Cary Sims
Agent for the Angelina County Office of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Cary Sims is the County Extension Agent for agriculture and natural resources for Angelina County. His email address is cw-sims@tamu.edu
Updated: May. 12, 2022 at 5:06 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Looking ahead at the upcoming hay and grazing season, there is growing concern among the cattlemen with whom I have been visiting.
Updated: May. 6, 2022 at 11:51 AM CDT
|By Cary Sims
The cost of fertilizer is a significant factor in the final cost and profitability of this summer’s hay crop.
Updated: Apr. 7, 2022 at 4:46 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Grafting and budding are horticultural techniques used to join parts from two or more plants so that they appear to grow as a single plant.
Updated: Mar. 25, 2022 at 4:27 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Volunteers are truly the heroes behind the scenes who make our county fair successful.
Updated: Mar. 17, 2022 at 4:00 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Preston Jelinek, 17, and Peyton Jelinek, 14, from Lufkin will be part of the 4H competition at the Angelina County Youth Fair on March 26.
Updated: Mar. 3, 2022 at 4:21 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
Jacob will have his heifers and record book judged along with his interview on Friday, March 25th at the Angelina County Fair.
Updated: Feb. 25, 2022 at 2:51 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
This will be Lauren Boulware's last time to compete in the Angelina County Fair heifer show.
Updated: Feb. 17, 2022 at 5:24 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
Reach for the Stars “Celebrating the Possibilities” at the Angelina County Fair is a livestock show on Thursday, March 24 at 5 p.m. that will showcase the talents of special needs youth from across our county. Participants will be paired up with a 4-H or FFA buddy to exhibit livestock
Updated: Feb. 3, 2022 at 5:12 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
Most everyone knows the best time to plant potted trees and shrubs in the landscape is in the fall through winter, but during the later winter and spring, local nurseries are stocked up on several fruit tree varieties that will work for us.
Updated: Jan. 28, 2022 at 11:55 AM CST
|By Cary Sims
Agricultural producers and home gardeners have been facing issues due to supply chain problems. Producers need to take a hard look at this year’s fertilizer costs as prices are currently high are expected to get much higher.
Updated: Jan. 21, 2022 at 3:39 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
Lufkin is now in Zone 8b with an average minimum temperature ranging from 15 to 20 F. Just a few miles north, Nacogdoches is in zone 8a (10 to 15 F), and further to our north, Tyler marks the transition into zone 7b (5 to 10 F).
Updated: Jan. 13, 2022 at 5:28 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
Dirt is the stuff under your fingernails and that which you sweep up after cleaning your floors. But soil is a rich, diverse, and living medium from which vegetation grows profusely and produces is abundantly.
Updated: Jan. 7, 2022 at 10:37 AM CST
|By Cary Sims
For the purpose of gearing up for spring planting, let us focus on the soil.
Updated: Dec. 22, 2021 at 10:01 AM CST
|By Cary Sims
Cary Sims ponders the plants, livestock, and agricultural nuances that are written in both the Old and New Testaments.
Updated: Dec. 16, 2021 at 1:44 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
Cole/cruciferous/mustard family vegetables include cool-season crops such as Brussels sprout, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, broccoli, turnips, and watercress.
Updated: Dec. 10, 2021 at 10:28 AM CST
|By Cary Sims
First frosts are a major marker for agricultural producers, gardeners, and landscapers. A frost effectively ends the growing season for several warm-season annuals and puts many perennials into their winter slumber.
Updated: Dec. 3, 2021 at 10:23 AM CST
|By Cary Sims
Lady beetles are insects that are absolutely beneficial. But they are not invading your home to cause problems, only to stay warm.
Updated: Nov. 23, 2021 at 9:53 AM CST
|By Cary Sims
Wander the aisles in our local nurseries and ask what’s been a favorite. Consider what tools are worn out and think of the additions that help your gardener enjoy the garden and landscape even more.
Updated: Nov. 19, 2021 at 3:54 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
As winter approaches, the days get shorter. As the days get shorter, we are cut back on the number of daylight hours we have to work outside.
Updated: Nov. 4, 2021 at 5:07 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
All food sources are organic matter and anytime an organic item decomposes in an anaerobic (absent of oxygen) environment such as a landfill, it will release methane.
Updated: Oct. 29, 2021 at 4:39 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Sweet potatoes are a nutritionally dense, summer annual root vegetable that we can grow quite well here in east Texas.
Updated: Oct. 21, 2021 at 4:37 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
This time of year is perfect for planning new beds, planting perennials, cleaning tools, closing down 2021′s garden, and gearing up for a great start to spring of 2022.
