Calling all gardeners–our Fall Plant Sale is scheduled for 28 September from 8AM – 2PM at the Ruth Nichols Arboretum (1015 TX-456 Loop) Jacksonville.
We will have perennials, annuals, trees, veggies, mums, and shrubs.
Also, while you are there, take a relaxing walk through the Demonstration Garden to see what is blooming.
How to become a Cherokee County Master Gardener
Follow this link to learn how to become a Cherokee County Master Gardener: https://evs.tamu.edu/
Learn more about the Master Gardener Program
2024 CCMGA Spring Plant Sale
How to treat Fire Ant Mounds
HOW to ATTACK FIRE ANTS – 6 ways….from Mississippi State University entomologist Blake Layton.
1} Granular Baits: When properly applied, granular fire ant baits are low in cost; quick and easy to apply; safe to pets, children and wildlife and effective, giving about 80% control. Baits are “fire ant-edible” granules containing low doses of slow-acting insecticides or insect growth-disruptors that are applied by spreading them over the lawn. Foraging fire ant workers collect these granules and carry them back to the mound to feed to the young. Depending on the product, it can take two to six weeks to see the full benefit of a bait treatment, but patience and persistence pays. Broadcast a granular fire ant bait over your lawn three to four times a year: around Easter, around Independence Day and around Labor Day, and you won’t have many fire ants in your lawn.
2} Dry Mound Treatments: This is the most convenient way to kill individual fire ant mounds. Keep a can of one of the dry mound treatments on hand to spot-treat mounds you see while working in the yard. Just sprinkle the labeled amount of product over the mound and walk away. Treatments that contain acephate smell terrible but work great, killing most mounds in just a few days. Treatments containing deltamethrin or beta-cyfluthrin don’t smell so bad but tend to be less consistent. Use a combination of granular baits and dry mound treatments to knock fire ants out of your yard with a one-two punch.
3} Liquid Mound Drenches: This is the fastest way to kill individual fire ant mounds. Drench a mound with an appropriate rate of permethrin, bifenthrin or other labeled product and all ants contacted by the drench will die quickly. The key to success is to use enough drench to thoroughly soak the mound: about one gallon for medium mounds and two gallons for large mounds.
4} Broadcast Insecticide Sprays: Primarily used on golf courses and other commercial turf, broadcast sprays contain ingredients such as bifenthrin, permethrin or cyfluthrin. Sprays kill exposed ants on contact and then move into the soil to provide residual control of foraging workers and newly settled queens.
5} Broadcast Insecticide Granules: This includes granular insecticides containing active ingredients such as bifenthrin, gamma-cyhalothrin or cyfluthrin that are applied by spreading the granules over the yard. Fire ants don’t eat these granules. Instead, the insecticide they contain leaches into the soil where it provides residual contact kill of foraging workers and newly settled queens. Some products give up to 4 months control.
6} Broadcast Fipronil Granules: Strictly speaking, fipronil is another broadcast insecticide, but fipronil (Top Choice, Fipronil 0.0143G and similar products) is placed in a class by itself for several reasons. First, a single application can give season-long control (the label indicates up to 1 year); second, it can only be applied by licensed commercial applicators, and third is the hefty cost. If you want season-long fire ant control with a single treatment, this is the way to go, but expect to pay for it. Also expect it to take a few weeks to begin working; mounds won’t die out overnight
Cherokee County Spring Plant Sale!
Come grab some beautiful locally grown goodies for your flower beds and gardens!
Cherokee County Master Gardener Association Plant Sale
Saturday April 13th, 2024
8am-3pm
Ruth B Nichols Arboretum
1015 SE Look 456
Jacksonville, TX 75766
The Spring and Fall plants sales are the primary fund raisers for CCMGA, and these funds go directly to support horticulture education in our local communities.
Controling Feral Hogs
Feral Hogs in Texas: An Invasive Animal
https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/asset-local/feral-hog-management/
Feral hogs (Sus scrofa) are a non-native animal found across the state of Texas. They rely on rooting in the soil to find food, which can cause significant damage to natural resources. They are resilient animals who often compete with native wildlife for resources. Additionally, feral hog ranges overlap with agricultural operations, livestock, and human populations. In the areas where overlap occurs, feral hogs cause millions of dollars worth of damage and run the risk of spreading disease. Texas has no native predators capable of regulating feral hog populations, so land managers must implement control techniques to keep populations in check.
In recent decades, feral hog populations have grown dramatically in Texas leading to corresponding increases in the damage they cause. The resources provided here are intended to increase the understanding of feral hog biology and natural history so that management efforts can be more successful. The management techniques discussed here provide a variety of options so that land managers can select the tools that will work best for them.
Jenifer Babyak Featured Master Gardener Spring 2024
As you can see; Jennifer is a very good artist. I asked Jenifer to tell me about here journey in gardening.
I have always loved plants. I took a gardening class in college, but I didn’t particularly care for the professor, and I had to drive 20 minutes to take care of my garden. I lived in an apartment, so, no garden. I had lots of indoor plants, though.
