Lion’s Club Christmas Parade December 2rd, 2017
Garrett Glass, an officer at Guaranty Bank and Trust, is also a Lions Club member. He joined Enola Gay on the KSST Morning Show to announce the 9th annual Lions Club Christmas Light Parade on Friday December 2, 2016 at 6:30 pm. This year’s presenting sponsor is Carriage House Manor. As in previous years, this is a nighttime parade, and all entries must be equipped with working lights. Individuals and floats are welcomed to join in. Judging will be done in three categories: Large Business, Small Business and Non-Profits (organizations/churches/schools) Entry registration must be completed by 12 noon on Tuesday November 29. There is no entry fee, however donations are welcome, please make checks payable to the Sulphur Springs Lions Club. Pick up registration forms with complete rules at the Chamber of Commerce or sponsor locations. Please, no Santa Claus or Mrs. Claus on floats, as the official Santa will make his appearance for children at the end of the parade. For details on the Lions Club Christmas Lights Parade, contact Michael Boles at 903-885-5432.
Texas A & M University-Commerce Health Sciences Building Receives Regents Approval
COMMERCE, TX—Texas A&M University-Commerce’s nursing and health sciences building project received official scope and budget approval at The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents meeting in College Station that took place on Nov. 10. The new facility will house the departments of Nursing, Health and Human Performance, and the new Biomedical Institute for Regenerative Research. Scheduled to open in the spring of 2019. the new building is designed to create enhanced opportunities for a collegial interdisciplinary education, collaborative teaching and research.
The building will be located in the west central educational zone of the campus. As a significant gateway building to the campus along Texas Highway 11, and overlooking Gee Lake, this facility will require a dramatic presence. At the same time, this School must knit the fabric of the campus together and more fully define the edge of the University. The new School of Nursing and Health Sciences is projected to require a total of 111,950 square feet over four floors. This would accommodate the Nursing Department, the Health and Human Performance Department and the Biology Department, as well as general instruction classrooms, skills labs, and admissions advising functions. The planning amount for the project is $54,000,000 and the anticipated AACC is $41,200,000.
A&M-Commerce Distinguished Professor of the Department of Biological and Environmental Science Dr. Larry Lemanski leads the effort, and his goal is to see the institute become a world-class university-based research enterprise where faculty-level scientists, postdoctoral fellows and graduate and undergraduate students contribute to the expansive research enterprise.
An important additional action item on this week’s Board of Regents meeting agenda was the official confirmation of academic tenure to three A&M-Commerce faculty members.
According to new A&M-Commerce President Ray Keck, “The intellectual vitality and future leadership of this institution will only remain strong as long as we recruit and develop outstanding new generations of professors. The qualifications and achievements demonstrated by this group of newly tenured faculty reflect our commitment to a superior student-centered and rigorous academic program across all departments.”
Faculty members awarded tenure were: Professor of Higher Education and Learning Technologies, Dr. David L. Tan; Associate Professor of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Dr. Judith Marchand Ball; and Professor of Agriculture, Dr. Randal M. Harp.
Stock Photo
Miller Grove News
by Brandon Darrow
I believe the biggest and most exciting news this week, hands down, is that the presidential election is finally over! It has been a long campaign trail that has finally come to a halt and I for one am glad. For months we have been bombarded with information over television and social media about the elections. Thankfully, we can all say that we won’t have to listen to any of the election buzz for four more years.
Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. I’m ready for some good chicken and dressing, cranberry sauce, and sweet potatoes! I know the school will have a special meal for students and the community on Wednesday, Nov. 16. If you are going to attend be sure to let the school know so that they can plan to have enough food for the day.
Congratulations to the recently elected school board candidates: Eric Mabe, Doug Hall, John Derek Wilbur and Clark May.
Happy Birthday next week to E.A. Junell on Nov. 16 and Mason Kerby & Matt Garrett on Nov. 17.
Last Saturday I went to Canton and it was covered in people. I thought since there was a chance of ran and it had already showered some that morning that it might deter some folks but when I got there I realized that I was wrong. Traffic was backed up on Highway 19 as you cross over I-20. I didn’t stay long until I had my fill of the crowd and I headed home.
Last week’s news column was pretty lengthy but this week I don’t have as much news to report. Things in the community have been calm, which is always a good thing.
