Tips for growing a summer vegetable garden in Louisiana

If you are a health buff who enjoys farm-to-table goodness, then you will definitely enjoy growing vegetablesright in your own garden. You get to enjoy delicious, fresh-as-the-day-they-were-picked goodness that is completely incomparable to the ones you find in the grocery produce aisle. 
On the other hand, gardening is definitely not a random process where you can just plant a seedling on a soil bed and watch it grow into fruition. There is a lot of planning involved that will hopefully turn your useless yard into an attractive and functional landscape brimming with veggie crops.

Prepare Your Soil

The key to a successful vegetable garden is having a moist, well-drained, nutrient-rich soil. Before planting your vegetable seedlings, prepare the soil beds by digging it up to loosen the compacted soil and improve its drainage capability. Remove weed roots and rocks from the soil. This is also the perfect time to add organic material such as compost, mulch, or dehydrated cow manure to assure you will have a bountiful harvest.

Avoid Inhibiting Combinations

If you want to make the most out of your vegetable garden, then companion planting will be a necessity in order to achieve a higher garden yield. With so many types of vegetables to choose from, you cannot randomly plant two vegetables together. Some vegetables support each other while growing, while other plants simply don't get along with others and will only take more than their fair share of resources.

In order to ensure maximum growth, research what combinations grow well together before planting multiple vegetables.

• Cabbage and Brussels sprouts grow well when planted next to Swiss chard, lettuce, and spinach.
• Cucumber thrives when placed next to beans and cabbage.
• An eggplant won't mind growing next to beans and pepper.
• Tomatoes are good with having carrots and cucumbers as their next door neighbors.
• On the other hand, garlic and onion will only prevent the growth of peas, while potatoes will only stunt the growth of tomatoes and squash.

Watering

Make sure to water your vegetables consistently to produce bountiful results. Give your vegetables at least one inch of water a week, but if you live in a dry, hot weather, they need more than double the amount. If you have sandy soil, you will need to water more frequently. If you have clay soil, your veggies will need less watering.

Infrequent watering leads to stunted growth and poor yield. On the other hand, overwatering is bad for the vegetables, too. If the soil is continuously waterlogged, the veggies’ roots will not have room to breathe freely, and will not be able to absorb much-needed nutrients. If you have a large vegetable garden, consider getting a soaker hose, which is an efficient way to water your veggies without wasting a lot of water.

Louisiana Planting Guide

Here are the vegetables that thrive well under the Louisiana weather, and in what particular month you should plant them:

• January – broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, Irish potatoes, kale, leeks, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnips.
• February – beets, broccoli, collards, lettuce, mustard, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, Swiss chard, radishes, spinach, turnips, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants
• March – corn, bell peppers, cucumbers, snap beans, tomatoes, mirliton and squash.
• April – eggplants, corn, cucuzzi, cushaw, lima beans, okra, peppers peanuts, pumpkins, sweet potato
• May – collards, cushaw, cucuzzi, eggplant, hot pepper, luffa gourd, lima beans, Malabar spinach, mirliton, okra, pumpkin, squash, sweet potato, tomatoes.
• June – eggplant, collards, cucuzzi, Swiss chard, sweet potato  heat tolerant tomatoes.
• July – collards, cucumbers, luffa, okra, hot pepper, luffa, Malabar spinach, mirliton, okra, pumpkin, Southern peas, sweet potato, pumpkins, Southern peas, shallots, and squash.
• August – broccoli, bunching onions, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collards, cucumbers, lima beans, Swiss chard, mustard, snap beans, turnips, shallots, and squash.
• September – beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, Chinese cabbage, collards, English and snow peas, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, mustard, onion, radish, rutabagas, snap beans, Swiss chard, turnips
• October – beets, Brussels sprouts, snow peas, cabbage, carrots, celery, collards, endive, garlic, green peas, kohlrabi, lettuce, leeks, mustard, rutabaga, shallots, radishes, parsley, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, and turnips.
• November – leek, beets, cabbage, celery, carrot, kale, collard, garlic, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, onion, shallot, rutabaga, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnip.
• December – beets, carrots, cabbage, celery, collards, Chinese cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, onions, mustard, radish, rutabaga, spinach, shallots, Swiss chard and turnips.

Know Your Local Planting Dates

There are vegetables that prefer warm weather while others thrive in cool weather. Vegetable crops fall under two major categories: cool season vegetables and warm season vegetables. Achieving a bountiful harvest requires planting your vegetables in the dates and seasons which they prefer. You can consult with a local almanac to know the perfect dates to plant your vegetables.

Growing your favorite vegetables right in your backyard bring a lot of benefits. You no longer have to deal with bruised and limp produce; instead, you get fresh, crisp vegetables every single time at a much lesser price!  If you need any help, contact us today!