News Release Distributed 06/14/10

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter experts shared their knowledge for growing vegetables and landscaping plants with gardening enthusiasts June 11 at a field day held on the LSU campus.

The event was held at LaHouse, an LSU AgCenter model home built to demonstrate sustainable construction techniques and materials to withstand hurricanes and promote energy efficiency. LaHouse also features a garden and extensively landscaped grounds.

Carl Motsenbocker, LSU AgCenter sustainable agriculture specialist, advised beginning gardeners to start small, selecting an area that gets a minimum of 6-8 hours of full sun each day with well-drained soil. He recommended adding organic matter, such as compost, to the soil with leaves or straw used as mulch on top of the soil.

“In my own garden, after 3 years I think I’ve finally got adequate organic matter in the soil,” Motsenbocker said.

Organic gardening in Louisiana requires planning, he said. “The key is to use good horticulture practices such as building the soil, plant biodiversity, crop rotation, planting in the proper season, and using varieties resistant to diseases and insects.”

Rotating plants in different areas of a garden is important, he said. Eggplants, tomatoes and peppers are in the same plant family and should not be grown in the same areas one year after the next, and beans are a good rotation plant with this family.

Motsenbocker prefers transplants where possible instead of planting seed directly into a garden because transplants offer a greater chance of success. If no greenhouse is available, he said, seedlings can be grown on window sills or a back porch.

Kathryn “Kiki” Fontenot, LSU AgCenter horticulturist, said silver-coated plastic sheeting can be used as mulch. The shiny surface can deter insects, she said. Black mulch is good for warmth in the fall but should be avoided in the summer because it gets too hot.

Tomato spotted wilt virus is a problem that becomes evident as ripening tomatoes discolor, Fontenot said. The disease is spread by an insect – a thrip – which can be treated with insecticide.

Fontenot showed gardeners a row of young asparagus growing in the LaHouse garden. She said the vegetable requires some care to get it started. “You don’t want to harvest in the first year,” she said.

Fontenot said she is conducting a container-garden project at the LSU AgCenter’s Burden Center in Baton Rouge, and her results can be seen at a field day there on July 3.

Steve Crnko, LSU AgCenter extension gardening specialist, demonstrated a method for tying tomato plants using half-inch steel reinforcement bars for stakes.

Crnko recommended removing suckers from tomato plants up to the first bloom. The suckers can then be placed in water to develop roots and planted.

Half of the LaHouse garden is grown with organic practices, and the other half uses conventional practices.

Motsenbocker said organic fertilizers and pesticides are available, but care must be taken with pesticides whether they are synthetic or organic. Helpful insects such as bees can be killed by application of pesticides, he said.

Dan Gill, LSU AgCenter horticulturist, said homeowners who want trees next to their house should consider size. Smaller trees will provide shade but not pose a threat in high winds, he said. Wind-resistant trees, such as bald cypress, can be planted away from a house.

Gill said the Knock Out rose variety is an easy-to-grow choice. “It is an extremely reliable material for Louisiana landscapes,” he said.

Drought-tolerant plants that can endure dry spells include oleander, Texas sage and bottle brush, he said.