As you travel the highways and byways don’t forget that all roads lead back home and back to Miller Grove. Please send me any newsworthy information. My email address is [email protected].
Tira News
by Jan Vaughn
We want to express our sympathy to the family of Eric Payton, the grandson of Floyd and Martha Payton. Eric passed away on Sunday, November 6th, following a brief illness. He lived in California. There will be a graveside service at Tira Cemetery on November 17th, at 2:00. Please be in prayer for the family.
Also, please be in prayer for the family of Linda (Wester) Andrasko. Her graveside service, at Tira Cemetery, is scheduled for Saturday, November 19th, at 11:00.
Cooter
Mark Hixon is offering a reward for the return of his dog, an Anatolian Shepherd, named Cooter. Mark comments, “He’s a big part of our family.” He says he is friendly, loves attention and protecting the livestock from hogs and coyotes. He also likes to get in the cab of the truck and go. If you have any information on Cooter’s location, please give Mark a call at 903-268-1179.
Lee and Kim Beck just returned from a trip to Corpus Christi. They got to see son, Jason Beck, during a Navy flight school break and enjoy some beach time. Jason escorted his girlfriend, Courtney, to the Naval Ball at UT Austin on Saturday. Kim reports, “They looked so nice.” On the way home, Lee and Kim stopped in San Antonio and visited with son and new daughter-in-law, Jackson and Courtney Dailey. Kim adds, “Maddie Beck came to Tira for the weekend, making it a very fun-filled family week!”
Delayne Vaughn, our son, came in from Waco for a visit on Friday and Saturday, November 4th and 5th. Our family went to the Vaughn reunion at the home of Tim and Lori Vaughn on that Saturday afternoon. About 70 people attended the event and enjoyed stew and chili, prepared by Charlie and Tim Vaughn. Grace Vaughn, 95, was the oldest family member and her great-grandson, Benjamin Vaughn, infant son of Brian and Caitlin Vaughn, was the youngest. Over 20 children, 10 and under, had a lot of fun playing together.
On this Veterans Day, lets take time to remember and be thankful for the services of our veterans.
I always need and appreciate input from my friends to help keep me informed of news in our community. If you have any news pertaining to Tira residents, past or present, please contact me, Jan Vaughn, at 903-945-2190 or 903-438-6688 or [email protected].
WannaGoFast Prepares for the Weekend
The Cadillac Racing folks were at work early Friday morning unloading high performance cars in preparation for the WannaGoFast weekend at the Sulphur Springs Airport. The gates open for spectators at 9AM Saturday and Sunday mornings. The event is limited to 150 cars each day, but cars that are entered are allowed to run multiple times. Although it is side by side racing, the cars compete against the clock and the radar gun to achieve the highest speed in the 1/2 mile shootout. Many cars break the 200mph barrier, with the top car achieving 238.6 mph last year. The event will host cars from all over the world, and not only American muscle cars will be represented, but exotic cars from all over the globe, some with price tags approaching $1 million. A spectator day pass is $20 each day, payable at the gate, or you can purchase a 2-day pass for $35. Kids, 12 and under, only pay $10 each day.
Garcia, Chambers Sentenced in ATV Theft Plea Agreements
Two leaders of the organized crime ring that stole ATV’s in Sulphur Springs and across a three state area made plea agreements in Eighth Judicial District Court Thursday afternoon. Christopher Lee Chambers, 29, was sentenced to 15 years and Dustin Kyle Garcia, 33, to 28 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Both defendants will do one half of the time on their sentence before being eligible for parole, according to Clay Harrison, Assistant District Attorney.
Dustin Kyle Garcia
Christopher Lee Chambers
In February of this year, Garcia, of Mesquite, was arrested in room 221 at the Seagoville Inn in Seagoville Texas. At that time he was transported to Hopkins County Jail where Justice of the Peace B. J. Teer set bond at $400,000. At that time only one other member of the ring was being sought and that was Chambers. In April Chambers, of Maybank was arrested.
In late January twelve (12) Polaris Razors and two (2) Polaris Rangers had been recovered. Approximately $234,000 in stolen property has been recovered including six (6) units from the November theft at Nor-Tex Tractors totaling $74,000 and eight (8) units stolen from other jurisdictions in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas totaling $160,000.
