Home > Lawn & Garden > Home Gardening > Success with Summer Tomatoes 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. Get It Growing: Healthy Plants Start With Bed Preparation (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. A Guide to Louisiana-friendly Landscaping - Louisiana Yards & Neighborhoods [Image: La Yards and Neighborhoods] Information on how to reduce nonpoint source pollution using research-based horticultural best management practices. (PDF Only) Make Wise Tree Removal Decisions before a Hurricane [Image: Figure 1. Fear of damage from falling branches or trees prompted this case of "chainsaw backlash". This Louisiana homeowner removed all ten live oaks from her property. Photo by Hallie Dozier.] This article reviews recent research on urban and community trees and their ability to stand up to hurricane strength winds.  more articles... Citrus and Freezing Temperatures The cold weather we typically receive now through January can cause problems for home and commercial citrus in our area. It is important to know the critical temperatures and the factors affecting them. Louisiana Vegetable Planting Guide [Image: Louisiana Vegetable Planting Guide] Use this guide to plant a successful vegetable garden. The information has been developed after considerable research and practical experience. Plan Color Scheme for Your Cool-season Landscape October is a transitional month in Louisiana flower gardens. Many warm season annuals have finished or are finishing, and gardeners' thoughts are just beginning to turn to cool-season bedding plants for fall, winter and spring color. Enjoying Ornamental Ponds in Louisiana [Image: Cover image for Enjoying Ornamental Ponds] This publication outlines some options for design, operation and maintenance of ornamental ponds and discusses basic environmental requirements of fish and plants commonly grown in these ponds. 20 pages. Full color. Mow Like a Pro [Image: rutted turf] Varying your mowing pattern can cause you to spend a little more time mowing, but the result will be a greatly improved appearance in your turfgrass. Landscape Mulch Demonstration Study [Image: colored red mulch] A demonstration of different landscape mulch materials is on-going at the Hammond Research Station. Here are photos of the different mulches currently being evaluated. More to come!!! Sources for Chippers/Shredders/Grinders Here is a list of manufacturers of chippers, shredders and grinders. It does not constitute a recommendation of any of the companies or products. Trenching and Ditching [Image: hiller-furrower attachment for tiller] Depending on the type of ditch or trench you need and the size of the job, you have many choices of available tools. All of the do-it-yourself methods involve hard work, but some are not as hard as others. Coleus Landscape Trials for 2008 - The Top Performers [Image: red hot rio] Forty three coleus varieties were trialed in landscape evaluation plots at the Hammond Research Station in 2008. Top performers were Red Hot Rio, Big Red Judy, Zen Moment, Lancelot, Ruby Ruffles, Mariposa, Henna, Indian Summer (not pictured), Royal Glissade, Pineapple Splash and Fishnet Stockings. Here is a photo gallery. Results are based on plant vigor, foliage attractiveness, and resistance to flowering. Plants were grown in full sun. Garden Seeders [Image: garden seeder] If you grow a vegetable garden, you probably get tired of bending over placing seeds in a furrow. Perhaps you are also tired of making the planting furrow and then covering it over and tamping. If so, you might be interested in one of the garden seeders on the market. More...