What Eats Parsnip in Louisiana, and When
In Louisiana, only two of LSU AgCenter’s documented vegetable pests have any real business on a parsnip bed: the vegetable weevil, whose larvae tunnel…
Gardening in Louisiana
Everything we have worked out for Louisiana: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in New Orleans, the last spring freeze runs January 18 to February 8 and the first fall freeze runs December 17 to January 8, USDA zones 8a-10a, 7,275 growing degree days in the year.
Heat, not frost, is what shortens the season here: above 86 °F tomato pollen goes sterile, so growers run a spring crop and an autumn one rather than a single long season. Garlic is the awkward one: only 0 weeks below 40 °F, where it needs six to split into cloves. Chill the cloves before planting, or grow a softneck type.
Elsewhere on the property in Louisiana: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
When to Overseed a Lawn in Louisiana
Warm-season lawns across Louisiana take overseed best once soil two inches down holds steady at 65 to 70°F and keeps climbing, not on a fixed calendar…
First and Last Frost Dates in Louisiana
Louisiana’s last spring frost typically falls somewhere between January 18 and February 8, and the first fall frost arrives between December 17 and…
When to Pick Tomatoes in Louisiana, and Ripening the Rest
In Louisiana, the day to pick a tomato has less to do with a date on the calendar and more to do with what the fruit is doing at that moment.
When to Harvest Garlic in Louisiana, and How to Cure It
Garlic in Louisiana comes out of the ground earlier than gardeners in cooler states expect, usually as summer heat starts climbing hard, not by the…
When to Pick Apples in Louisiana, and How Long They Keep
Most Louisiana apple trees produce a single crop that ripens sometime between June and August, well ahead of the punishing late-summer heat, and that…
Does Insulation Keep a Home in Louisiana Cool?
Yes, insulation keeps a Louisiana home cooler, and it matters for a large chunk of the year.
Does a Wall in Louisiana Need a Vapor Barrier?
No. Under the 2021 International Residential Code, Section R702.7, Louisiana falls entirely within the climate zones the code exempts from the interior…
Heating With Pellets in Louisiana: What a Winter Takes
In Louisiana, a pellet stove is best understood as supplemental comfort heat, not a furnace replacement.
Leaffooted bug in Louisiana: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Leaffooted bugs turn up in Louisiana gardens most heavily from late summer into early fall, right as tomatoes and peppers are loading up with fruit.