In late January, seven (7) individuals involved in the theft of utility, all-terrain vehicles in three states had been booked into Hopkins County Jail. Brian E. Wheeler of Balch Springs; David Paul Rockwell of Terrell; Ricardo Saldivar, 34, of Combine; James Lindy Minter, 37, Joshua Christopher Terry, 34, and Laronda Kaye Reed, 29, all of Kemp; and Darrell Wayne Waites from Deville, Louisiana. All were charged locally with organized criminal activity. Hopkins County Criminal investigators, Sulphur Springs Police Department Detectives, led by Sergeant Bo Fox, and Investigator Tony Hurley had worked since last November with others to round up what was then thought to be a ring plying their trade of theft in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas.
Wildcats Face Mesquite Poteet in Bi-District at Lindale; What the Coaches Are Saying
It’s playoff season and the Wildcats’ football team and Mesquite Poteet meet in a bi-district match at Lindale on this Friday night game day. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. The Wildcats are the visiting team and fans should sit on the pressbox side. The Poteet Pirates are 7-3 this season but the losses were to Denton Ryan, Mansfield Lake Ridge and Highland Park. The Wildcats are 4-6. The Pirates head coach is Kody Groves in his fourth year. He has a 38-11 record at Poteet. Wildcats Coach Greg Owens is in his eleventh season. His record at his alma mater including playoffs is 89-59. Coach Owens is 2-0 versus the Pirates as coach here. Mesquite Poteet’s Coach Groves says the Wildcats appear to be a better team than their 4-6 record would indicate. The Pirates defense is the strength of their team and their coach says they are playing at a high level. We’ll bring you all the game action on KSST Radio as the Wildcats take on the Mesquite Poteet Pirates. We will also videotape the game for replay on Channel 18 TV on Suddenlink Cable on Sunday at 8 p.m. and Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner will face the winner of the Little Elm and Frisco Lone Star game.
Wildcat Coach Greg Owens on Mesquite Poteet:
At his weekly media gathering Wednesday, Wildcats Football Coach Greg Owens said his team has had a good week so far preparing to play Mesquite Poteet in a bi-district game Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Lindale. Coach Owens indicated the Wildcats have been in playoff mode for three weeks now. They needed district wins over Greenville and Hallsville the past two weeks to get into the playoffs. Coach Owens said JV team volunteers are helping the varsity get ready for Poteet. The JV players will suit out for the playoff game bringing the roster to around 80 players. Coach Owens said the game plan was not overly complicated this week. He said the team just needed to line up, play football and get after it. Coach Owens said the Pirates are very athletic on both sides of the ball but especially on defense. They also have a lot of senior starters and they have lots of confidence from past playoff participation. The Pirates quarterback is a Texas signee in baseball. Coach Owens said the Pirates also have talented wide receivers, and running backs along with a good sized offensive line. He said Offensive Coordinator Matt Young compares Poteet’s defense to Texas High while Defensive Coordinator Triston Abron thinks Marshall when he see the Pirates on tape. Coach Owens said he has enjoyed getting to know Mesquite Poteet Coach Kody Groves
Mesquite Poteet Coach Kody Groves:
The Wildcats meet Mesquite Poteet for a bi-district playoff game at Lindale Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Poteet’s head football coach is Kody Groves, who is in his fourth year as the Pirates head coach. In June 2013, Groves was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach to replace Randy Jackson, who went to Plano East as head coach. Coach Groves had previous coaching stops at Coppell, Midland Lee and Midlothian. The Pirates are 7-3 this year. They were 6-1 in district play making them district co-champs with Highland Park. The Pirates’ losses are to quality teams: #1 state ranked Denton Ryan and Mansfield Lake Ridge is non-district games and to Highland Park in district. Coach Groves said his team has had a pretty good year so far. He said a lot was expected of this team this year. He has 15 starters from last year’s team and six players who have started or played significant minutes since they were sophomores. Still Coach Groves said after ten games, he doesn’t believe his team has quite put it all together. However Coach Groves said the Pirates defense has played at a high level. They are giving up about 15 to 16 points a game and about 250 to 260 yards per game. Some of those yards came late in games that had been long decided. An offensive different maker for the Pirates is senior running back Daiquan Jackson. Jackson was a starting safety for the Pirates the past