From turfgrass to tea production and rain gardens to robotics, there was something for just about everyone at the LSU AgCenter’s annual horticulture field day July 18.
Cloudy skies and occasional mist provided a cool backdrop for the event at the Hammond Research Station, which is devoted to improving the horticulture industry through research and plant evaluations.
Read MoreToday on Louisiana Living, Ashley Doughty is joined by Kerry Heafner discussing the Watermelon Interior Quality Contest.
Read MoreRaj Singh administers a genetic test to a diseased patient, hoping to confirm the cause of death. He starts by carefully getting the sample before exposing it to the test strip, letting it lay under the bright white lights of his exam room while he waits for the result.
It’s inevitably positive. His patient has a pathogen that’s sweeping through a rural South Louisiana community. Having confirmed his diagnosis, Singh stuffs his patient into a black trash bag and into a storage bin.
Read MoreThe watermelon picking starts at sunrise. The idea is to pick the ripe melons before the day gets too hot. It’s a summer job for several young men who walk through knee-deep vines looking for ripe melons. Caleb Mathews has been picking watermelons for the past six years.
“This brown spot, we call that a cue. Now two of them are dead. You pick it, plus hear that sound. That sound’s a good spot. And it’s got this sun spot on it as well. Another indicator that it’s ready,” said Mathews.
Read MoreSeveral Southern apple varieties have origins in Louisiana. Apples such as Bossier Greening, Felt’s Strawberry, Louisiana, McMullen, Pride of the South, Terral and Woodland are all extinct, according to C. Lee Calhoun in his magnificent book, “Old Southern Apples.” If even one stands a chance of being rediscovered, it is the McMullen apple. It left a blazed trail for us to follow.
Read MoreThe sun is barely above the treetops on this Red River Parish farm, and workers have been in the field since daybreak, finding vegetables that are ready for the market. It’s a race against the clock each morning for Ed Lester, who helps fill the bins and bushel baskets of his roadside farmers’ market with more than 50 varieties of fruits and vegetables. Lester is the fourth generation to run this family farm.
Read MoreThe Ruston Farmers Market and Drew Jones Teaching Kitchen were full of energy and excitement on Thursday, June 5, as community members gathered for the annual Peach Cookery Contest, a beloved tradition held in conjunction with the Louisiana Peach Festival.
Sponsored by Park Haus, the event celebrated local culinary talent with a delicious array of pies and cobblers featuring the region’s favorite fruit, peaches.
Read MoreAs the LSU AgCenter Extension agent for St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, Anna Timmerman has become a trusted source of information for the citrus industry, home fruit and vegetable growers and small producers who sell at the more than 30 farmers markets in the Greater New Orleans area. Timmerman’s expertise was so well respected that she was named the state point of contact for citrus earlier this year.
Read MoreNestled in the heart of berry country, ODK Farms is bursting with flavor — and it's not just the fruit.
Owned by Chip Killian, the farm is home to 575 flourishing blackberry plants, each one hand-planted with care just three years ago.
Visitors to ODK Farms don’t just pick berries — they enjoy a full sensory experience.
Read MoreU.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a second round of payments coming this week for specialty crop producers through the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) program, providing up to $1.3 billion in additional program assistance. U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) already delivered just under $900 million in first round payments to eligible producers.
Read MoreThese volunteers are trying to change the wooded landscape at this small nature preserve in Arnaudville.
“This acre back here has a lot of invasives, tallows, Chinese privet, honeysuckle. This could use some more diversity,” said Phyllis Grifford.
Read MoreLSU’s Agriculture Center and LSU School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences (SPESS) presented the 22nd annual Baton Rouge Spring Show at the John M. Parker Coliseum this past weekend.
The LSU AgCenter was established in 1972 by the LSU Board of Chancellors with the intention of giving the university system’s agricultural programs their own distinct identity.
Read MoreIn 2023, Anna Timmerman, a horticulture agent for St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parish, had to think swiftly to deal with a salt wedge that was rising up the Mississippi River. There were concerns about this causing issues for nursery irrigation systems, Timmerman was particularly worried about how the saltwater would affect one segment of her clientele: Plaquemines Parish citrus producers.
Read MorePerched at the south entrance of the Saturday Red Stick Farmers Market, the Fullness Farm booth holds tidy, tiered arrangements of colorful organic veggies.
There are tender ready-to-eat lettuces and leafy greens, carefully washed and portioned in clear bags. There are bundles of carrots and radishes, raw materials for recipes or snacking. Broccoli and cauliflower make an appearance in cooler months, while plump tomatoes, eggplant and scads of different peppers beckon spring and summer regulars.
Read MoreWith another record cold this time of year, some farmers are prepping to make sure their crops will survive until morning. Right now, the crops are covered to protect them, but one local farmer says he’s not too worried about them.
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