CONGRATULATIONS!!! Super Sowers win JMG Group of the Year. Seven PBMGs also Recognized. No Directory Changes

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1 May 2009 Vol. 5 Meeting of PBMG will be held Wednesday, May 6, at noon at the CEED. OFFICERS President: Bruce Shearer President Elect: Marita Hendrick Secretary: Carol Siddall Treasurer: Nancy Davis Records: Veta Reese Advisor: Earl Foote Members-at-Large: Jenola Flowers John Swift Ellie Holmes Don Kinnison Past President: Barbara Porsch Publicity: Carol Siddall Membership List: Eunice Barkes Newsletter Editor: Carolyn Beall Website: Kay Pate No Directory Changes CONGRATULATIONS!!! Super Sowers win JMG Group of the Year Seven PBMGs also Recognized At the Texas Master Gardener Conference the Midland Super Sowers of Midland were awarded the JMG Group of the Year, which is especially commendable due to the keen competition across the state! These students have worked with Emmy Ulmschneider, the science teacher at Carver Center. Four other groups were recognized in various strong areas but the Super Sowers were the only ones to be chosen Group of the Year! Congratulations and our sincere gratitude go out to who have completed their training and 12 hour service requirement in order to receive their certification. Geriann Green and Shelley Wells are two of 15 recognized for completing their JMG Specialist Certification. Wendy Lowe and Ann Panuska were recognized as Greenhouse Specialists. Karen Miller was recognized as an Entomologist Specialist while Kay Pate, Shirley Jo and John Kelly were recognized as Propagation Specialists. On top of all this, Kay and the Kelleys received second place in Graphics for their program on propagation which can be viewed on our website! Needless to say, our group was well represented. Geriann Green and Barbara Porsch, our delegates; along with Bruce Shearer; Carol Siddall; and Kathleen Utsman made the 991 miles round-trip to Marshall with Debbie. Mark your calendars because the 2010 conference will be held in Dallas and the 2011 in Glen Rose! Please send phone, address and changes to: Eunice Barkes ebarkes@suddenlink.net PLEASE NOTE! KIDS, KOWS & MORE HAS BEEN CANCELLED!

2 - Please Consider Making a Donation A collection will be taken up at the monthly meeting for Berwin Wilson, the CEED Custodian, to help with the costs of care for his mom who recently passed away. CARE AND CONCERNS: Dell and Norma Hamilton serious health concerns for both. Dawn Whitlock recovering from a serious infection. June Russell accidentally cut off the tips of two fingers. Earlene Smith s husband, Bert serious health concerns. Please keep these Master Gardeners in your prayers. Tidbits and Trivia: All chairmen who send out work schedules need to copy these to Debbie. Articles of the Association will be voted on at the monthly meeting. Trainees are asked to turn in their hours monthly and members are to turn in their hours quarterly. MK Engelstad represented the PBMG at the Midland ISD s Partners in Education Appreciation Luncheon for our volunteer work at Carver Center. Judy Piper misplaced her glucose monitor at the Plan Sale. If you saw it or can help her locate it please give her a call at or ARTICLES of ASSOCIATION A revised edition of the PBMG Articles of Association has been approved by the Executive Board and, as decreed in same Articles, will be presented to the membership for vote on Wednesday May 6 at the monthly meeting. There was a copy of the Articles included in the April newsletter for your information. Please come prepared to vote. The revision committee, chaired by Marita Hendrick, includes Gay Hock, Geriann Green and Roger Corzine.

3 Website Information New Additions: New galleries: Link through ( Other Galleries ) MRT Article about PB Master Gardeners Flora of the Big Bend photos Noel Art Museum Plant Sale photos 2009 PBMG Plant Sale photos Several new Easy Gardening Articles: Link through (Gardening Resources > Gardening Publications) Texas-State of Flowing Water video. Link through (Public Education > Water Conservation/Rainwater Harvesting> Mission Statement) Texas Master Gardener on-line re-certification classes link added to members-only main menu. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Garden Committees: CEED Entrance Garden - Jamie Waters, Karen Miller - Workday Monday, May 4 th Compost Demonstration Garden - Earl Foote, Mary Ann Miles Workday Thursday, May 7 th & 21 st 9AM Junior Master Gardener Garden Committee Analyze and Review Garden, Thursday, May 7, 11:00AM Odessa Memorial Garden - Marita Hendrick, Suellis Bryant Workday Monday, May 11 th 8:30AM Rose Research Garden - Donna Winborn, Nancy Lovett Workday Monday, May 11 th 8:30AM Variety Trial Garden - Geriann Green, Nancy Davis - Workday Monday, May 18 th 9AM Water Wise Garden - June Alderman, Carl White Workday Friday, May 8 th & 22 nd 8:30AM plus discuss the RWH Project Friday, May 15, 9 AM Peach Trial (S of Midland on Midkiff) Workday - mulch, weed, drip irrigation, bring hat, gloves, tools, garden carts, pitch forks and drinking water. Call Debbie or David Barnett for directions) Educational and Service Committees: Junior Master Gardener Committee Misti Linneman, GeriAnn Green, Debbie Frost Thursday, May 14 th 1:30PM CAF Misti Linneman Bush Bunch Eloise Taylor - Desert Bloomers Water Conservation Committee - Merita Hart, Veta Reese May 6 th, 10:30 AM at the CEED

