Studies in other states have suggested that cover crops, especially brassicas, can provide some of the benefits of a fumigant. A study was conducted at the Hammond Research Station to evaluate this concept.

Vegetable growers have many choices in tractors, ranging from older, smaller tractors to large, new tractors. Many are designed specifically for vegetable work.

The use of plastic mulch is a common practice for strawberry and vegetable growers, but there are two major problems with plastic mulch: it is expensive to install and at some point it has to be removed from the field. Several machines are available that help simplify the removal of the mulch.

A seeder can be a tremendous aid in planting a vegetable garden. With it, you can stand and walk along the row pushing a seeder instead of having to make a furrow with a hoe, going back along the row bent over dropping seeds, and then covering and packing the row.

This article provides links to sources for plastic mulch lifters.

The use of plastic mulch is a common practice for nearly all strawberry growers and most vegetable growers. Installing the mulch is easier than it used to be when mulch was installed by hand, but it can be challenging.

Cone guide wheels are the heart of a precision cultural system (PCS). Cone guide wheels allow an implement to follow along a shaped bed with no effort on the part of the tractor driver.

Vacuum seeders are popular among larger commercial vegetable growers. They do a good job of singulating most vegetable seeds. They are especially useful for singulating the oddly shaped seeds that cause problems for most other types of seeders.

There is a wide range of seeder types and models available for direct seeding vegetable crops. Smaller growers typically use the less expensive seeders; larger growers can justify more expensive precision seeders.

A basic sweep cultivator can do an excellent job of cultivating vegetable crops but must be run slowly (1-2 mph) when the crop plants are small. A simple modification to a sweep cultivator allows high-speed cultivation of small vegetable crops.

Many growers pick up plastic mulch but several machines are available for this job. Work at the LSU AgCenter has demonstrated that, in some cases, plastic mulch can be picked up by a hay baler.