Newton County Extension Office

10/16/2026

Look what Fun Fall Events Newton County Extension has going on!!!🎃🐣🍂🍁🍪

10/16/2026

If you need instant impact, then choose a plant in full flower. To extend the display period, select plants that have tight flower buds with just a little bit of color showing. Over time, the buds will open up, making the flowers last longer.

Always keep your fall mums in full sun. This promotes the very best flower opening and color development.

Keep your mums consistently watered. This is a greater challenge when growing your mums in containers. If the soil is dry, it’s time to water your mums. Do not let them wilt. Once a flowering fall mum is water-stressed, it turns off flowering. This doesn’t necessarily kill the plant, but the flowering will not recover.

Don’t water the foliage, but direct water to the base of the plant and continue until water starts to flow from the bottom of the container. Wet leaves make it easy for fungal growth to set in, making plants look bad.

10/15/2026

10/15/2026

We are so proud of Newton Counties own Jeff and Karen Pugh!! Well deserved!👏👏🍀🍀

Karen and Jeff Pugh are longtime Mississippi 4-H Shooting Sports volunteer leaders in Newton County, but their work has taken them all over the state. Like so many locals involved in the program, they first started because they wanted to support their daughter, Audrey. However, once they got involved, they were hooked!

Karen is a certified instructor in r***e, Jeff is a certified instructor in both r***e and pistol, and the couple are both certified instructors in slingshot. While Jeff’s favorite is .22 pistol, Karen’s is slingshot.

To them, making a difference in young people’s lives—teaching discipline, patience, and attention to detail—is a reward and privilege that keeps on giving.

Click here to read the full article about Jeff and Karen: https://extension.msstate.edu/extension-matters/volume-12-number-2/choosing-lead.

10/15/2026

November 20th there will be a fundraiser for the National Mississippi 4-H Shooting Sports teams that will be headed to Nebraska in June of 2027 to compete. You can help them get there by competing!

10/12/2026

Those bright yellow flowers you’re seeing along the highways and ditches are called swamp sunflowers (Helianthus angustifolius)!

These plants appear in the fall and are native, herbaceous perennials. The flowers grow on single and multibranched stems, and their native habitats range from lowland sites such as bottomland and floodplains to drier upland areas. They prefer full sun but tolerate partial shade. These native beauties attract both birds for seed and bees for nectar and pollen.

10/09/2026

We are so proud of the hard work and dedication this couple puts in Newton County Youth!!! Thanks to both of you for all that you do!!!!🍀🎯❤️

Extension Matters Volume 12 Number 2 Choosing to Lead Karen and Jeff Pugh, Newton County 4-H Shooting Sports volunteers | Photo by Michaela Parker Changing the status quo in young people’s livesMeet Jeff and Karen Pugh, 4-H Shooting Sports volunteer leaders in Newton County!Q&A with Michaela Parke...

10/09/2026

Good luck to Newton County 4-H's own Madison "Maddie Luke"!!🍀🍀🍀