Agriculture

How about this weather!

I am anticipating a very good orchid season coming up because our temperatures have been so mild lately, especially with nighttime temperatures dipping into the 50s already. These cool nights are one part of the puzzle in order to get some plants to bloom in the winter indoors.

It literally pains me to see so many trees out in home landscapes smothered by volcano mounds of mulch.

Last year some oaks were planted along the road I live on. They had been planted properly…not too deep with some apparent root flare at the base. This year their leaves were small, which is not unusual as the trees focus their energy on developing their root systems.

Shelby County farmers can expect to get some help from the state’s County Agriculture Investment Program again this year, and the money might even go a little farther than in the past.

The Shelby County Agriculture Development Board was approved Friday by the state for a $334,513 grant this year, about $75,000 more than in past years.

This means that once again just about any farmer in the county can apply for a grant to help subsidize production – for both this year and – now – years beyond.

I have a pretty relaxed attitude about the lawn.  I don’t mind some weeds or letting some areas just grow.  In fact, I would prefer to maintain as small a turf plot as possible, but our 18 acres that still translate into quite a bit of grass.