Use this guide to plant a successful vegetable garden. The information has been developed after considerable research and practical experience.

Louisiana summers are a tough time for tomatoes to set and hold fruit. The heat causes irregular flower growth in most cultivars, and the result is poor fruit set, according to LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske.

Organic mulches can help keep your vegetables producing during Louisiana’s hot summer months. Although mulch is usually applied to control weeds and conserve moisture, it has several other useful functions.

Blossom-end rot can occur when sunny days follow a cloudy, wet period. It is a symptom of calcium deficiency in the plant.

Sweet potatoes are not very sweet or moist when first dug. It takes six to eight weeks of proper curing and storage before they have the sweet, moist taste and texture desired when baked, says LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske.

Garlic is thought to have many uses from warding off cancer to protecting from evil. In Louisiana, we use it to flavor food and boil shellfish. Here are some tips on how to grow garlic in the home garden.

Okra is a warm-season crop that grows well in Louisiana gardens. A good start is important for successful okra production.

This publication is intended to introduce home vegetable gardeners to the various methods used to manage the many diseases that affect these crops.

Maturation processes occur in vegetables that permanently change their taste, appearance and quality if they are not harvested at the proper stage of maturity.

In the summers of 2002 and 2003, LSU AgCenter's Dr. James Boudreaux tested 14 sugar enhanced (se) and 11 supersweet (sh2) corn cultivars. They were evaluated for their large ears (about 8") and husk cover.

Louisiana is blessed with long growing seasons which make year round gardening possible. To be successful, however, you must have an insect management program. Learn how to tell if the insect is beneficial to your garden, or if it is a pest and determine what to use if controls are necessary.

Expected yields from a good southern vegetable garden will vary, but estimates can help plan the planting scheme for the garden.

After a saturating summer rain, expect many plants to wilt and then scald out. Saturated conditions can interfere with a root system's ability to absorb soil moisture. When a high evaporation demand (transpiration) is placed on the plants from bright sunshine after rain, they can show drought stress.

The carbon-to-nitrogen ratio tells us how well the compost will work.

Snap beans are adapted to a wide range of soils in Louisiana and make an excellent crop for the home garden. Their freshness is a real treat at the dinner table.

Getting the right start in the spring is especially important for a productive garden, says LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske.

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is causing losses to many tomato growers. Symptoms of the disease typically include cupping and rolling of the upper leaves, which usually turn purple/brown along the veins.

This publication has information on the varieties, pollination, soil preparation, planting and cultivation of vegetable pears.

The southern pea is also known as cowpea and field pea and various names like blackeyes, crowders, peas, etc.

"Fall is a good time to plant greens in your home garden," says LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske. Crops include mustard, turnips, spinach, collards, kale and Swiss chard. All are cool-season crops with similar cultural requirements.

Easily grown, parsley should be planted in everyone’s cool-season herb garden.

This series provides a variety of information for home vegetable gardeners. Topics include beans, cabbage, corn, cucumbers, eggplants, potatoes, squash, tomatoes, peppers, onions, shallots, garlic and many more of the favorites of home gardeners.

Many Louisiana homeowners have small greenhouses for growing potted plants and for starting annual flower and vegetable plants. You can also grow high-quality fresh vegetables in a home greenhouse during the cold months to add variety and interest to the family diet. Recommended varieties, temperature requirements, pest control and hobby greenhouse diagrams are included. (PDF Format Only)

Downy mildew is a potentially devastating disease of all cucurbits. Disease symptoms, development, control measures and color photographs of symptoms on pumpkin, cucumber and watermelon are included.

There are dozens of different types that feed on the roots of vegetables, but the root-knot nematode is one of the most destructive types found throughout our state. Managing nematodes may involve using one or more techniques that have proven to reduce nematode populations.

Nitrogen (N) is a very important plant nutrient for all fall vegetable crops. A sufficient and continuous amount must be supplied to all plants to achieve good yields. It also is the nutrient most often lacking in soils.

BOSSIER CITY – Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse may be less costly in the future.Dr. H.Y. Hanna, an LSU AgCenter scientist working at the Red River Research Station in Bossier City, is studying how spacing between bags that hold the plants affects the amount of heat required to produce tomatoes in greenhouses.

