QUESTION : I want to start using Diakon Radishes as a cover crop on 2 !/2 acres at a time. All I can find are garden (packet) lots.
ANSWER Cyberseeds which is located in San Antonio has several varieties of daikon radish seed for sale in bulk quantities. They have on line ordering from this web site: http://www.cyberseeds.com/

QUESTION : My father has a small farm that currently is producing coastal hay. He has heard of matua grass and is interested. I am having a hard time referencing it. Any type of direction would be appreciated. I have verified its existence with a plant ecologist.
ANSWER : Matua is a cool season perennial grass that is closely related to a native cool season grass called Rescue Grass. They are both Brome grasses. Matua arrived in America and is grown principally in the cooler climates. There is a man in Kerrville who has some, but it is being grown under center pivot irrigation -- to provide summer moisture -- to prevent it from dying in our heat ( some of has died anyway). It does better in the cooler climates, Lubbock and north. If you want a reseeding winter forage, may I suggest annual ryegrass. It produces VERY high quality forage from Nov. through May. It can be purchased locally and has the same agronomic characteristics as winter wheat or oats. Seeding rate is about 25 pounds of seed per acre. In May, do not graze it to the ground and it will come up in the fall with a light disking. Of course, proper fertilization will help it produce to its potential. If you have additional questions, please call me Charles Stichler (Extension Agronomist in Uvalde) -- 830-278-9151

QUESTION :We have a Norfolk Pine that we have had since it was about 18" tall. It is now some 12 years later about 8 feet tall. We have always had in the house but this past summer we put it in the yard (shady spot) and it grew about 2 feet and has a wing span of about 5 feet. It got too big for its spot in the house. Can it survive our winters in a large clay pot?
ANSWER :The Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla) can survive San Antonio winters in a large clay pot so long as you bring it into a protected location any time the temperature is forecast to go below freezing. Since our weathermen rarely come within /- 10 degrees of the actual temperature, that is going to keep you running. The tree is a tropical that cannot withstand freezing temperatures.

QUESTION : I'm thinking of planting some Oleanders as a screen between my yard and my neighbors yard. Would this make a good screen plant and if so what variety would you recommend.
ANSWER :Oleanders are great plants and would make a good screening hedge. There are a couple of things that you should be aware of though before you make your decision. First, all parts of the oleander are extremely poisonous. However, they are also extremely bitter so nothing will eat them. The other thing is that they are not completely cold hardy here in San Antonio and are subject to freezing to the ground periodically when we have hard freezes. When this happens they will normally return from their roots. Neither of these things would preclude me from planting oleanders. The variety I would recommend in one named 'Hardy Pink'. This variety has more cold hardiness than the others.

QUESTION : I have been trying to find information concerning the planting of olive trees for small scale oil production on my land in Refugio County. In particular, what varieties are appropriate, where can they be bought, what soil conditions are needed, and how should they be planted? The only plants I have found are from California (Frantolo, Leccino, Maurino, and Pendolino) and are priced at $14 apiece. Our county extension agent is unfamiliar with olives and suggested your Website as a possible help. Corpus Christi, Texas

ANSWER :The following Plantanswers web site will give you most of the information you are looking for.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/fruit/olive/olive.html

However, keep in mind that olives are still a very risky venture in Texas. It is not so much that they can't take the cold, it is that they start to become active when the temperatures warm up in February and then get froze when the temperatures drop again in March or April.