two years. This year he returned to what Coach Groves called his natural position. Jackson scored 30 touchdowns as a freshman team running back. He is being recruited as a safety. Jackson ran for 200 yards in the second half of the team’s 20-17 loss to Mansfield Lake Ridge. The speedy running back is on the Pirates sprint relay and 4 X 200 relay teams. Coach Groves calls him a great kid. The Poteet quarterback is a three year starter, Kaleb Fletcher. He’s been on the Pirates baseball team since he was a freshman and is committed to Texas as a baseball player. Coach Groves said Fletcher was won 28 or 29 games as quarterback in his three years. He added he’s a great leader. The Pirates defense has great experience. This year there were two returning defensive linemen, three linebackers and two cornerbacks. Coach Groves said since Jackson was moved from defense to offense, two safeties have more than filled in for him. Coach Groves said he was wary of the Wildcats, coached by his good friend Greg Owens. Coach Groves said the Wildcats appear to be better than their 4-6 record. He said he likes Wildcats quarterback Ryan Humphries who he called a competitor. The former defensive coordinator said he really liked defensive lineman D’Idrec Dugan and the whole defensive line. Coach Groves said Mesquite Poteet could not allow the scary Wildcats to hang around during the playoff game.
Wildcats Offensive Coordinator Matt Young:
Wildcats Offensive Coordinator Matt Young said last Friday’s playoff spot clinching win over Hallsville was a great night and a huge win for the Wildcats. He said the players have been through a lot and he added he respected them for getting back into the playoffs. Last Friday Coach Young said Gideon Gregory, Richard Green and Jessy Darrow led an offensive line that was physical up front and did their part to get the ball moving down the field. He was pleased with receiver D.J. Hall with his blocking, catching and runs after the catch. Coach Young said Landry Tyson and Austin Dodd both had good catches. He praised runners Colton Allen and Searn Rodgers for carrying the ball. Coach Young said despite fewer catches for receiver Simeon Taylor who now draws a crowd, he said the receiver continues to make plays in other ways. The talented Mesquite Poteet defense is next for the Wildcats offense Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Lindale. Coach Young said Poteet Coach Kody Groves is a former defensive coordinator and his imprint is very much on the Pirates’ defense. He said the Pirates are not that large but they are very aggressive and seasoned with numerous returnees from past years. He said Poteet presents a great opportunity for the Wildcats offense.
Wildcats Defensive Coordinator Triston Abron:t
What can Wildcats Defensive Coordinator Triston Abron say after his defense held Hallsville to negative yards after the first two quarters last Friday? He said no matter what was called by Hallsville, his defense executed the play properly. Coach Abron said the defensive line got penetration, the secondary did a good job in coverage and he added the team tackling was the best all season. He added he believed the effort topped the Texas High game. Coach Abron said he tells his team to not allow themselves to be blocked and he said that’s pretty much what happened Friday. He called defensive lineman D’Idrec Dugan’s game phenomenal. Dugan collected over 20 cat paw decals this week for big plays last week. Defensive lineman Cameron Cooks also had three early sacks. Coach Abron said the Hallsville offensive coordinator praised the play of Dugan and Cooks. The Mesquite Poteet offense is next for the Wildcats’ defense. The Pirates have a three year starter at quarterback and Coach Abron said he can really pass. Coach Abron compared Poteet to Marshall’s offense. He said the Pirates have a lot of talent at the wide receiver spot. Coach Abron said to add a spark to the offense this year, the Pirates switched a very good safety on defense to running back. That running back his been dynamite according to Coach Abron. However he said he might have spotted a few things that the Wildcats defense could take advantage of Friday.
AgriLife Update By Johanna Hicks
EarthKind Living Expo – Last Call!
Recently, someone asked me if the EarthKind Living Expo was a “tree-hugger” conference. I had to chuckle to myself, because he probably stated the same misconception that others might have. The EarthKind Living Expo is a new educational program created by leading experts with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service using university-research-proven techniques for quality living, environmental stewardship, and healthy homes. From apartment dwellers to rural farmers and ranchers, Texans will find this exciting new program to be of great value. The program agenda is designed to allow time for participants to visit exhibits throughout the event.
