Cummings and Goings in Agriculture
Tri-Lakes Timed Event Horse Show This Saturday
By Steve Cummings
Hasn’t this spring-like weather been great? I have enjoyed the warm temperatures and watching everything green up. While we hopefully have gotten past the ice and the snow, the warmer weather brings the threat of hail and damaging winds. Maybe we’ll dodge that just like we did the ice and snow.
Hopefully, this pretty weather will give many of you the opportunity to get out and make YOUR “Catch of the Day”, so you will have something to cook up for the upcoming fish-tasting buffet and fish cooking contest on May 20 at the fish hatchery. I plan to make my “Catch of the Day”, sometime very soon, but preparing a dish for the contest will be a different story. The freshwater Fish Cooking Challenge and Tasting Buffet looks to be a “can’t miss” activity so go ahead and mark the date on your calendar.
There will be another Tri-Lakes timed event horse show this Saturday, March 20 at the Yalobusha County Multi-Purpose Building. Training Barrels start at 1:30 p.m. with the regular show starting at 3 p.m. As usual, the horse show is free and open to the public.
Do you own forestland? Would you like to learn how your family can more fully appreciate forestland ownership? This introductory course is based on the popular new book Managing the Family Forest in Mississippi. The course enables landowners to more fully realize the benefits of their forestland objectives, including timber production, wildlife habitat, ecological quality, and/or aesthetic values. Mississippi State Extension specialists will discuss topics such as forest management plan, site preparation, thinning, artificial and natural regeneration, harvesting and best management practices, prescribed fire, timber marketing, financial considerations, taxation, forest health, and multiple use.
This is a great course to introduce your loved ones to the enjoyment of forest management. The course will take place on Monday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 starting March 29 and ending April 12, at the Yalobusha County Multi-Purpose Building. Please contact our Extension office for more information at 675-2730.
Horticulture Tips
Most years it would be time to be working very hard in the vegetable garden preparing to plant the spring garden. The winter temperatures have been well below normal and the trend is forecast to continue through March. Temperatures are supposed to be near normal for April and May, however. This may be one of the years that Good Friday is actually the best day to plant. If you just can’t wait, the days with temperatures in the 60s and nights in the 30s are wonderful for spinach and radishes.
I was reminded once again in looking as seed catalogues that “new” means that the variety being described is not necessarily just developed, but that the variety is being handled by the company for the first time. Always buy as few as possible of a new to you variety and try it next to your current one before changing.
There are a lot of concerns about damage from the abnormal cold temperatures. One of the best things to do is nothing. Allow plenty of time for plants to grow before deciding to prune away parts or dig up and replace plants.
Sometimes that dark brown limb will surprise you by producing a normal growth of leaves and flowers. It may be June before you can decide about a particular shrub or tree.
