With fall upon us and getting closer to winter, my week was filled with questions about bugs. Bumble bees, honeybees, armyworms, and a potential sighting of the Asian giant hornet are among the questions that I fielded.
I believe one overlooked fruit that we can grow here is strawberries. Growing them need not be difficult and you can raise better fruit in your back yard then with proper care and attention.
This past week, I spent an afternoon with my son playing golf. Please understand that while we were playing golf, I am not a golfer. We played from 2 pm to 6 pm, and the hot sun and humidity were brutal.
I’ve said many times here and to folks across the county that I get more questions specifically about pond management than any other topic. Indeed, a staple of east Texas land owners is the farm pond.
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.
Native subterranean termites have already swarmed down South where the weather has already warmed up and now is reported to be swarming in Central and North Texas.
Lauren Boulware is a 15-year-old sophomore at Central High School where she is active in the FFA program and is getting ready to show her first meat goat project at the Angelina County Fair.
Morgan Chaviers is 10 years old and a 4th grader at Central Elementary and is raising broilers for her second year as she competes in the Angelina County Fair.
Recent inquiries at the Extension office have been about pruning trees and shrubs. Indeed, this is a great time to do most of your annual pruning. Trees and shrubs are in their dormant stage and can take it quite well.
Perhaps nothing is more therapeutic than digging in wonderful, dark, rich soil. Your shovel cuts easily down thru the soft, crumbly soil and is wonderful.
Not too surprisingly, the Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is the most popular flowering plant sold in the United States with more than 70 million sold nationwide each year.
The seeds of a dream tended with much hard work and perseverance have one young couple reaping the rewards. It’s a bountiful harvest for first-generation farmers Braden and Jordan McInnis of Anderson County.
I’ve heard from a couple of gardeners in the last few days about how their vegetables are growing after the freeze. For both, their cabbage was doing very well.
Compost is touted as a miracle product and held in high regards by every gardener with a basic knowledge of how plants grow. We buy it in bags at the garden center or have it delivered by the dump truck load.
Post oaks are a tough tree if left alone. They are slow-growing trees that can live in dry, poor soils, and are resistant to rot, fire, and drought. The most common reason they perish is from mechanical damage to the roots caused by construction.
This past week the annual Agricultural Agents Professional Improvement Conference was held in Galveston. It is a professional association that rotates meetings around the state and has professional improvement seminars.
It’s called Queen Anne’s Lace, or wild carrot depending on your view of it. It is a non-native plant, brought to America by Europeans who wanted it for the garden.
The recent wet weather and our typical humidity may have increased the amount of fungal problems on fruit trees. Just like in your home, molds and fungus grow when there is an abundance of moisture.
As all critters grow and mature, there are certainly cases where the conditions line up and are favorable to developing a huge population. And when that happens, everyone affected immediately notices.
There’s a brand-new show at the Angelina County Fair this year called Reach for the Stars “Celebrating the Possibilities”. It will be a livestock show on Friday, April 19 at 3 pm that will showcase the talents of special needs youth from across our county.
If you find yourself still needing to feed hay, it may be time to look at your stocking rate. Proper stocking rates will allow for cool season grasses to get a foot-hold and sustain your herd. Overstocked pastures never do see grasses, of any kind, really perform well and adequately sustain livestoc
Harvesting hay with a short time frame between each cutting will certainly lead to higher quality hay, whereas waiting longer between cuttings will increase the yield. But this increased yield will have a much higher fiber content. This increased fiber is less digestible.
Coming out of a very cold weekend may not be the time that most folks plan for spring gardens. Getting into the 20’s sure puts a damper on working outside.
Keeping laying hens productive through the winter months means keeping them well-fed, well-watered, healthy, and comfortable. Here is a checklist developed by experts to assist the backyard grower in keeping their flock comfortable.
The term fallow ground isn’t widely used anymore, but it’s a common agricultural practice to let the soil rest and restore the soil structure and biological life.
Getting someone a gift that would at least nudge them outside to beautify and the landscape with proper tools and inspiration, I’d be willing to go that far.
If your garden has some fallow areas that need building, the Winter months are an excellent time to add organic matter, which is beneficial to all soils.
A recent trial looked at the viability of seeding turnips with ryegrass as a winter grazing option for cattle. The results delved into the specifics of this option that may sound odd to some.
