Winter Garden Region

Last updated May 05, 2019

The Winter Garden Region is an agricultural area in South Texas (USA) located north of Laredo and southwest of San Antonio. The region is centered on four "core" counties - Dimmit, Frio, La Salle, and Zavala,^[1] but also includes parts of Atascosa, Maverick, and McMullen counties.

South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas

South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and sometimes including—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 4.96 million according to the 2017 census estimates. The southern portion of this region is often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley. The eastern portion along the Gulf of Mexico is also referred to as the Coastal Bend.

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

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Uvalde County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 26,405. Its county seat is Uvalde. The county was created in 1850 and organized in 1856. It is named for Juan de Ugalde, the Spanish governor of Coahuila. Uvalde County was founded by Reading Wood Black who also founded the city of Uvalde, Texas.

The region is noted for its year-round production of vegetables through irrigation.

Irrigation is the application of controlled amounts of water to plants at needed intervals. Irrigation helps to grow agricultural crops, maintain landscapes, and revegetate disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of less than average rainfall. Irrigation also has other uses in crop production, including frost protection, suppressing weed growth in grain fields and preventing soil consolidation. In contrast, agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall is referred to as rain-fed or dry land farming.

History

The area is part of the Tamaulipan mezquital ecoregion.^[3] Before the introduction of large-scale irrigation, the region was arid and covered in short grasses and mesquite trees. Onion crop production began near Cotulla (La Salle County) in 1896. At the same time, Dimmit County farmers began to use artesian aquifers and dams to provide water for irrigated crops.

The Tamaulipan mezquital ecoregion, in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, is located in the southern United States and northeastern Mexico. It covers an area of 141,500 km² (54,600 sq mi), encompassing a portion of the Gulf Coastal Plain in southern Texas, northern Tamaulipas, northeastern Coahuila, and part of Nuevo León.

Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus Prosopis, which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. The mesquite originates in the Tamaulipan mezquital ecoregion, in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in the southern United States and northeastern Mexico. It has extremely long roots in order to seek water from very far underground. The region covers an area of 141,500 km², encompassing a portion of the Gulf Coastal Plain in southern Texas, northern Tamaulipas, northeastern Coahuila, and part of Nuevo León. As a legume, mesquite is one of the few sources of fixed nitrogen in the desert habitat.

The onion, also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. Its close relatives include the garlic, leek, chive, and Chinese onion.

The arrival of rail transportation in the early 1900s led to a major land boom in the region. Between 1900 and 1920, the number of farms in La Salle County almost tripled and the value of an acre of farmland in Dimmit County rose from $1.80 in 1900 to $24.60 in 1910 and more than $40 by 1920.^[1]

A real estate bubble or property bubble is a type of economic bubble that occurs periodically in local or global real estate markets, and typically follow a land boom. A land boom is the rapid increase in the market price of real property such as housing until they reach unsustainable levels and then decline. This period, during the run up to the crash, is also known as froth. The questions of whether real estate bubbles can be identified and prevented, and whether they have broader macroeconomic significance, are answered differently by schools of economic thought, as detailed below.

The number of farms in Zavala County tripled between 1900 and 1930 due largely to the division of the 96,000-acre (390 km²) Cross S Ranch into 10-acre (40,000 m²) plots. Although cotton production dominated in Frio County, the region's most important crops were onions, cabbage, spinach, beets, and strawberries. Other crops such as citrus fruits, melons, and nuts were also harvested.

Cabbage or headed cabbage is a leafy green, red (purple), or white biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage, B. oleracea var. oleracea, and belongs to the "cole crops", meaning it is closely related to broccoli and cauliflower ; Brussels sprouts ; and savoy cabbage. Brassica rapa is commonly named Chinese, celery or napa cabbage and has many of the same uses. Cabbage is high in nutritional value.

Spinach is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either fresh, or after storage using preservation techniques by canning, freezing, or dehydration. It may be eaten cooked or raw, and the taste differs considerably; the high oxalate content may be reduced by steaming.

The garden strawberry is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus Fragaria, collectively known as the strawberries. It is cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The fruit is widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red color, juicy texture, and sweetness. It is consumed in large quantities, either fresh or in such prepared foods as preserves, juice, pies, ice creams, milkshakes, and chocolates. Artificial strawberry flavorings and aromas are also widely used in many products like lip gloss, candy, hand sanitizers, perfume, and many others.

By 1930, the Winter Garden region was home to 36,816 people (up from 8,401 in 1900). A combination of increased irrigation costs and the Great Depression led to a decrease in the number of small farms. Many were returned to ranchland while irrigation farming became a large-scale enterprise in other areas.

Corporate ownership of large farms became increasingly common after World War II, with major companies such as Del Monte establishing canneries close to the fields.

Today, the Winter Garden region is still among the leading producers of winter vegetables through irrigation in the country.

Core county population statistics

County	1900	1930	1950	2000	2006 est.^[4]
Dimmit	1,106	8,828	10,654	10,248	10,385
Frio	4,200	9,411	10,357	16,252	16,336
La Salle	2,303	8,228	7,485	5,866	5,969
Zavala	792	10,349	11,201	11,600	12,036
Total	8,401	36,816	39,697	43,966	44,726

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References

1 2 "Winter Garden Region". The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
↑ Groundwater Atlas of the United States: Oklahoma, Texas - Figure 75
↑ "South Texas Plains". Wildlife Management Areas of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
↑ "Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Population for Counties of Texas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006" (CSV). 2006 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2007-05-01.

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[Texas_Handbook-1] 1 2 "Winter Garden Region". The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2009-10-01.

[2] Groundwater Atlas of the United States: Oklahoma, Texas - Figure 75

[3] "South Texas Plains". Wildlife Management Areas of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved 2009-10-01.

[4] "Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Population for Counties of Texas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006" (CSV). 2006 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2007-05-01.

Winter Garden Region

Contents

History

Core county population statistics

Related Research Articles

References