused and planted again!
By: Rene' McCracken,†NTCC Agriculture Director
