News By Department: North MS Research and Extension Ctr

Video by Michaela Parker 

The year is winding down. The weather is finally cooling off and the leaves are slowly, but surely, changing colors. Cooler weather means fewer things to do in your garden. (Are you rejoicing or feeling bummed?) Before we wrap up the year, however, complete a few tasks in your lawn and garden to be ready for the spring! Here are four tasks to do in November:

Video by Michaela Parker

We’ve finally made it to fall! The temperatures are dropping, the leaves are changing colors, and I can’t wait to purchase pumpkins and mums for my front porch! 

If you’re trying to stay on top of what tasks you should be doing in your yard and garden, check out these four for the month of October.

And just like that, we’re three-fourths through the year! Cooler temperatures will be here before we know it, hopefully sooner rather than later. Even though we all know the heat will stay around a little longer, it’s time to start preparing for fall and winter.

Whew. It’s hot outside! Just a trip to the mailbox makes me break into a sweat. As you’re outside working in your lawn and garden, remember to stay hydrated and come inside if you start feeling overheated Here are four tasks to complete in your yard for the month of August: 

And just like that, we’re over halfway through the year. How is that possible? I have spent more time at my home over the past few months than I have in a long time!

It’s starting to get hot out there, y’all! Don’t let the Mississippi heat deter you from taking good care of your garden and landscape.

With so many Mississippians staying at home more than usual, it’s the perfect time to start planning your summer landscape. 

Everyone’s normal routine is being flipped upside down. Employees are working from home, kids are out of school, and social gatherings are postponed. Boredom and stress are setting in. Gardening to the rescue! 

If you’ve got crape myrtles, you should be on the lookout for Crape Myrtle Bark Scale. This invasive pest can turn easy-to-care for shrubs and trees into high-maintenance plants covered in a black, sooty mold.

While the insects won’t kill the tree outright, the tree will eventually produce fewer and smaller blooms if the insects are allowed to reproduce year after year.

Although we still have some cold weather in store, now is the time to start thinking about pruning. Late winter and early spring are the times to prune fruit trees, including apple and pear trees. 

If you’ve got landscape chores on your mind, pruning is no doubt on your list. Crape myrtles are a staple in landscapes across the state because of their low-maintenance beauty.

Regional agriculture advisory groups will meet across the state next month to provide input on educational programing and research conducted by Mississippi State University.

If you have caladiums in your landscape and want to be sure they come back next year, you’ll need to dig them up just before the first frost. Mississippi’s winters are too cold for the plants to survive in the ground.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is hosting three training sessions designed to help Mississippi producers understand the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill.

Fall is one of the best times to divide perennials, such as daylilies and irises. It is best to divide these kinds of plants when they are not blooming. If you don’t get this task done in fall, don’t worry. You can divide perennials throughout the winter and into early spring.

Mississippi beef producers are invited to attend the upcoming North Mississippi Beef Expo.

Fruit and vegetable growers, or those interested in getting into the business, are invited to a daylong conference Feb. 26 in Verona.

Forty-three Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H members were recognized recently during the annual Mississippi Congressional Award ceremony for their self-development accomplishments.

VERONA, Miss. -- Producers provided a wide range of agricultural research, programming and staffing requests to Mississippi State University officials at the annual North Mississippi Producer Advisory Council meeting Feb. 15.

Held at the MSU Agri-Center in Verona, the meeting provided producers in 22 of the state’s northern counties from 16 commodity groups an opportunity to meet with representatives from the MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

VERONA, Miss. -- Normie Buehring has plans for the 2018 trial crops at the Northeast Mississippi Branch Experiment Station, and he’s not even going to be there to see their harvest later this year.