News

 Private well workshops in four counties this spring will help homeowners improve their drinking water sources.

Harrison County parents who hope to give their pre-kindergarten children a boost in school are encouraged to enroll them now for the upcoming school year with the Mississippi State University Extension Service Head Start Program.

Some of my favorite late-summer annuals are the ornamental peppers. These tough plants have to survive the heat and humidity of our Mississippi summers before they become the stars of my summer landscape.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Nothing sends a charge of electricity up my spine quite like the boom of a gobbler sounding off in Mississippi woodlands. If you have ever had the privilege of hearing a male turkey gobbler announce his presence in Mississippi oak or hickory hardwood and pine forests, you’ll never forget it. 

Many hunters take to the woods during turkey season to experience this exhilaration and for the chance to glimpse the spectacle of a strutting gobbler in full display to attract turkey hens for mating.

PINEY WOODS, Miss. -- Farmers preparing for the growing season will benefit from a wide variety of topics at the Alliance of Sustainable Farms field day March 29.

Subjects include spring preparations for grazing, growing quality hay, cover crops, and native plants and pollinators. Participants will also learn how to calibrate a no-till drill.

We had another great weather weekend in the garden, and  I spent a couple of days catching up on getting my Urban Nano Farm ready for spring. I’m almost finished repairing my fence after it was redesigned by Hurricane Zeta last year

The glorious gardening weekend we just enjoyed was certainly welcome after the recent cold weather that kept us out of the landscape.

I took advantage of the perfect weather and started on garden chores I’ve been putting off. My main accomplishment, which has been on my list for a while, was putting down fresh layers of mulch. It felt good because I have been accumulating bags of mulch, and the neatly stacked pile was pretty big.

Mississippi State University Extension Service personnel were honored in February for their work in support of horticultural science.

After going through that recent cold snap, the glorious weather this past weekend has me wanting spring to get here as fast as possible. Visiting garden centers and seeing all the herb transplants means I just may get my spring wish.

BILOXI, Miss. -- Most folks dream of owning a piece of shoreline property on a river, a lake or the Gulf Coast. There is something about looking out over the water that is hard to describe.

Additionally, recreational opportunities like fishing aren’t bad either.

If you’re fortunate enough to own a piece of shoreline property, the last thing you want to happen is for it to erode.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Registration opens March 1 for the newest class of Master Gardeners, who will receive their training online this year.

Master Gardeners are expert volunteers trained and certified in consumer horticulture and related areas by the Mississippi State University Extension Service. In exchange for 40 hours of educational training, participants are required to return 40 hours of volunteer service within one year of their training.

This year, all Master Gardener instruction is online and self-paced. The class begins May 1 and closes June 30.

The great winter storm of 2021 is finally over, and now we can finally get out into our gardens to survey the damage. And my goodness: I am getting so many questions about whether this plant or that plant is going to make it.

I have to admit that I can’t even remember the groundhog’s prediction when he was dragged out of his burrow in Punxsutawney, Pa., on Feb. 2. It seems we have experienced an entire year’s worth of weather conditions since that day.

You may have figured out by now that I am passionate growing plants in containers. Everything in my coastal Mississippi landscape and garden grows in some form of container. Growing in containers gives me the sense of control I want in the garden.

PINEY WOODS, Miss. -- The Alliance of Sustainable Farms is celebrating its 10-year anniversary and unveiling its new demonstration farm during a virtual field day Feb. 19.

The event will feature a virtual tour of the new farm located at the Piney Woods school in Rankin County, Miss.

Topics will include crop and variety selection, seed acquisition, marketing risk and spring field preparation. The event also includes a seed starting demonstration. The program begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Each February marks the occasion for producers to share their research and programming needs with Mississippi State University agricultural specialists in person.

To comply with COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, the opportunity will be extended virtually this year.

Regardless of what that darn groundhog predicts on Feb. 2, Mississippi gardeners are not going to enjoy an early spring because those prospects have already been dashed by the off and on cold weather.
Another garden disappointment is upon us, as February also marks crape murder season.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Problem-solving and critical thinking are two prerequisites for competent animal care, and a new curriculum will help 4-H’ers learn those skills.

The Mississippi State University Extension Center for 4-H Youth Development and the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine collaborated on the Caring for Animals 4-H project. It is targeted toward 12- to 15-year-olds and designed to develop knowledge of the relationship between people, animals and the environment.

Two new architectural features at the Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum in Picayune are now open to the public. The Mirror Perch Bridge and the adjacent Rosen Pavilion were formally unveiled during a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony Jan. 23.