Editing Zavala County, Texas (section)

===Winter Garden===
Zavala, [[Dimmit County, Texas|Dimmitt]], [[Frio County, Texas|Frio]], and [[La Salle County, Texas|LaSalle]] Counties are considered the Winter Garden region of Texas.<ref>{{cite web |last=Odintz|first=Mark|title=Winter Garden Region|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ryw02|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association |access-date=December 14, 2010}}</ref> Irrigation and mild winter climate have made the area ideal for year-round vegetable farming. During the winter of 1917–18, spinach was introduced to Zavala.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mortensen|first=E|title=Spinach Culture|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/afs01|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=December 14, 2010}}</ref> The first annual Spinach Festival was introduced in 1936, halted during [[World War II]], but resumed in 1982.<ref>{{cite book|last=Usler|first=Mark|title=Hometown Declarations – America's Self-Proclaimed World Capitals|year=2008|publisher=DM Enterprises In|isbn=978-0-9786987-1-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780978698713/page/100 100]|chapter=Crystal City: Spinach Capital of the World|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780978698713/page/100}}</ref> Cartoonist [[E. C. Segar]], who created the spinach-eating [[Popeye]], received a letter of appreciation from the Winter Garden Chamber of Commerce, thanking him for his support of spinach in the American diet. Segar's written response appeared in two newspapers exhorting children everywhere to enjoy Segar's favorite vegetable. He later approved a 1937 statue of Popeye to be erected in Crystal City, dedicated "To All The Children of the World".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Reavis|first=Dick J|title=The Importance of Popeye|journal=Texas Monthly|date=June 1987|pages=98,100}}</ref> Bermuda onions became a major crop. Spinach, sorghum, and cotton were the three biggest crops. The principal crops grown in Zavala County in 1989 were spinach, cotton, pecans, corn, and onions.<ref name="Zavala County" />