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Looking ahead at the upcoming hay and grazing season, there is growing concern among the cattlemen with whom I have been visiting.
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The cost of fertilizer is a significant factor in the final cost and profitability of this summer’s hay crop.
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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.
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Volunteers are truly the heroes behind the scenes who make our county fair successful.
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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.
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Jacob will have his heifers and record book judged along with his interview on Friday, March 25th at the Angelina County Fair.
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This will be Lauren Boulware's last time to compete in the Angelina County Fair heifer show.
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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
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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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For the purpose of gearing up for spring planting, let us focus on the soil.
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Cary Sims ponders the plants, livestock, and agricultural nuances that are written in both the Old and New Testaments.
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Cole/cruciferous/mustard family vegetables include cool-season crops such as Brussels sprout, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, broccoli, turnips, and watercress.
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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.
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Lady beetles are insects that are absolutely beneficial. But they are not invading your home to cause problems, only to stay warm.
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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.
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.
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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.
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Sweet potatoes are a nutritionally dense, summer annual root vegetable that we can grow quite well here in east Texas.
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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.
A bait that targets only feral hogs is being researched but still a long way away from being available.
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Homeowners that are thinking about adding fruit trees to their home landscape need to first start by taking an honest look at their site.
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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.
The East Texas Fruit and Vegetable Virtual Conference will be held on the morning of Thursday, Oct 7.
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Whether you hunt or not, this late summer/early fall planting can do several things: attract wildlife, enrich your soil, and beautify your place.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Grubs eat roots of lawns in addition to several other landscape plants.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Taller canopy growth generally corresponds to greater energy production which supports deeper and more vigorous rooting.
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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.
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Vegetation provides cover for fish and helps add oxygen. But as we can imagine, too much vegetation can lead to problems as well.
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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.
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There are two kinds of fish available that love to eat weeds. These two fish are the Triploid grass carp and tilapia.
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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.
The fact was, we had to wait for weeks, perhaps months or more, to find out which plants were going to make it.
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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.
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Follow these steps and you should save more of your landscape from damage or total loss.
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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.
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With all the acorns gone and several weeks to go until spring green-up, many wildlife species are facing shortages.
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With a raised bed and some good soil growing produce 12 months of the year, one could see a small, to modest financial return.
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This cold, wet, dead-of-winter time is the best time to study what is going on and plan for a successful garden.
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If unsure that your garden site is poorly drained, there is a simple test to check drainage.
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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.