Gardeners are often unaware of a serious pest waiting for the spring vegetables to begin growing. These pests are small, microscopic animals called nematodes, and they attack the roots of many plants commonly grown in the garden. There are two major types of nematodes that cause the most problems for vegetables.

Many summer-blooming annuals, perennials and vegetables are setting seeds now, and you can harvest the seeds, store them and then grow a new crop of plants for your garden next year. This can be fun, save a little money and allow you to share seeds with gardening friends.

(For Release On Or After 10/05/07) Fall is a prime planting season in Louisiana. Cool-season flowering bedding plants and cool-season vegetables are planted from now through February, and November through February is the best time to plant hardy shrubs, ground covers and perennials in the landscape. How well you prepare the soil before planting has an enormous effect on the health and growth of your plants.

Fall and winter, the value of home gardens reaches $60.5 million.

Keys to Successful Organic Vegetable Gardening

Controlling weeds in small areas may be pretty simplistic.

Early August marks the beginning of Louisiana’s fall gardening season. The adage that timing is everything applies to fall gardening in Louisiana, says LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske.

Thirthteen tomato varieties were evaluated at four different sites for home garden use.

Soil salts affect turf mostly by withholding moisture from plant tissues. They may also compete for uptake of nutrient ions. Try these suggestions to manage a soil salinity situation.

Cucurbita and Lagenaria gourds, when mature, are ready to harvest and process into decorations or utensils.

It's easy to win if you follow the rules and pay attention to details.

Kohlrabi is a delicious, old-European member of the cabbage family that grows well in Louisiana's cool seasons.

Acidic soils (low pH) cause more gardening problems in Louisiana than any other soil factor. They affect so many other soil factors in both pest management and soil fertility.

Thumbing through colorful catalogs and dreaming of the next season's harvest is one way to make winter seem a little warmer and move a little faster.

September is Louisiana’s last chance to plant a relatively diversified vegetable garden before next spring. During this month we can detect the first signs of cooler weather that accompanies the fall, says LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske.

Farming of exotic mushrooms offers another opportunity to add to farm cash flow or supplemental income. It is also popular among home gardeners and organic farmers. Shiitake (pronounced she ta key) is the most popular of the exotics. This publication includes information on the fruiting, harvesting, pest problems, and cost and returns for shiitake mushrooms.

Gardeners often wonder whether plowing or tilling should be done in the spring or late fall, but LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Thomas Koske says working the soil in late fall has several advantages over the traditional spring plowing.

Southern peas are an option for Louisiana summer gardens, because they can take the heat and prefer less fertile soils, according to LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske.

LSU AgCenter experts say soil contamination in Jefferson and Orleans parishes from flooding after this summer’s hurricanes may not be as serious as originally feared. Initial results of tests conducted in October indicate no need for special preparations to the soils prior to planting and that there should be no danger for individuals digging or planting in the soil.

Will the grass come back and how long will it be before vegetable gardens can be planted were questions on the minds of LSU AgCenter faculty members who recently toured the New Orleans area.

(Distributed 11/01/01) November in Louisiana means cooler weather, but LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske says it doesn't mean you have to hang up your garden tools for the year. "Some garden plants withstand cold weather, so you can keep your garden filled and growing until spring," the horticulturist explains.

Surface damage is obvious, but other damage occurs internally.

Storage onions and other allium crops are good candidates for Louisiana winter gardens, according to LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske. These plants require minimal care and can be stored for long periods of time after the late spring harvest.

(Distributed 04/18/03) The cucumber family, or Cucurbitaceae, provides a wide variety of vegetables popular in the home garden. Members of that family, which can be planted now, include summer squash, winter squash, mirliton, pumpkin, gourd, cucuzzi, watermelon, cantaloupe, cushaw, luffa and, of course, cucumber.

(Distributed 08/15/03) While cool-season planting begins in earnest next month, some of the more heat tolerant cool-season vegetables, such as the cole crops, can be planted into the garden now.

(Distributed 06/01/01) As summer heat sets in, tomatoes may show many disorders. One common fruit problem is blossom-end rot, or BER, according to an LSU AgCenter horticulturist.