There is a lot to do in your yard and garden in the fall. Now is a good time to winterize your yard with just a little shot of fertilizer. Fertilome has a really good product for winterizing your lawn. It is a 10-0-14 mix with trace elements. A healthy and stable plant can endure the hardship of winter better than a weak plant. Winterizer builds winter hardiness, stem strenght and disease resistance in lawns, trees and shrubs. Application rates for the lawn are 20 lbs. per 5000 square ft.; trees, 1 lb. per inch of trunk diameter around the drip line; shrubs, 1 cup per 3 ft of height around the drip line.

A lot of people are coming in the store and talking about the drought. I have been told that this is the driest fall since 2010. That was 16 years ago, a long time. A little tidbit of information for you. Did you know that with an inch of rain you will get 6/10 of a gallon of water. If you get 1 inch of rain it will be 27,154 gallons in an acre. I’m not sure who figured that, but it is something interesting to know.

Our local 4-Hers and FFA members are competing at the Louisiana State Fair this weekend and next week. I wish them all good luck. Participating at this level is something that they will never forget.

(Mitzi Thomas owns Minden Farm & Garden LLC. Watch for her column on Fridays in Webster Parish Journal. Email Mitzi questions at  mitzithomas40@yahoo.com.)