By Patty G. Leander Contributing Editor They’re not peas and they’re not nuts, but they are a wholesome, nutritious and fascinating crop to grow. The peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is a warm-season legume that begins its growth like any other bean, pushing through the soil and…
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By Mary Karish Contributing Writer Ed Pechacek, a mango lover, did not know a chance encounter would change his life. It started with a longan tree (Dimocarpus longan). Pechacek had received a call from a woman who wanted to see the longan tree he grew…
By Cathryn A. Hoyt Freelance Writer Alpine lies nestled in the foothills of the Davis Mountains of West Texas, surrounded by the wide open spaces of the Chihuahuan Desert. Towering yuccas and rows of Arizona cypress accent the lawn at Sul Ross State University. A…
By William Scheick Contributing Editor This was our situation. After several years of record-setting drought and triple-digit temperatures, our tree-canopied backyard in Central Texas had begun to revert to its original Mars-like stony terrain, where barely even weeds could grow. It wasn’t just our years-deep…