Mason Bees Pollinate

Mason Bee Almost everyone has heard that the honey bee is in trouble due to some combination of factors that makes the hive collapse.  Many people report having trouble with improperly pollinated plants as a result.  The mason bee is a bee native to the...

What is an Extension Agent?

I end a lot of my articles with instructions to consult your local Extension agent for specific information.  Living in rural Texas most of my life, it never occurred to me to explain just what an Extension agent was and how to find the office nearest you.  Not, that...

Plant Diseases In Vegetables

Diseased leaf We have all had plants die on us.  Sometimes the cause is obvious — a big chunk chewed out of the plant, or so many bugs they kill the plant.  Other times, the cause is not so obvious.  Then it is often a disease that killed the plant. Types of...

Growing English Peas (P. sativum)

Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 US https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/deed.en, via Wikimedia Commons English Peas (P. sativum) encompass edible pod peas, snow peas, and sugar peas.  In my area of Texas, we plant peas in February with the other...

Growing Black-Eyed Peas

Black-eyed peas have many names.  They are called field peas, Southern peas, cowpeas, crowder peas, and some 50 other names.  Whatever the name, up until the Civil War, black-eyed peas were grown primarily to feed cattle.  Some may have been eaten by slaves, but free...