Extension for Real Life
Description
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.
Blog content is created by a core team of communicators, including Susan Collins-Smith, Ellen Graves, Natasha Haynes, Qula Madkin, Michaela Parker, and Jonathan Parrish. 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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Learn How to Identify Snakes
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Honey Bee or Yellow Jacket?
A yellow-gold insect buzzes around your head and your first instinct is to swat. Or run. Or swat while running.
The fear of being stung can send me into fight or flight mode in seconds . . . and I’m a beekeeper. True story. No one likes being stung! (Photo by Mississippi Entomological Museum/Joe Macgown)
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Can Fragrant Plants Help Repel Insects?
Growing herbs in containers on your porch or doorstep gives you a lot of bang for your buck.
Most herbs grow without fuss, look lovely, smell wonderful, and add fabulous flavors to your home-cooked meals. More flavor means you can cut back on salt and fat! (Photo by Canstock Photo)
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Help Keep Our Coast Clean and Healthy
When I think of the beach, I picture soft, white sand and pristine, blue water. But our beaches and oceans have a dirty little secret: trash.
That’s right, several tons of trash end up in our waterways and on our beaches every year in Mississippi. In 2017 alone, volunteers with the Mississippi Coastal Cleanup collected 13 tons of trash from 40 sites along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This trash isn’t just unsightly. It threatens the Gulf Coast’s ecosystem.
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Citizen Scientists Wanted: Cucurbit Downy Mildew
MSU scientists are on the lookout for a cucurbit crop bandit. And they need your help!
Cucurbit downy mildew is a sneaky thief with the ability to quickly and significantly reduce yields or wipe out entire crops of susceptible cucurbits, including cucumbers, melons, pumpkins and squash. (File photo by Rebecca A. Melanson)
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Safety Tips for Handling Poultry
Baby chickens are so cute and cuddly that few people can resist holding them. Unfortunately, as public interest in raising backyard birds has grown so has the number of Salmonella outbreaks in the U.S. (Photo by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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Go Green: How to Get Started with Backyard Chickens
Some people can’t resist the latest spring fashions. Others plant flowers in profusion.
Then there are those, like me, who are highly susceptible to the cheerful chirping of newly hatched chicks. (Photo by Kat Lawrence) -
Go Green: How to Start a Compost Pile
Compost is a great soil conditioner. It helps the soil hold water and improves clay and sandy soils. Starting your own pile is easy and can help keep organic waste out of landfills. (Photo by Gary Bachman)
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Go Green: How to Make a Green Smoothie
Confession: I have made some disgusting smoothies.
Whenever I’ve attempted to simply throw together a few ingredients, I have ended up with something that looked and tasted awful. (Photo by Kevin Hudson)