Outdoor
Grazing North Texas
By Tony Dean, [email protected]
Bumelia is one of our more important wildlife browsing plants. It is native to much of the Southern United States, including most of Texas except the extreme north and western parts of the state. It also goes by a long list of other common names, including Chittamwood, Gum-elastic, Wooly-bucket bumelia, Gum bumelia, Wolly buckthorn, and others.
Bumelia is a perennial root-sprouting shrub usually growing 12 to 18 feet tall. It often retains its leaves for extended periods and is thus considered a semi-evergreen. Crude protein for new leaves can reach 20 percent to 25 percent in spring and mature leaves in the fall can be at 14 percent.
Cattle will browse on the shrub at times, but sheep, goats and deer are usually heavy users. Quail, turkey and dove eat the ripe fruit. White Winged dove will sit in the shrub and eat the fruit before it falls to the ground. Unless it becomes too dominant, Bumelia is a good plant to have on the ranch due to its obvious high value as a browse plant.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Jelly Cocanougher
Delicate microbes buried just beneath the surface. We walk by them, unbeknownst to us. Spores, spawn, and sclerotia, each with distinct characteristics. It is said that these fungi are all connected, speaking to one another as they populate the earth. The interconnectedness of all living things and the decaying world, such beauty lies within these otherworldly alien organisms.
By: Landon Moore
Landon Moore is the Wise County 4-H President and a member of the Wise County 4-H County Council. He is involved in beekeeping, as well as raising rabbits and poultry.
This essay was one that he wrote, and it was named the champion for both the Texas and National chapters of the Foundation For The Preservation of Honey Bees.
Varietal honey is honey that comes from a single source.
This honey has a flavor derived from the source flower and can even have a similar scent. In general, lighter colored honeys have a more subtle taste and dark honeys are more intense. Varietal honey has been compared to wine, in that honeys produced in different years can be distinguished, even if they come from the same flower and location.
This phenomenon is called terroir and is responsible for the individual taste of each honey harvest.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Norman Winter | Horticulturist, Author, Speaker
Early in the summer, I was sent a press release that caused one of those holy wow moments. The headline said it all, “Proven Winners ColorChoice Expands Catalog with the Addition of Hollywood Hibiscus.”
I had already become familiar with the Hollywood Hibiscus series and was thrilled that the Proven Winners was adding this to their lineup.
This flower is nothing short of beautiful and exhibits prolific flower production. The flowers show three distinct colors, deep red in the very center, then the majority which is a rich rose pink with lighter pink to white along the margins.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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