A White-Lined Sphinx Moth visiting our Iris early one morning. Photo by Amanda Green By Amanda Green, Permian Basin Master Gardener When you turn off the porch light and get ready for bed, do you know your garden has a second shift that comes in? At night, you will have moths, Texas blind snakes, and toads that take over when your daytime wildlife goes to sleep. I rarely get to witness this, but when I do, it’s always an experience. Having night-blooming plants such as Datura

Photo by John Cappadonna By John Cappadonna – Permian Basin Master Gardener   If I could only give you one gardening tip, what would it be? There are so many gardening hacks out there that it can be bewildering. There are really no silver bullets, but the most important thing you can do to improve your vegetable gardening experience is to improve your soil. The best way to improve your soil is with compost. Compost provides organic matter to the soil, which feeds the microorg

John's Herb Garden Photo by John Cappadona By Debbie Roland, Permian Basin Master Gardener   Are you a coffee or tea person?  Let’s talk about growing herbs for tea, and maybe that will become your new thing.  Many gardeners find that if you grow your own herbs , they are more flavorful than store-bought .  It is also a great way to enjoy fresh blends while connecting with nature and getting in your daily exercise! Whether you have a spacious yard or just a patio, growing he

A pollinator haven in Midland, Texas, thrives due to native plant selection and water-wise irrigation. Photo:  Emmy Ulmschneider By Mary Sirgo, Permian Basin Master Gardener Twice a year, the Earth tilts into balance. On the spring equinox, day and night are nearly equal in length. Light and dark hold the same space, if only briefly, before the rhythm shifts decisively toward longer days. Many of us may not even note the date on our calendars. We are more likely to notic

Attached photo courtesy of Tasa Richardson - Midland Health By Barbara Porsch, Permian Basin Master Gardener It is always around this time of year that people start talking about, or at least thinking about, growing some good tomatoes, peppers, and other fresh veggies.   But what is a person to do if they live in an apartment or someplace without a yard? Boy howdy, do I have a deal for you.  Check out the Midland Health Community Garden behind the F. Marie Hall Outpatient Cen

By Mary Sirgo, Permian Basin Master Gardeners   It’s 2016 in Lubbock, Texas, and the sky has fallen, blanketing the ground in bright white snow. Younger and disinclined to prepare for even the mildest of weather, I found myself without food in the house and hungry. After layering up in my warmest clothes, I set out on foot to the nearest grocery store. Major roads had been cleared for business, but driving out of my neighborhood wasn’t in the cards. As I walked a quiet route,

By Amanda Green, Master Gardener When choosing plants for landscaping, I’m usually drawn to soft and delicate foliage, which isn’t always the best choice for our West Texas Climate. When I was choosing new trees for my property, I knew I needed something small, drought-tolerant, and that would protect the songbirds from neighborhood cats and other predators. What I kept coming back to was native desert trees with prickles (thorns), and realized they were perfect for my needs.

Greens Photo by Sara Moran By Sara Moran, County Extension Horticulture Agent for Midland and Ector Counties. Welcome to the middle of summer, yes! Still hot and sunny; however, it is an excellent time to start planning for your cold-season greens. Growing greens can be a rewarding and relatively straightforward process. Here are some general tips to help you successfully grow greens: 1. Choose the right greens: There are various types of greens you can grow, such as lettuce,

Starting Seeds Indoor Photo by John Cappadonna By John Cappadonna – Master Gardener   It is time to start seeds indoors for spring planting. When you get seeds from a supplier, they are dry and dormant. Typically, moisture and temperature are the factors that break that dormancy, but sometimes light or darkness play a role.   Until the seedling forms true leaves, the endosperm portion of the seed, along with oxygen in the soil, furnishes the nutrients for the seedling to grow

November Blackberries   Photo by Emmy Ulmschneider By Emmy Ulmschneider, Permian Basin Master Gardener   Gardeners use numerous abbreviations, and we have previously written about a few of them: NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) and IPM (Integrated Pest Management).  However, I am coining a new term for my 2025 gardening year: NQR, or Not Quite Right.  And I am using what I observed in my 2025 garden to plan for my 2026 gardening year.  I have been growing fruits and vege

