News From 2020

Last week, I told you about culinary peppers that I like to grow and ultimately consume. This week, I want to share another way to use peppers in our second summer garden and landscape.

Mississippians are urged not to open or plant packets of unknown seeds that are appearing unsolicited in mailboxes, seemingly shipped from China. Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson urged state residents who receive the seeds to report them immediately. The Bureau of Plant Industry’s phone number is 662-325-3390.

The laid-back way of life in Mississippi has a downside when it leads to very low U.S. Census participation: Inaccurate population counts can cause the state to lose money, political representation and participation in beneficial programs.

Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson instructs anyone receiving packages of unsolicited seeds from China, or any foreign country, in recent days to immediately contact the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce’s Bureau of Plant Industry by phoning (662) 325-3390. Those receiving the seeds are instructed to hold onto the seeds and packaging, including the mailing label, until someone from MDAC’s Bureau of Plant Industry contacts you with further instructions. Do not plant seeds from unknown origins.

Parents can help children understand how to stay healthy at school amid the COVID-19 pandemic as they prepare for the start of the academic year.

It’s the end of July, and much of my vegetable garden is a distant memory due to the summer heat and humidity. But I’m always encouraged by the production I enjoy from my pepper plants.

I’m staying with the theme of second summer this week because I was out in my landscape early this morning taking care of a task that was hard to do but inevitable.

Cash flow challenges are the latest struggle for Mississippi catfish producers, as product sales to their biggest consumers -- restaurants -- are way down due to COVID-19.

A Mississippi State University Extension Service food safety specialist has been selected to serve on the Executive Advisory Board of the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance.

David Buys, associate professor in MSU’s Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion and state health specialist with the MSU Extension Service, is being honored as a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.

A couple of weeks ago, I gave you my thoughts on the second summer season in our Mississippi landscapes and gardens. In my vegetable garden, the harvest output of my heirloom tomatoes and pickling cucumbers is declining, and I am taking these plants out. But my peppers are stepping up and providing my family with a bounty of brightly colored fruit.

Parents dealing with COVID-19 closings are working daily to find safe child care for young children when most of the traditional summer options are gone.

Cotton and corn acreage in Mississippi are more than 30% below March projections, while growers of soybeans and peanuts planted much more than initially forecasted.

One of my landscape joys is growing plants that share their big flowers with me.

Two simple, daily steps can protect Mississippi’s youngest citizens from lead poisoning. Jason Barrett, an assistant Extension professor in the Mississippi Water Resources Research Institute, said lead in drinking water can harm children’s health. But flushing faucets each morning and using cold water for cooking and preparing baby bottles can greatly reduce exposure.

Each year as we approach Independence Day, my landscape and garden begin a transition to what I like to call “second summer.” This is due to the heat and humidity that set in anywhere from late April to mid-May.

Knowing that many Mississippians share a love for home-grown tomatoes, two Mississippi State University Extension Service agents designed programs just for them.

Three Mississippi State University agricultural economists contributed to a national academic report on the effects of COVID-19 on food and agricultural markets.