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From the Field Blog Posts

A census worker wearing a black hat and coat walking up to a house.

March 6, 2020

You may have heard 2020 is the year for the federal census. When you participate, you help Mississippi get a more accurate representation for all kinds of programs that impact daily living. 

A group of blueberries.

February 7, 2020

The invasive species of fruit fly, Spotted Wing Drosophila, can wreak havoc on the state’s largest commercial fruit crop – blueberries. But homeowners likely won’t find it to be a significant problem.

Ripe muscadines on a vine with green foliage.

November 12, 2019

Video by Michaela Parker

Muscadines are a great fruit to grow at your home, especially here in Mississippi. They thrive in warm, humid weather, making them the perfect fruit to grow in your backyard! If you have been thinking about setting up a muscadine vineyard, here are a few tips to get you started.

The first thing you are going to have to do is build a trellis system for the muscadine vines to grow on. A trellis is a single horizontal wire attached five and a half feet above the ground that is attached to posts about 20 feet apart. It’s very...

Eric Stafne kneels beside a newly planted blueberry bush.

November 5, 2019

Blueberries aren’t just delicious. They’re high in antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins, which is part of the reason they have gained popularity in our kitchens. (Photo by Jonathan Parrish/MSU Extension)

A group of sixteen students post for a picture on a stage.

July 29, 2019

School is out for the summer, meaning 4-H activities are in full swing! I had the privilege of leading the Media Corps Team at the 4-H Cooperative and Leadership Conference earlier this month. We discussed how our smartphones and social media have changed the way the media works, and then we worked together to “cover” the conference as the media would.

A man holds pruning loppers as he stands next to a tall blueberry bush.

July 16, 2019

Pruning is a task I put off, and my blueberry bushes serve as a testament to this fact. Mainly, I am unsure how to do it correctly most of the time and don’t want to kill my plants.

Two women hold a tray of microgreens.

June 18, 2019

There’s always something new happening in the world of Extension. This time, the spotlight is on a new workshop: “From Micro to Macro: Growing Ag Literacy.”

Before we get into the specifics, you might be asking, “what is ag literacy and why is it important?” (Photo by Kevin Hudson)

Tiny brown insects scattered across the underside of a green eggplant leaf.

May 31, 2019

No matter how you slice it, gardening is a risky business.

We have no control over the weather, waves of pestilence, the threat of plant diseases. It’s a wonder we don’t all just chuck our gardening tools and say, “See you at the farmers market.”

Multiple clusters of blueberries in varying stages of ripeness adorn a branch covered with green leaves.

May 28, 2019

If edibles are on your list for the landscape or garden this year, check out the list of Mississippi Medallion winners. They are proven performers when it comes to our Mississippi climate.

Our horticulture experts help select several plants, including fruits and vegetables, each year that make the cut. 

Several small and compact violet flowers on long stems with green foliage.

May 7, 2019

Do you want surefire performance in your landscape and vegetable garden, but don’t know what to look for when you go to the garden center?

A plant with variegated, triangular leaves.

April 30, 2019

Do you have a mysterious plant coming up in your yard and you’re not sure how it got there?

Extension has answers. Our experts can tell you what it is and the best ways to eradicate, control, or manage it.

2019 planting intentions.

March 29, 2019

Many Mississippi crops must overcome flooded conditions to achieve the 2019 acreage forecasts released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on March 29. (Graphic by Phil Smith)

Black and white Hostein cows and light brown Jersey cows graze on green grass.

October 19, 2018

On a rainy day in early autumn, hundreds of people packed into the Mississippi State University Joe Bearden Dairy Center to learn where their milk, butter, yogurt, and ice cream come from. (File Photo by Kat Lawrence)

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March 2, 2018

If you want to get rid of weeds in your home lawn, now is the time to apply herbicides to control them.

Late February and early March is the ideal window to apply pre-emergent herbicides that control various weeds in home lawns. But you want to make sure you buy the right ones and apply them correctly.

Snow covers a split-rail fence and trees near Mount Locust on the Natchez Trace in Jefferson County, Mississippi on Dec. 8, 2017.

December 15, 2017

The wintery weather last week caught us off guard! Several of our Ag Communications team members were on the road . . . including our photographer Kevin Hudson. On his way home he captured this beautiful scene.

We wish all of you a wonderful holiday season. Our offices will be closed from Dec. 21 to January 2, 2018.

The FARMtastic logo depicts a red barn with a brown wooden fence and features a tan horse, a white and brown cow, a pink pig with gray spots, a corn plant on the left of the fence and a wheat plant on the right.

December 8, 2017

Looking in from the outside, FARMtastic appears to function like a well-oiled machine. Delighted children move in a choreographed dance from station to station to learn where their food, fiber and fuel comes from.

 

Dunes with grass appear in the foreground with the sun shining on the blue waters of the Mississippi Sound at Graveline Bayou in Jackson County.

December 1, 2017

Take a deep breath. It’s December 1.

The year is almost over, which feels impossible.

Your “To Do” list may cover several pages. Your calendar may be full.

Several varieties of lettuces grow in a raised bed.

November 15, 2017

I have a confession to make: I have garden envy.

This week I took a walk and stumbled upon this delicious looking plant.

Close-up photos showing a side-by-side comparison of a red ladybug with black spots on a green leaf and an orange Asian lady beetle on a green leaf. (Photos by Canstock and MSU Extension Service)

November 9, 2017

If you live in a wooded area, it’s likely you’ve already noticed: THEY’RE BAAA-AACK!

Every autumn Asian lady beetles start seeking shelter, and, given the lack of convenient caves around, wind up trying to overwinter in Mississippi homes.

A group of people stand beside a magnolia tree outside preparing to plant it as a way to honor Mississippi's bicentennial.

November 2, 2017

Did you know 2017 is the year Mississippi celebrates its bicentennial? That’s right—The state is 200 years old! You only turn 200 once, so MSU Extension wanted to do something to celebrate!
 
Since the state tree is a magnolia, we thought it would be great to encourage our Master Gardener clubs to plant one in their communities as a way to honor the bicentennial.

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About Extension for Real Life

Extension for Real Life is a product of the MSU Extension Service’s Office of Agricultural Communications.

That’s a long way of saying we are professional communicators who get to talk about food, families, 4-H, flowers, and farming for a living. Pretty good gig, right?

The three main writers for the blog are Ellen Graves (Seamstress of Social Media Strategy), Susan Collins-Smith (Content Connector) and Keri Lewis (Captain Cat Herder). But we get by with a lot of help from our friends in Ag Comm and Extension!

You can reach us at 662-325-2262 or extreallife@msstate.edu

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