Prickly Russian Thistle/Picture by iNaturalist stock By Mary Sirgo Despite ongoing development in Texas that leaves many landscapes altered beyond recognition, a strong gust of wind and a tumbleweed can knock you back to reality. The infamous flora connects us to the Old West, reminding us of where we are and how we got here. But did you know this iconography of cowboy culture is one of the most prolific invasive species in North America, introduced seemingly by accident? In

By Amanda Green, Master Gardener  gulf fritillary emerging from chrysalis- ●     Photo by Amanda Green When you think of a butterfly garden, I’m sure you picture a flowerbed of big, bright blooms, a few butterflies, and sunshine. What happens when you get down to the plant level and look a little closer? You will see caterpillars munching, a chrysalis hanging from a stem, maybe a cocoon bundled up in the leaf litter. It really is a magical experience to see all the life stage

by John Cappadonna By John Cappadonna, Master Gardener   If you have struggled to grow large tomatoes in the past, then listen up. The problem with tomatoes is that they are tropical plants and pollinate effectively only within a specific temperature range. That range is above 50˚F but below 65˚F at night and below 85˚F during the day. These numbers are not exact; they may vary by a few degrees due to factors such as humidity or moisture levels . In the spring, those tempera

Master Gardeners work together to maintain a community garden. | Photo Credit: Alan Hale By Mary Sirgo, Permian Basin Master Gardeners When we talk about gardening, most of us picture spring wildflowers, summer storms, and the Texas sun warming our shoulders. But anyone who’s spent time in a community garden knows its impact stretches far beyond one season. These spaces don’t just grow plants, they grow connections. And that work doesn’t stop when winter settles in. Even as t

Tiny sprouts peek through the soil surface. | Mary Sirgo By Mary Sirgo In Umeå, Sweden, a team of researchers examined how organic matter breaks down during cold seasons, particularly when snow cover is reduced. The researchers removed snow from plots of land to simulate the predictions of their region’s trending weather forecasts. While the results of their study were not surprising, the scale was. The removal of the snow cover made the soil much colder and drastically reduc

pulchella & Coreopsis tinctoria | Mary Sirgo By Mary Sirgo, Permian Basin Master Gardeners Lawns first came on the scene as a status symbol in Europe, indicating that a landowner was so wealthy they could devote large swaths of their property to recreation rather than food production. Later, in the late 1800s, lawns became popular in North American landscapes, with the invention of the push lawn mower enhancing their accessibility for maintenance. Today, invasive grass turf

Photo by Mary Sirgo By Mary Sirgo, Permian Basin Master Gardeners As nightfall creeps in earlier and the air begins to cool, we may notice that just as nature slows down, so do our own energy levels. The pace of the year begins to shift as holiday gatherings approach, followed by winter festivities and soon enough, the pressure of New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps this year, we might take a cue from our gardens. Instead of pushing forward into another round of goals and growth,

The Food and Oxygen factory Illustration and Photo by Emmy Ulmschneider By Emmy Ulmschneider, Master Gardener   Before I retired, I taught science to fourth graders in Midland’s GT program.  As a scientist myself, I wanted my students to love science as I knew it:  asking and answering questions about big ideas.     And one of those big ideas was looking at how our world functions:  Where does the energy come from that keeps most living things on earth alive?  How is that ene

Picture by Bradley Ward By Debbie Roland, Master Gardener   Do you miss having fresh produce, herbs, and flowers in the winter?  There is a solution. One of my kids lives in a condo in central Texas.  Because he travels and isn’t home much to water plants, he decided to try an indoor tower garden.  I have to admit that I was skeptical.  He invested in a vertical, hydroponic growing system that lets you grow herbs, leafy greens, and even some fruits indoors and year-round with

Chicory and Garlic Growing with Native Sunflowers, Helianthus annuus Photo by Emmy Ulmschneider By Emmy Ulmschneider, Master Gardener As a member of the Texas Native Plant Society, I always enjoy reading their quarterly publication.  On page 20 of their 2025 Summer issue of Texas Native Plants, I found Martha Whitehouse’s article Where  Salsa Meets Sage Edible Gardening with a Texas Twist .  See https://www.npsot.org/resources/member-magazine/ . Her article confirmed somethin