more... > Home Gardening > Vegetables > Cultural Information > ‘Itchy Green-thumb’ Syndrome Evident Around State Louisiana gardeners are getting "itchy green thumbs" about now, according to LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske. They want to jump-start their spring gardens. Vegetable Gardening Show [Image: garden] A PowerPoint slide set of the basics for successful vegetable garden development in Louisiana. You must have a good start, then pest control is the next giant step to a successful harvest. Garden Cucumbers [Image: cuc] A short slide show from a garden lecture on cucumbers. Also see our VEGETABLE GARDENING TIPS series for Cucumbers under related articles in the right-hand column. Tomato test results for 2009 [Image: houma] Houma's LA Terre Louisiana Master Gardeners post some results of a spring vegetable demonstration.  more articles... Fall Vegetable Garden in Louisiana [Image: fall] Planting gets to be more critical with the fall garden because we start out hot and run into more of an end point with the frost. February Marks Start Of La. Vegetable Gardening Season February starts the Louisiana vegetable gardening season. This is especially true for the southern parishes. Harvesting Your Garden Produce [Image: vegetable] Maturation processes occur in vegetables that permanently change their taste, appearance and quality if they are not harvested at the proper stage of maturity. Mini Gardens and Containers for Vegetables [Image: mini gardens] Mini gardening is an intensive type of agriculture using a small space or containers to produce vegetables and plants. The main benefits derived from mini gardens are that they take much less space and require much less work. This publication includes information on constructing and maintaining a mini garden. (PDF Fomat Only) Curing and Storing Sweet Potatoes 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.