Key features of EarthKind Living include:
- Creating lands that are beautiful and productive while minimizing environmental impact
- Ensures strong environmental land stewardship in both plant and animal production
- Promotes nutrition and physical activity while emphasizing safe, healthy, and delicious food
- Teaches the importance of unbiased university research
Benefits of EarthKind Living are:
- Gives great quality of life, increases the beauty and value of your home and property
- Enhances environmental stewardship and long-term productivity for agricultural enterprises
- Conserves water and energy, thereby saving you money; protects air and water quality
- Naturally protects and enriches the soil; utilizes plants and animals with the strongest, best-adapted genetics
- Dramatically reduces misuse and overuse of fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals
- Helps safeguard the health and overall well-being of your family
Some top-notch speaker are lined up for the morning, and you’ll have your choice of two concurrent sessions to attend after lunch. This conference is not just for farmers and ranchers! Kitchen composting, pantry pests, vegetables and herbs, beekeeping, indoor home air quality and water conservation, pasture management and landscapes are the concurrent sessions from which to choose, so there is something to please everyone!
Two conferences are being offered – same speakers, same sessions, but different locations – to give more people the opportunity to participate. Both conference will be from 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 pm. (registration begins at 8:00 a.m.) Lunch and lots of great handouts and information are included in the $35 registration fee (if you registered before November 10, you only paid $25.) Take note and register soon!
– Friday, November 18 – First Baptist Church, Sulphur Springs
– Friday, December 2 – Ben E. Keith, Palestine
To register, go to https://agrilife.org/earthkindliving and follow the on-screen instructions. You’ll find an agenda for the day, along with a video featuring the planning committee. If you need more information, call my office at 903-885-3443. We hope to have a good turn-out! Invite a friend!
Winter Squash Season!
Changing the subject, I want to focus on a delicious, nutritious food item – winter squash! Acorn Squash Butternut Squash, and Spaghetti Squash are all considered to be winter squashes. These are full of Vitamin A and C, and can be used in a variety of dishes. When purchasing, look for squash that is tender but firm. It should be heavy in relation to size. Below is a terrific recipe for your Thanksgiving meal – enjoy!
Butternut Squash Apple Casserole
– 1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
– 2 apples, cored, peeled, sliced
– ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
– ¼ cup reduced calorie margarine
– 1 tablespoon flour
– 1 teaspoon salt
– ½ teaspoon cinnamon
– ¼ teaspoon allspice
Directions:
- Peel squash, scoop out seeds, and cut in small pieces.
- Place squash and apple slices in oblong baking dish (7 x 11-inch).
- Blend remaining ingredients with a fork until crumbly. Distribute over squash and apples.
- Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 45-50 minutes.
This recipe makes about 8 servings and provides 3 grams of fiber per serving. Delicious!
Closing Thought
“Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick – your friends will. Stay in touch” – unknown
Johanna Hicks
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Family & Consumer Sciences
1200-B W. Houston
P.O.Box 518
Sulphur springs, TX 75483
903-885-3443 – phone
903-439-4909 – Fax
[email protected]
Cold Weather and The Garden By Mario Villarino
Cold Weather and The Garden
As I wrote this article, I detected temperatures getting cold rather rapidly. I know many of us welcome a little bit of cold weather after the long hot season and our gardens respond rapidly to colder temperatures. According to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension horticulturists, gardening has plenty of challenges. Insects, diseases, drought, wind, excessive rainfall, soil problems, lack of pollination, too much sun, not enough sun, blazing heat, bitter cold…and the list goes on. But then if it was simple and easy, with guaranteed results, how much fun would that be? I don’t mean to say that gardening is difficult and only the professionals can do it. In fact the basics of gardening are quite simple and easy. But there are plenty of challenges that keep things interesting. Part of the enjoyment of gardening comes from the challenge. Like any great hobby it takes learning, time, skill, practice and just a little bit of good fortune to achieve the best results. One of my favorite things about garden ing is that it is always new and at least partially unpredictable. One of the great challenges we gardeners face each year, in fact twice a year, is the threat of frosts and freezes showing up to spoil the show. I