I majored in computer science and worked for about five years in that field before I opened my own craft vendor store. We had booths available for rent. As a vendor you would stock your booth with your handmade items (but you didn’t stay there to sell them), and as a shopper, you would select items from different booths and pay for them at a central register. I wrote the software to run the computer system for the business. We closed the business after a few years, and I was a stay at home mom for six years. Then I opened my own retail scrapbook and rubber stamp store, and ran that for five years. Then I was a stay at home mom again.
I started a small garden in the backyard of our first house, and I was hooked. I have had a garden ever since. I love the idea that I can grow something people can eat!
We moved to 45 acres in Rusk (from a neighborhood in Austin) almost seven years ago, and it has been awesome to have so much property to grow things! I have peach trees, muscadine grapes, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, lemon, lime and satsuma trees, two fig trees, a nectarine tree, a pear tree, and a pomegranate bush that has not produced a single pomegranate since we moved in. I have a fairly large garden, but I always seem to fill it up and still want to plant more. I went through the Cherokee County Master Gardener Program in 2021 so I could become a better gardener and learn about all the plants that grow naturally on our property. I was president of the Master Gardener’s the following year and have been secretary since then. I am also a member of the Rusk Garden Club.
I like making jelly from plants grown on our property and have made over thirty different kinds, like dandelion jelly, redbud jelly and beautyberry jelly along with all the fruit preserves. I try to add at least one new kind every year.
I have become interested in foraging and learning about all the natural healing properties of plants. I am using oil infusions I make myself from plants I grow, and essential oils to try and make as many natural items as I can.
I have become a beekeeper to help with pollinating all the plants on my property, as well as helping to preserve the honeybee population. I enjoy making products with honey beeswax from the bees and plants I grow such as lotion, lip balm, sunscreen, deodorant, dishwashing tablets, laundry detergent, and bug repellant. I am the newsletter editor for the East Texas Beekeepers Association.
I enjoy reading, photography, crocheting, doing puzzles, scrapbooking, and just about any craft out there! This year, making my own soap is at the top of my new things to try list.
Three of my children live close (and three not so close), and I am lucky to be able to watch my two year old grandson several days a week. I hope to pass my love of growing things on to him. He loved picking whatever was in season last year! This year, I hope to have him help me plant as well as pick!
I really love anything related to nature and growing, and am lucky enough to have a wonderful place in which to enjoy it!
I took art classes throughout school. My middle school art teacher was awesome, and the school had a great program. We were able to try so many different things! I have always enjoyed pencil sketching, but haven’t done too much of it outside of art class. When my youngest daughter was in elementary school, I would get her up, fix breakfast, pack lunch and have 10-15 minutes before we left for school. I would use a pen to sketch an animal on a napkin. write some encouraging words and put it in her lunchbox. That’s what these sketches are from. While I still enjoy sketching, I don’t do much of it anymore. There are just not enough hours in the day!
Hullabloom Fest
SAVE THE DATEfor family-friendly spring fun in The Gardens! Saturday, April 20, 2024 · 9-11:30 a.m. |
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Spring has sprung here at The Gardens, and we would love for you to join us for a morning of FREE family-friendly fun to celebrate its arrival! Enjoy refreshments as you stroll through The Gardens and visit our various educational demonstrations and activity tables. Visitors of all ages can make spring-inspired crafts, learn about pollinators and even participate in a butterfly release! Come on out for bloomin’ time in The Gardens! |
About Hullabloom Fest!
Saturday, April 20th 9:00 – 11:30 am @ The Gardens at Texas A&M University
Spring has sprung here at The Gardens, and we would love for you to join us for a morning of FREE family-friendly fun to celebrate its arrival! Enjoy some refreshments as you stroll through The Gardens and visit our various educational demonstrations and activity tables. Visitors of all ages can make spring-inspired crafts, learn about all things pollinators, and even participate in a butterfly release! Come on out for bloomin’ time in The Gardens!
Our butterfly release will begin at 11:00 am. Visitors will have the opportunity to sign-up to release a butterfly throughout the event at the Butterfly Release sign-up table.
We will have a Sensory Free/Quiet Zone during the Hullabloom Fest for anyone who may want or need a quieter environment at any point during the event.
Unable to join us? No worries!
Here are a few ways you can still enjoy Spring out in The Gardens!
- Download our scavenger hunt and explore The Gardens as you race to see who can find all of the items first!
- Bring your camera for photos in front of our spring blooms wall at any time this April!
- Create and enjoy one of these delicious spring recipes from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Dinner Tonight program.
Free Parking in Lot 97 & 100a-f
Visitors may park for free in Lot 97 or in Lot 100. More information about our parking options at Parking and Transportation.
Follow @TAMUGardens on social media!
We would love to see how you are enjoying the Hullabloom Fest. Tag us and use #TAMUGardens to share your family fun!
CONTACT US
Virtual Meeting | Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee
Virtual Meeting | Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee
Description
In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing a virtual meeting of the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee. Agenda items may include, but are not limited to, administrative matters and consideration of recommendations pertaining to labor and production, food safety, infrastructure and sustainability, consumption and nutrition, and data reporting and analysis. This virtual two-day meeting will be held March 4-5, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to approximately 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) each day.
