Vegetable Gardening Guides for Louisiana Available Online

The LSU AgCenter offers a series of guides with tips on growing better vegetables.

The free guides located on the AgCenter website, provide information on selecting varieties that grow well in Louisiana and in the amount of space and soil type in individual gardens. Tips on when and how to plant and fertilize are included, along with remedies for common insect, disease and weed problems and advice on harvesting and storing vegetables.

Guides are available on beans, cabbage, corn, cucumbers, eggplants, lettuce, peppers, potatoes, squash, strawberries, tomatoes, onions, shallots and garlic.

“These guides are a great resource for both new and experienced gardeners,” said Melanie Lewis Ivey, an AgCenter plant pathologist. “We are continually updating the guides with new varieties and sustainable, earth-friendly practices for managing unwanted pests in the garden.”

The files can be downloaded at www.lsuagcenter.com and putting vegetable gardening tips in the search box.

Click here to see agriculture venues covered under the 2008 Agritourism Limited Liability Law. Check the activity list included in the law.

Time to Buy Plants at Spring Fest

Northeast Louisiana Master Gardeners will present Spring Fest 2016 and the eighth annual spring plant sale at the West Monroe Farmers Market from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 16.

LSU AgCenter horticulture agent Kerry Heafner said the sale will feature Louisiana Super Plants, vegetables, herbs, houseplants, tropical plants, flowing vines, flowering trees, butterfly garden plants, ornamental shrubs, shade garden plants and wildflowers.

The sale is a good place to find selections of plants not usually found locally, he said.

“Local Master Gardeners will be available to help you select the best plants for your yard and garden, answer questions, provide gardening tips and even help load your car,” he said.

A preview sale will be held on April 15 from noon to 6 p.m. for those who want to get started early.

The West Monroe Farmers Market is located at 1700 N. Seventh St. For additional information, contact Heafner at 318-323-2251.

Searcy County in AR using Agritourism to Market County

I recently liked the Searcy County Agritourism page on Facebook.https://www.facebook.com/searcycountyagritourism
they are using their assets in agriculture to bring tourists; with their posts they are showing others what they have.  Way to go Searcy!

Forestry Forum, March 11 in Hammond

The 27th annual Florida Parishes Forestry Forum is scheduled for March 11 at the University Center at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.

The forum will begin with registration at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 2:45 p.m. The theme is Updating Forest Landowners, according to LSU AgCenter area forester Brian Chandler.

The forum, which is sponsored by the LSU AgCenter, will feature Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Mike Strain and provide information on the status of EPA’s Waters of the U.S. and other forestry issues. There will be speakers on genetically improved pine seedlings, forestry development outside of Louisiana, problems facing loggers, herbicide issues, tax issues and a Louisiana forestry teacher tour.

“All of these topics affect local forest landowners,” Chandler said.

Registration is $25 per person before March 3 and $40 after. The fee includes lunch.

For more information or to receive a program with a registration form, contact Chandler at 225-683-3101 or bchandler@agcenter.lsu.edu.

Our forest lands offer many opportunites for agritourism, so attend this meeting to keep your forest healthy and give me a call to learn more about agritourism. Call (318) 927-9654 x229 or e-mail me at dhatch@agcenter.lsu.edu

Annie's Workshop Coming to Napoleonville

Women in agriculture will not want to miss attending this five week series beginning March 1st. Clases are eachTuesday evening from 5:30 – 8:30 pm. 

For more information call Deborah Cross-Young at 225-281-9470-or e-mail dcross@agcenter.lsu.edu

https://www.facebook.com/AnniesProjectLouisiana/

Only $50 for all five sessions!

I will be one of the guest speakers on March 15th, sharing how to start an agritourism operation.

To learn more about agritourism click here.

Annie's Project click here.

Integrating Safety into Agritourism

Web-based safety tool to make debut at Wisconsin agritourism summit

The redesigned “Integrating Safety into Agritourism” website (www.safeagritourism.org), with mobile-friendly checklists and virtual walkthroughs, will be officially unveiled on Feb. 23 at the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association (WATA) Summit, Hotel Marshfield, Marshfield, Wis.

The website will be featured in a Summit workshop on Emergency Response Planning led by Marsha Salzwedel, National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, part of the National Farm Medicine Center at Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation. Other Summit topics will include Historic Agriculture, Social Media, Marketing and Legislative Updates. The two-day Summit (www.luv-r-ag.org) begins on Feb. 22.

“This redesign reflects how farmers prefer to get their information,” Salzwedel said. Farmers increasingly are using tablets and smartphones, according to a Farm Journal Media survey of more than 1,000 producers. The survey indicated that by the end of 2016, 60 percent of farmers will own tablets and nearly 90 percent will own smartphones.   

Central Wisconsin developer Matt Pilz led the redesign. Pilz brought special app development expertise to the project, having won three grand prizes in 2013 Intel-sponsored worldwide competitions.

The work seems to have paid off. Here is feedback from farmers and ag educators who pilot-tested www.safeagritourism.org.

• “I really like the flow, and it was easy for someone like me to navigate and find what I was looking for.” - Tom Tweite, Tweite’s Family Farm, Byron, Minn.

• “I did quite a bit of browsing and going through the walkthroughs and checklists. It will be nice to be able to have this on a portable device to take to the field. Can't wait.” - Dave Meuer, Meuer Farm LLC, Chilton, Wis.

• “You make my work as an educator easy! I like this easy to use format.” - Dora Ann Hatch, Agritourism  Coordinator, Louisiana State University

“Integrating Safety into Agritourism” features virtual walkthroughs covering 15 key areas of agritourism including petting zoos, hand washing/restrooms, large animal safety, farmers’ markets, food safety and more. Farmers can access the mobile-friendly checklists on their tablets, fill them out while walking their property, and then save the information for their records. The website also contains information about insurance, along with numerous print-ready resources such as signs, policies, logs and information handouts – all available at no cost.

Additionally, the website content was reviewed for compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 508 standards help ensure that all users, regardless of disability status, can access the website content.

“I’ve worked a lot with farmers who offer agritourism activities on their farms,” said Salzwedel. “One thing they all tell me is they want their visitors to have fun – and be safe while they are doing it. This newly designed website, with all its mobile friendly features, will make it easier for farmers to implement the safety part. The fun part, well, that will be up to them.”

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Community Supported Agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture or CSA’s as they are commonly referred to offer those who want to prepare their own food the opportunity to buy directly from the farmer.  When one becomes a CSA member they share in the cost of farming.  

CSA owners provide baskets or boxes of their harvest to paid members for a certain period of weeks throughout the year. Every operation is different; some CSA owners transport the boxes to a central location for member pick-up while others home deliver for an additional fee. Depending on the number of weeks of harvest and the quantity of vegetables preferred these prices vary across our state. 

Many CSA's advertise on Local Harvest website; go to Local Harvest; select CSA and type in your zipcode and a CSA near you will pop up.