Outdoor
Grazing North Texas: Purpletop Tridens
By Tony Dean | [email protected]
Purpletop tridens is a native, perennial, warm season bunchgrass that is found across all of Texas except the extreme western areas. It grows in most of the U.S. from the central plains to the East coast. Purple top is easily recognizable once it blooms due to the deep purple color of the seed head. It can grow from three to five feet tall with leaves up to two feet long that are rough to the touch on the leaf margin.
The purple seed head is open, pyramidal shaped, and up to 15 inches long. After maturity, the seed head gives off an oily residue, giving the plant a common name of greasegrass. It is also sometimes called redtop. Purpletop is good grazing for livestock when it first greens up, but becomes less palatable as it matures during summer months. After frost, livestock again prefer to graze Purpletop tridens.
To read more, pick up a copy of the July issue of NTFR Magazine. To subscribe 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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