Updated: Oct. 15, 2021 at 3:21 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
A bait that targets only feral hogs is being researched but still a long way away from being available.
Updated: Sep. 30, 2021 at 5:14 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Produce harvested in milder weather is reported to taste better.
Updated: Sep. 23, 2021 at 4:59 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Homeowners that are thinking about adding fruit trees to their home landscape need to first start by taking an honest look at their site.
Updated: Sep. 16, 2021 at 3:44 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
An evening seminar covering the how-to’s of home fruit production will be held at the Angelina County Extension Office this Tuesday, Sept. 21 starting at 6:30 p.m.
Updated: Sep. 10, 2021 at 4:07 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
The East Texas Fruit and Vegetable Virtual Conference will be held on the morning of Thursday, Oct 7.
Updated: Sep. 3, 2021 at 4:20 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Whether you hunt or not, this late summer/early fall planting can do several things: attract wildlife, enrich your soil, and beautify your place.
Updated: Aug. 26, 2021 at 5:24 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
According to all scientific observations, we certainly don’t have any murderous hornets in East Texas, but we do have an unusually large wasp called a cicada killer.
Updated: Jul. 20, 2021 at 3:17 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
On the surface, it seems like a silly question to ask: when should I water my lawn? As East Texas is coming out of an incredibly wet spring and early summer, and landscapes start to dry up, the question is a good one.
Updated: Jul. 14, 2021 at 4:41 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
About this time of year, spring planted gardens are winding down. The heat of summer is here and the soil is drying up. And yet this is the perfect time to prepare for your fall garden.
Updated: Jul. 7, 2021 at 5:18 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Grubs eat roots of lawns in addition to several other landscape plants.
Updated: Jul. 2, 2021 at 4:32 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
It is completely possible that your pond may have had a fish die-off recently as a result up the stormy weather that we have experienced.
Updated: Jun. 23, 2021 at 4:48 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
The addition of a layer of three inches of mulch is one of the best additions that you can make to any of your flower beds, shrubs, and trees.
Updated: Jun. 17, 2021 at 4:06 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
One of the most popular choices of trees to add to the landscape is a pecan. It seems several folks want to have at least one pecan tree around their house but are often frustrated with the lack of results they often get.
Updated: Jun. 2, 2021 at 4:01 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Taller canopy growth generally corresponds to greater energy production which supports deeper and more vigorous rooting.
Updated: May. 20, 2021 at 4:58 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
What's the best way to detect if your oak was damaged by the February freeze? How do you treat it if it was? Angelina County Extension Agent Cary Sims gives some tips.
Updated: May. 13, 2021 at 4:34 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Vegetation provides cover for fish and helps add oxygen. But as we can imagine, too much vegetation can lead to problems as well.
Updated: May. 7, 2021 at 12:02 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Muddy water is often a problem in Texas farm ponds because it inhibits the growth of natural fish food and is just not aesthetically pleasing.
Updated: Apr. 30, 2021 at 4:47 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
There are two kinds of fish available that love to eat weeds. These two fish are the Triploid grass carp and tilapia.
Updated: Apr. 22, 2021 at 5:36 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Don't give up taking care of these trees and shrubs as our efforts this year will make a huge impact on next year’s production.
Updated: Apr. 15, 2021 at 5:31 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
The fact was, we had to wait for weeks, perhaps months or more, to find out which plants were going to make it.
Updated: Mar. 31, 2021 at 5:31 PM CDT
|By Cary Sims
Behind the three numbers is nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Those three are the most needed of all the nutrients required for a plant to grow.
Updated: Feb. 12, 2021 at 3:12 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
Follow these steps and you should save more of your landscape from damage or total loss.
Updated: Jan. 21, 2021 at 4:24 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
If you are looking to grow peaches in your landscape, know that peaches will take some care. There’s pruning; weed, insect, and disease control; fruit thinning; as well as water and fertilization.
Updated: Jan. 15, 2021 at 1:21 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
With all the acorns gone and several weeks to go until spring green-up, many wildlife species are facing shortages.
Updated: Jan. 8, 2021 at 12:13 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
With a raised bed and some good soil growing produce 12 months of the year, one could see a small, to modest financial return.
Updated: Dec. 31, 2020 at 2:26 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
This cold, wet, dead-of-winter time is the best time to study what is going on and plan for a successful garden.
Updated: Dec. 28, 2020 at 3:43 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
If unsure that your garden site is poorly drained, there is a simple test to check drainage.
Updated: Dec. 17, 2020 at 4:07 PM CST
|By Cary Sims
Long ago, these items must have been considered wonderful treats because there was no way to get fresh fruit and nuts all over the world year-round.