say twice a year because we deal with the early frosts of fall that would cause our warm season gardens to face an untimely demise, and the late frosts of spring that make gamblers of anyone who ever set a tomato in the ground, and worriers of everyone with a peach tree in full bloom. We could also add a third challenge, the cold of winter that would be the arbiter of what can and cannot be grown in your particular zone. And we all must try to cheat the zone map at least a little, right? Now the best way to beat winter is to have a greenhouse. But not everyone has one and then there are all those plants in the garden and landscape that can’t be dug up and moved into a greenhouse.The purpose of this article is to provide some suggestions on ways to protect your plants from the threat of cold. However we should begin with a little technical information on frosts and freezes. We all know that freezes can kill plant tissues but do you know how? When the water inside a plant freezes it causes ice crystals to form that pierce the cell walls of the plant. When the temperature warms up, the cells leak out their fluids as they die and turn to mush. Freeze damage first shows up as dark,water-soaked tissues which then turn black to brown and dry up. Frosts on the other hand appear on the surface of plant tissues as well as on most any other exposed surface. During the night these surfaces radiate heat to the sky. When their temperature drops to the freezing point the water vapor next to it freezes on the surface. It is somewhat similar to the process on a warm day when water condenses on your iced tea glass because the glass is colder than the air around it. Someone may ask, “Can you have a frost without a freeze?” The answer is yes…and no. It is possible for frost to form when the air temperature is above freezing. Solid surfaces lose heat faster than air on a cold night. The metal and glass on your car are good examples of this. They radiate their heat away dropping in temperature faster than the air around them. As a result we see frost on a windshield when few other things around the landscape show frost. Plants also lose heat faster than the air. The surface of a leaf can drop a little below the temperature of the air around it on a cold night causing it to drop below freezing and frost to form on the surface.
So you can have a frost without the temperature of the air dropping below freezing, but frost is a sign that the plant tissues have dropped below freezing. So when you see frost there has been a freeze at the point of the plant surface. Anything that reflects the radiating heat back down will prevent or at least greatly reduce frost formation. In winter walk out on a frosty morning and notice that while there is frost on the lawn around your landscape, underneath the live oak tree or underneath a picnic table there is little if any frost. Clouds perform the same radiant heat-reflecting function. On a clear night temperatures drop fast. On a cloudy night much heat is reflected back to the ground slowing the drop and in many cases preventing a frost or freeze.
We use the terms frost and freeze to refer to different types of temperature-related events. Typically frost forms on a still night when the temperature drops to near or just below freezing. A freeze on the other hand refers to a more extended period below freezing and may or may not include wind. Most of the time in the fall or spring season we gardeners are dealing with a marginal freeze where the temperature drops briefly to just below freezing at the end of the night and then moves back up above freezing soon after the sun rises. This is enough to destroy a fall or spring garden or fruit blooms and the hope of a spring crop. We can do a lot to protect plants from such a freeze because the temperatures are usually not too low and the duration is brief.Hopefully there is also not much wind, thus making protective measures easier and more effective. On the other hand when a hard freeze hits with a strong wind and lasts for a day or more there is usually little we can do to protect our gardens. The wind displaces any heat that might have helped protect the plants and speeds cooling of plant tissues. The extended time below freezing makes our simplest protective measures in adequate to the task.Sometimes all we need to do is keep a plant alive through the cold. The first parts of most plants to freeze are tender new growth areas and the areas between leaf veins where the leaf is thinnest. A little injury to new growth is tolerable especially if the plant itself is saved. This would be true of a citrus tree or bougainvillea for example. Keep in mind also that plants vary in their cold hardiness as they develop from seedlings to mature producing plants. Broccoli for example is quite hardy as a strong, growing plant but the flower buds, the part we eat, are much more sensitive to cold. There are a number of techniques we can use to help avoid freeze damage to our plants.
