Fairland Farms Digest

Texas land, livestock & gardens

Fairland Farms Digest

Over gardening, etc.

The bluebonnet, Texas’ state flower

The Texas bluebonnet, Lupinus texensis, became the state flower in 1901. In 1971 the Legislature widened the honor to all of the state’s native lupines, six species in all. Every spring they turn roadsides and pastures blue from late March into April.

Each spike is a stack of small pea-shaped flowers. The upper petal has a white spot that turns reddish-purple once the flower has been pollinated, a signal that tells bees to move on. Bluebonnets are legumes, so their roots add nitrogen back to poor soil.

Sow
September to November
Blooms
Late March to April
Light
Full sun, 8+ hours
Soil
Well drained, even rocky

Native wildflowers worth growing

A wildflower year

  1. September–NovemberSow seed on bare, sunny ground and press it in so it touches soil. Bluebonnet seed has a hard coat; nicking it with sandpaper speeds sprouting.
  2. WinterSeedlings sit low as flat rosettes of leaves. Don’t weed them out by mistake.
  3. Late March–AprilPeak bloom for bluebonnets and paintbrush. Firewheel and Mexican hat follow into summer.
  4. May–JunePods dry, turn tan and split, flinging seed for next year.
  5. After the pods dryNow you can mow. Mowing earlier robs next spring’s show.

There is no state law against picking bluebonnets, but trespassing and damaging public land are against the law. Take a photo and leave the flowers to seed.

Cattle on the place

Most Texas herds are beef cow-calf operations: cows raise a calf each year that is sold at weaning or kept to grow. Pick a breed that can handle your heat, your grass and your rain.

~283 daysGestation, a little over nine months
10–20+ galWater a cow drinks per day, more in summer heat
2–2.5%Of body weight eaten daily as dry forage
4 compartmentsIn a cow’s stomach. Cattle are ruminants that chew cud.
Calf
A young animal, usually under a year.
Heifer
A young female that has not had a calf.
Cow
A female that has had a calf.
Steer
A castrated male raised for beef.
Bull
An intact male used for breeding.
Animal unit
One 1,000-lb cow with her calf, used to figure how many head the grass can carry.

Stocking rate depends on rain and grass. It can run from a few acres per cow in wetter East Texas to 30 acres or more in the dry west. Your county Extension agent can help size a herd to your land.

Agricultural write-offs

Farming and ranching come with tax breaks at both the federal and Texas level. Here are the common ones to ask your tax preparer about.

General information, not tax advice. Rules, limits and deadlines change, so confirm with a CPA or the Texas Comptroller before you file.