Search
Figs are one of our more easy-to-grow fruit plants, although at this time of year, leaf diseases are often observed.
Cotton is the most economically important crop that the cotton jassid damages, but it also affects other plants that are valuable to us.
For woody plants and palms, waiting is advised.
A Louisiana Master Gardener training course is scheduled for Wednesdays (9:00 AM until noon), from August 12 through November 19, 2026, in Tangipahoa Parish.
Averaged over two years, the top 10 producers were Tifblue, Brightwell, Ochlockonee, Premier, Austin, Alapaha, Powderblue, Legacy, Farthing, and Centurion.
Using organic practices offers certain benefits, including conserving or improving soil quality and reducing the use of some types of pesticides.
Crop rotation, cover cropping, and plant and animal-derived materials are used for managing soil fertility when growing organically.
This article addresses organic weed, insect, and disease management.
Each year, we face situations in which some of our plants could be injured by cold weather.
Muscadines are well-adapted to our climate.
Roughly 99% of insects are not “pests.”
This article series addresses some pesticides allowed in organic production, under certain condition.
Rabbiteye blueberries can produce for many years and with relatively little care if a good site is chosen and the soil is prepared well.
The sweet potato production cycle begins when sweet potatoes from the previous harvest season are planted in the spring, to produce slips for transplanting.
Even with good variety selection, bunch grapes still require more effort to produce healthy fruit than muscadines do.
Many of our cool-season vegetables can be planted in September and October.
Muscadines aren’t the only grapes that we see growing in the wild.
Raised beds are helpful where drainage is poor and can be useful even where it isn't, but they're not always without problems.
This article addresses excessive drainage, low nutrients, and herbicide residues.
Scare tactics may deter birds for a limited amount of time, but birds get used to them.
Our growing season is long enough that we can prune blueberries soon after harvest, and the plants will have time to set flower buds for the next year.
Blossom end rot and buckeye rot are common problems with tomatoes.
A lot of vegetables don’t produce as well when temperatures are very hot, but eggplants can handle our summers.
Tips on staking plants, removing suckers, and avoiding blossom end rot, leaf diseases, and caterpillar damage.
The snap bean is another warm-season vegetable that can be planted relatively early in the year.
April is late enough to avoid most frosts and early enough that plants are unlikely to experience excessively warm temperatures.
Late winter or early spring, around the time plants begin to put out new growth, is one of the best times of year to fertilize fruit trees.
One of the main perks of growing transplants is that you can choose from a more diverse range of vegetable varieties than those offered locally as transplants.
Yield data was collected from 31 blueberry varieties at the Hammond Research Station in 2024.
Here are some gift ideas for gardeners.
Muscadines fruit on shoots that come from the previous season’s growth.
In 2024, we harvested from the end of April till early July.
The LSU AgCenter is offering six classes covering a variety of garden- and landscape-related topics in early 2025.
Hawthorns and crabapples native to Louisiana tend to grow into small trees, have thorny branches, flower in spring, and have fruit that is consumed by wildlife.
Garlic and most types of bulb-forming onions need to be exposed to cool temperatures followed by longer days to form bulbs of the desired sizes.
Lettuce is not a very demanding vegetable, but it needs to be grown at the right time of year, and some types are easier to grow in our climate than others.
Composting is a way to take yard, garden, and kitchen “waste” and turn it into something useful.
If you want long-term control of fire ants but also need to get rid of them quickly in one or more spots, you can take a two-step approach.
Sooty mold grows where insects have secreted a sugary substance called honeydew.
The best option will depend on several factors.
Most of our blackberry and blueberry plants have finished fruiting, so it’s time to think about pruning them and making a final fertilizer application.
The LSU AgCenter has a lot of resources that address a variety of topics.
Plants injured by synthetic auxin herbicides often exhibit distortion of leaves and other plant parts.
Several types of insects make highly noticeable webs in trees.
There are vegetables that tolerate hot weather.
Individuals in the Louisiana Master Gardener program help the LSU AgCenter provide education about gardening and lawn care.
Sweet corn can be planted earlier than many other warm-season vegetables.
Apple trees are usually trained in the central leader form.
Apple varieties recommended for the Florida Parishes area of Louisiana include Anna, Dorsett Golden, and Ein Shemer.
Black flies, or buffalo gnats, are a major nusiance in the Feliciana parishes in spring.
If you wait until March or April to plant a vegetable garden, you will have missed the window for planting some of our cool-season veggies.
A primary criterion for choosing pecan varieties for yards and home orchards is resistance to pecan scab.
Plums have many of the same disease and insect problems that peaches have, which is to say a lot.
After planting, the first several weeks are the most important for weed control.
Herbicides, tillage, blocking light from reaching the soil for a sufficiently long time, or a combination of these can be used to kill weeds before planting.
Some heat-tolerant vegetables can still be planted, and it won’t be long before it’s time to plant many cool-season crops.
As of August 24, the US Drought Monitor showed all areas of Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes in severe drought.
Herbicides are important tools in some cases, but they should not be relied upon alone to manage weed problems.
It was a bad year for blueberry production, but it was a good year for learning what varieties are more likely to produce in spite of late freezes.
This spring has brought a lot of questions about blossom end rot and bacterial wilt.
May or June beetles feed on many species of plants.
Deer have poor depth perception, and some fence designs take advantage of that.
Southern peas or cowpeas can tolerate the hottest parts of our summers and can be planted between April and early August.
Governor Edwards proclaimed April 2023 Native Plant Month, and I thought I’d write about a few of my favorites.
Contour maps based on numbers of chill hours received between October 1 and February 28, over a 30-year period, are available.
This article wraps up a series about plants for moist or wet sites.
Exposure to a sufficient extent of cold temperatures, followed by warm temperatures favorable for growth, is involved determining when a plant "wakes up."
Fourteen individuals recently completed the LSU AgCenter’s Louisiana Master Gardener (LMG) course in Tangipahoa Parish.
A client contacted me recently about a problem in a turnip field. It wasn’t clear what the primary issue was in the photos, so I made a visit to the field.
“Chewers,” or insects that make holes of various sizes in various plant parts, include caterpillars and beetles.
There are simple ways to differentiate among American chestnut, Chinese chestnut, and Allegheny chinquapin trees.
When aphids have been on a plant, we often see skins (the exoskeletons they shed as they molt) and aphid “mummies,” or parasitized aphid bodies.
If you plan to save seed from your own plants to use in the future, there are a few things to know.
The second half of October is a good time to plant strawberries in our area.
Many of our “root” vegetables are cool-season crops.
Raised beds are often the best option for growing vegetables at home.
Wilting tomatoes are a common complaint. There are several possible causes.
There's a variety of reasons that this can occur.
The LSU AgCenter will offer a blueberry pruning demonstration at the Hammond Research Station at 9:00 AM on Friday, July 8, 2022.
Fire ant treatment options are similar to those for other locations, but only insecticides labeled for use around vegetables should be used.
