Home > Lawn & Garden > Home Gardening > Vegetables > Home Garden Crops > 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. 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. Resistant Starch and the Sweet Potato Finding new uses for sweet potato components, such as starch, would increasethe demand for sweet potatoes and save processors money by finding a use for the waste produced during cutting and canning. Nutraceutical Compounds and Antioxidant Content of Sweet Potatoes [Image: baked sweet potato] Sweet potatoes are regarded as one of the most nutritious vegetable crops. They are known to be an excellent source of vitamin A (orange-flesh types) and dietary fiber and contain significant amounts of vitamin C, vitamin E, vitaminB9 (folate) and various minerals.  more articles... ‘Or you can call me Yam. . .’ [Image: sweet potato] In the 1970s, actor Bill Saluga used the line: “You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay. . .” When talking about Louisiana sweet potatoes or yams, there seems to be a similar confusion. Sweet potatoes get grades [Image: sweet potato] Sweet potatoes, like many commodities, are marketedin a variety of ways, and not all sweet potatoes are identical. A really SWEET sweet potato – that’s Evangeline Why do people eat sweet potatoes? Because they are sweet! A new variety, Evangeline, just released by the LSU AgCenter, will satisfy those who want a really sweet sweet potato. The Sky’s the Limit: Change in the Sweet Potato Industry [Image: photo of sweet potato] Change is going on in the sweet potato industry. The variety Beauregard, released by the AgCenter in 1987 and hailed as one of the best and most popularsweet potatoes, is being replaced in part by two new varieties – Evangeline, released by the LSU AgCenter in 2007, and Covington, a 2005 release from North Carolina. Organic Vegetable Gardening [Image: organic gardening] Organic gardening is popular in the United States, and interest is increasing in Louisiana. In organic gardening, particular garden practices are encouraged that use natural biological cycles, enhance diversity and are ecologically sound. Southern Peas Thrive In Summer Gardens 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. Newer Home Vegetable Cultivars for 2009 [Image: veggies] To our Louisiana Vegetable Planting Guide, please add these new possibilities for 2009. Watermelon Variety Demonstration Plots in 2008 [Image: Summer Flavor 710] Eighteen varieties of watermelon were planted at three locations in Louisiana in the summer of 2008. The varieties were evaluated for yield , shape, weight of melons, foliage degree of sunburning, rind color, rind thickness, flesh clor, seed color, seed size, size of seed cavity and soluble solids. Newest Cultivars of Vegetable Crops [Image: catalog] These NEW cultivars were some of those added to last year’s 2008 LSU AgCenter Louisiana Vegetable Planting Guide. Okra in the Garden [Image: okra pods] Okra is a warm-season crop that grows well in Louisiana gardens. A good start is important for successful okra production. Click for more information...