Watering : There are two ways that water can help protect plants. First of all plants under drought stress can be more susceptible to cold damage. By watering plants several days or more before cold weather threatens you can relieve stress if they are suffering from drought. Water is also a great “heat sink.” That is, it holds warmth and releases it slowly, more slowly than plant surfaces or air. Watering your plants right before a freeze creates a source of warmth that will slowly lose its heat over the course of a long cold evening. This alone is not going to provide protection from a hard freeze but can be used with covers to make a small difference on a marginal night, and every little bit helps! The second way water is used is by sprinkling plants on a cold night. The basic concept involves the physics of water.If you were to chart the drop in temperature of water you would see that it drops steadily to about 32 degrees and then levels off before dropping again after the water freezes. It takes a lot of energy to push water to change from liquid to solid. That is the key to using water to protect plants. Water is sprinkled on the plants and then freezes causing a small amount of heat to be released as it changes from liquid to solid form. Then another drop lands and freezes releasing more heat. As long as there is a thin layer of liquid water on the surface, the interior of the ice will not drop below about 32 degrees. So why don’t we all just sprinkle plants and be done with all this worrying over freezes? Well the devil is in the details. If the freeze is not too severe or too long and if you can install sprinklers that put out a small amount of water constantly over time, it may be a feasible strategy. Most folks end up using lawn sprinklers which put out too much water, so after a while the plants end up drowning insoggy soil while we create a major swampy mess in the landscape. Additionally if the freeze lasts very long we end up with an ice load that shatters our fruit trees like toothpicks and flattens the garden. Most importantly when using water you must not stop sprinkling after the temperature rises above 32 degrees. You have to continue to sprinkle until almost all the ice is melted. Otherwise the process works in reverse. As the ice goes from solid to liquid water it absorbs heat causing supercooling. So you theoretically could have made it through the freeze but then lost plants in the morning after temperatures started rising. All this said, protecting plants with sprinklers, while possible in some situations, is seldom a viable option. Covering Plants: Covering plants is the simplest, most practical way to protect against a frost or freeze. Gardeners head out with sheets, blankets, plastic, rowcovers and anything else that they can get their hands on to wrap up plants for a cold night.
Keep in mind however that a blanket doesn’t keep a plant warm, at least not to any significant degree. Blankets keep us warm because our bodies produce heat that the blanket helps hold in. If you wrap up the branches of a small tree or shrub with a blanket you aren’t doing it much good. These “landscape lollipops” as I call them are not effective. In fact they may keep some of the heat available to the plant away from it. Here’s what I mean. The main source of heat for a plant is the soil. On a cold night heat from the soil rises up around the plants. If you use a blanket to trap this heat within the plant’s canopy you can make a very significant difference on a cold night. When I talk about trapping heat I don’t necessarily mean warm air, just air that is warmer than freezing. If you keep the temperature around plants from dropping below freezing you have accomplished your goal. Even cold soil is actually significantly warmer than freezing and thus a source of “heat” on a cold night. To cover plants effectively, lay the cover over the plant and allow it to drape down to the soil on all sides. Then secure it with boards, bricks, rocks or soil to hold in the air. This is especially helpful in preventing a breeze from cooling things down faster. The next day, remove the covers to allow the sun to warm the soil surface a little and then replace the covers as the sun goes down. I have used cardboard boxes and large round garbage cans to cover plants. Plastic sheeting or any material that radiates its heat out quickly will “burn” (actually freeze) plant tissues where it touches them. It also tends to not reflect the radiant heat back down as well. Plastic is good, however, in holding in the air on a windy night so if you cover the plastic with a blanket or sheet you can increase the amount of heat reflected back to the plant and soil. Spunbound polyester rowcover fabric works quite well in holding heat. The lighter weight types are not as effective as the heavier types, which are generally sold as “frost blankets”, but all types are helpful. Plants growing in containers are especially susceptible to cold weather. Not only are the tops exposed like any other plant, but being above ground the roots lack the insulation of the earth and will get much colder than roots of an in-ground plant. Roots are often less hardy than the top portions of the plant. Some species which are normally quite hardy can suffer root death when temperatures in the container drop to just 28 degrees. The most obvious solution is to move container plants into a garage or other protected location. When this is not possible the next best option is to mass the containers close together on a protected side of the home or other structure. For added protection pile leaves over the containers and/or place a tarp or blanket over them. We have plenty of challenges in gardening. This fall and winter take advantage of some of the ways you can protect plants and keep that garden going all winter long.
For more information on this or any other agricultural topic please contact the Hopkins County Extension Office at 903-885-3443 or email me at [email protected].
Mario Villarino DVM, Ph.D.
Hopkins County Extension Agent for Ag and NR
1200B Houston Street
Sulphur Springs, Texas 75482
903-885-3443
