The most G HGTV ever had was just a handful of acceptable shows. I especially enjoyed 'A Gardener's Diary' with Erica Glasener; she knew her stuff. The sad fact about most TV show hosts is they are not hired for their expertise. They're hired for decent looks, bright white teeth and the ability to smile unaturally while talking (think Giada on Food NW). Years ago, there was a terrible HGTV show about houseplants with a shamefully unqualified female host who pretended (badly) to know what she was talking about, she also appeared as a workout model in my Nordictrack catalog and I caught her on a home shopping network hawking leg hair remover and claiming her long absence from appearing on HSN was due to the many hours she'd spent formulating the newest jar of crap she was selling! Most HGTV shows are cheap to make- follow someone around looking at homes for sale, film the progress of someone wealthy who has hired a landscape architect to design and a landscaper to maintain their yard, or an episode of 'my big giant over the top whole house remodel'. The rest of the shows are paid for by the Ho Depot and they are no longer subtle about that either. Landscape shows did and still do concentrate on 'transform my yard in two days', badly. No one ever talks about what the plants are or why they have been chosen, or God forbid there be anything about landscape design principles (they never talk about interior design priciples either for that matter). The comments above about the decline in gardening I expect are true; sad but true.

A group of our Master Gardeners ran this program this year, following the Texas A & M University curriculum. The garden was prepared on land behind our county agricultural office building and 5th grade students were transported from a local school and they attended lessons and planted, tended and harvested in their garden with guidance from MG's who had been through a training session. Several children came back (with their parents) after school was out for the year to continue to work in the garden and even submitted produce in the County Fair. Most of the produce is being donated to a local food bank. Their garden was beautiful and apparently the endeavor has been a huge success. I was not directly involved in the JrMG program, as I've been busy, as an "intern" who will graduate in November, helping to maintain the PAR (Plant-a-Row for the Hungry) garden that the interns started last year and passed down to the current class. However, if you're interested in more details, I'm sure I could obtain same, or perhaps put you in touch with someone directly involved with the project. Diane

We are having more and more requests for speakers on gardening topics from different groups. I personally have spoken to garden clubs, church groups, and a Kiwanis group this year and I know there have been many more requests that other MGs have filled. Advertising the fact that you can provide speakers is always a good thing to do. Local newspapers, flyers posted in prominent places, phone calls to local groups such as garden clubs, nursing homes, or schools, will get the word out. We also set up booths at the county and state fair every year. Our area is blessed with several public gardens that allow us to give time as volunteers. We have had a clinic/display at a local shopping mall. Some of our MGs participate in a rain barrel project every year. Some of our MGs are trained as Urban Tree Specialists and go out on field visits to evaluate tree problems (never ones that involve safety issues, just pests or diseases or cultural problems.) Others are involved in a program for new homeowners in the area. They will perform an evaluation of the property and identify as many trees and shrubs growing there as possible. (The homeowner has to pay a small fee for this program. It covers the detailed report and multiple publications the homeowner receives.) We also have a similar program called Grass Roots that gets the homeowner a customized lawn care plan. I hope some of these ideas are practical for your group. Sandy

Good morning, I knew there would be people who were as obssessed as I am with this data! To respond to the questions (in no particular order): Yes, my DH reports that we will be able to break out the machines' components (motors vs heater) individual electrical draws. My machines have at least two motors: drain pump and drum rotator/spin. It was easy to see them in the graph as it was happening, but we will need more experience to be able to accurately capture all the data. As far as the efficiency of energy used by an internal heater vs a DHW appliance, Dadoes is correct. It's a theoretical wash (LOL!). Our DHW is electric, not propane, so fuel is identical. There is also no loss of temp in the pipes (though that heat wouldn't be wasted as it's under the house, anyway). In theory, allowing for age and any scale on the calrods, it should take precisely the same energy in both appliances. Functionally as livebetter pointed out, however, beefy internal heaters fed only cold water provide the very-useful "profile wash" characteristic. (Profile washes are a deliberate stepped rise in temps that improves washing perferformance.) In addition, an on-board heater also allows the machine to maintain the desired temp throughout the whole wash phase, which I believe improves washing performance as well. As far as loopholes in the mandated energy ratings, I believe that may be at play these days, particularly for the newest generations of machines (mine are 15-19 years old). However I think heating water is less of an issue there than overall water use requirements. Nunyabiz noted my use of high temps as being atypical. I agree, but point out that I also use very little detergent compared to many. That's obviously a function of my good water quality, but I also can get away with using less partly because I use higher temps because temperature, time, agitation energy and detergent are all wrapped up together in the cleaning equation. Of course, I almost never wash clothes at 190F, just linens, cleaning cloths and pet bedding which can stand it. In addition to the profound cleaning these items get, the regular use of higher temps keeps my washer clean of bio-film and product build-up, etc. No small thing for FLs, it seems. (Overnight, I did another load similar to #2 & 3 and it's energy cost was 22 cents. But that's without the extra "starch" cycle which has to be selected manually after the progam is finished. I will check and see what it costs, all by itself.) It seems to me that heating the water, particularly for people who choose more "more normal" max temps, is not the cost driver on each load. My DH reports the machine's vampire load is a stable 3 watts; let's see, 3 x 24 x 365 = 26 KWH/year or $3.90 year. Except I have more than one washing machine .... Anyway, now that I know that, a big ole circuit-opening switch will be high on my DH's honey-do list. More data (and more details) as I organize them. L.