Cummings and Goings in Agriculture
Yalobusha County To Get New 4-H Agent
By Steve Cummings
Starting next Monday, Aug. 17, Yalobusha County will have a new 4-H Agent. Mary Mason Furr from Hollandale will take over the position. Mary Mason has been working in the MSU-ES Support Services Department the last couple of years. Stop by our office and help welcome her to Yalobusha County.
The last Tri-Lakes Western Horse Show is this Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Yalobusha County Multipurpose Building. This is a make-up show due to an earlier show being called due to inclement weather.
Everything should occur about three hours earlier since there will be no halter and English classes. As usual, there is no admission charge.
The Yalobusha County Homemakers will sponsor a cake decorating program on Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. at the Yalobusha County Multipurpose Building. Mrs. Rae Brooks will conduct the program, which is free and open to the public. So, if you are interested in cake decorating, we would love for you to join us.
Horticulture Tips:
Managing Late Summer Weeds
Homeowners who applied a pre-emergence herbicide to their lawns back in early spring to prevent summer annual weeds may now be noticing that the herbicides have about run their course and some late germinating seeds of prostrate spurge, goosegrass, crabgrass and other summer weeds are breaking through especially where there has been excessive rainfall the past few weeks.
For most of the state we are still several weeks from a killing frost so these weeds can get to be quite noticeable if not managed. For broadleaf weed species there are many post–emerge herbicide options we can apply to warm-season turf species but for grassy weeds the herbicide choices become limited.
To select the proper herbicides for your lawn publications 1322 and 1532 provided by the Mississippi State University Extension Service can be downloaded from the extension web at www.MSUcares.com or obtained from your local extension office. The best weed management is to maintain a dense healthy canopy of turf that provides natural competition.
Sow Annual Flower Seed NOW for Fall Flowers
Direct sowing now is an easy way to get inexpensive color into fall.
We as gardeners are able to select seeds and throw them where and when we want quick, colorful displays. By sowing seeds of zinnia, tithonia, cleome, celosia, cosmos, and marigold and other quick blooming annuals now you can be cutting flowers in as little as 6-8 weeks in some cases.
Those of us living in North Mississippi may feel a little more urgency in getting those seeds into the ground now, as our growing season usually stops with a killing frost around Halloween. Our brethren to the south have a few more weeks of growing season to enjoy the flowers if sown now.
Loosen the soil in bare areas of your beds, scatter the seeds, rake the seed lightly into the soil, water and in a short while you will see seedlings emerge. Keep the seed bed moist during the germination process. If some of the areas come up sparse, transplant seedlings from thicker areas to make the planting more even.
As summer changes to fall, nighttime temperatures turn cooler and flowers hold up longer. Late in the fall when your plants decline or are killed by frost, you can simply cut them down with a nylon-string trimmer or lawnmower.
For more information on growing annual flowers for quick color and display, check out the Extension publication, #2449, Grow Your Business with Flower “Signs.” This publication was written to assist agribusiness owners with flower displays, but has great cultural and plant choice information for the home gardener as well.