4 Vegetable Specialist Training Fort Bend County is hosting a Vegetable Specialist Class July 24 and 25. This class is limited to 2 Master Gardeners per county. They need a preliminary count of participants by May 8th, to determine the class size and interest. The cost of the class is $250 per person. Please respond by May 8, 2009 to Margo McDowell at MMcDowell@ag.tamu.edu and let Debbie know if you are interested in this class. Future Dates: May 6 th, PBMG Monthly Meeting 12Noon - CEED Re-cert May 20 th, Landscape Water Conservation, Dr. Dottie Woodson, CEED May 26 th, PBMG Board Meeting - 10AM Midland County June 3 rd, PBMG Monthly Meeting 12Noon - CEED (Pot Luck - to honor our Trainees, who are now interns) June 9 th and 11 th, 6PM EarthKind Compost Class Re-cert June 18 th to 21 st, Regional Master Gardener Conference Oklahoma City, OK June 23 th, PBMG Board Meeting - 10AM Midland County July 1 st, PBMG Monthly Meeting 12Noon - CEED July 28 th, PBMG Board Meeting - 10AM Ector County August 5 th, PBMG Monthly Meeting 12Noon - CEED August 25 th, PBMG Board Meeting - 10AM Ector County September 2 nd, PBMG Monthly Meeting 12Noon CEED Re-cert September 14 th & 15 th, Landscape Design Study Course 3, College Station, TX September 22 nd, PBMG Board Meeting - 10AM Ector County September 28 th to October 2 nd, Entomology Specialist Training, Conroe, TX October 7 th, PBMG Monthly Meeting 12Noon - CEED October 27 th, PBMG Board Meeting - 10AM Ector County November 4 th, PBMG Monthly Meeting 12Noon - CEED November 24 th, PBMG Board Meeting - 10AM Ector County PBMG Board Approves Online Re-certification EARTH-KIND online training provided by TMG.org was approved by our board for re-certification credit. There are 12 modules to choose from designed to provide information on a variety of environmentally friendly practices for use in the home and garden. To earn one credit five modules must be successfully completed; to earn two credits 10 modules must be successfully completed. Each module can only be used once. Participants must present verification of passing the quiz and completing the evaluation to Veta Reese to receive re-certification credit. A link to this website is available on the members-only main menu of westtexasgardening.org Texas Rain Catcher Award

5 Fall 2008 Rainwater Harvesting System Carver Center School Midland, Texas Sponsor: Utilities Administration City of Midland, Texas Capacity: 4,100 gallons: one 2,500-gallon tank and one 1,600-gallon tank Catchment Area: 4,068 square foot roof area Water Use: Non-potable: irrigation and pond use Background: The rainwater harvesting system at the Carver Center was built by the Junior Master Gardners group at the school (4th to 6th grade students) as an educational tool and as a source of water supply for the awardwinning biodiversity gardens at the school. The System: The rainwater harvesting system at the Carver Center is a simple system consisting of two polypropylene storage tanks which are installed on concrete pads located adjacent to the classroom building at the school. One tank has a 2,500 gallon capacity and the other can hold 1,600 gallons. Rainwater is collected from an approximately 4,100-square-foot roof area above the classrooms. Rain falling on the roof flows into roof gutters and is then piped into the storage tanks. A 75-micron pre-filter removes relatively coarse material in the water before it enters the storage tanks. The harvested water is then piped to a garden pond to replenish it as needed. The pond relies entirely on harvested rainwater. A portion of the captured rainwater is also used to irrigate the garden through a drip irrigation system. Eventually, the school plans to use only harvested rainwater for all its garden needs. This system was designed and installed at a total cost of approximately $2,500. The entire system was assembled by 4th grade students under the supervision of their teacher, Ms. Emmy Ulmschneider. Education: Carver Center is the home of the Gifted Education Midland (GEM) program. Over the past eight years, fourth grade GEM students have developed and maintained a biodiversity garden at the school. The garden has primarily been used to teach the students and the community about biodiversity, native landscaping, Earth-kind practices, horticultural techniques, and now rainwater harvesting. The gardens were recognized as a National Wildlife Federation Schoolyard Habitat in 2002 and awarded the 2004 Texas Environmental Excellence Award. To see pictures go to

6 The Texas A&M University System 1010 E. 8 th Street Odessa, TX Deborah Benge Frost CEA-Horticulture Ector/Midland Counties MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO PBMG AND MAIL TO: Educational programs of the Texas Cooperative Extension are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, sex, disability, age, or national origin. The Texas A&M University System, US Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Court of Texas cooperating.