Home > Lawn & Garden > Home Gardening > Vegetables > 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. Time to Plant Greens, Says LSU AgCenter Horticulturist "Fall is a good time to plant greens in your home garden," says LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske. Crops include mustard, turnips, spinach, collards, kale and Swiss chard. All are cool-season crops with similar cultural requirements. Managing Weeds in Louisiana Sweet Potatoes [Image: Cultivation] Weeds compete with sweet potato plants for nutrients, water and sunlight and impair crop yield and quality, makingeffective weed management a critical aspect to successful production.  more articles... 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. ‘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. Managing Rhizopus Soft Rot on Sweet Potatoes [Image: Table] Sweet potatoes are susceptible to Rhizopus soft rot, a disease caused by a common fungus that can destroy sweet potatoes after they are removed from storage and washed but before they arrive at the market. 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. Saving Garden Seed for Next Year [Image: pea] Saving one's own seed for next season is usually not a good idea, but it can be done with many heirlooms and some cultivars. 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. Organic Mulch Good For Summer Vegetable Gardens Organic mulches can help keep your vegetables producing during Louisiana’s hot summer months. Although mulch is usually applied to control weeds and conserve moisture, it has several other useful functions. Click for more information...