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Becnels trees

Ben & Ben Becnel's is a farmers market located in southern part of Belle Chasse, near Myrtle Groove. We specialize in Creole Tomatoes and Louisiana Citrus. We are well known for the best tasting tomatoes and citrus in the world. We also sell a large variety of Citrus Trees, we have the cheapest price in town. Contact Information Contact Angie Becnel (504) 656-2326 Location 14977 Hwy 23 Belle Chasse, LA 70037 Mailing Address 14977 Hwy 23 Belle Chasse, LA 70037 BenandBenBecnel.webs.com Listing last updated on Dec 6, 2011

Growing Tropical Fruits in a new orleans Garden

By Jordan Shay Summer’s heat reminds me of the tropics. I think we should be rewarded for our hot, sultry summers with the fruits commonly associated with the tropics. Papayas are an amazing tropical fruit. One of the things I love best about them is they can produce fruit from seed in as little as nine months. In our climate, they stop growing during the cooler months, so producing in one year is a better estimate. Some of the best results I’ve had growing papayas came from seeds from storebought papayas. When you cut open a papaya, simply scoop out the black seeds in the center and rinse them off, then plant within the next few days. The seeds must be black, or else they aren’t fully mature. The type of papaya most commonly found in our grocery stores here is Mexican papaya. They’re large, oblong, heavy fruits with a lot of flesh. Brazilian or Hawaiian papayas (whose seeds can be found online) tend to be smaller, rounder fruits with a lot of seeds. These fruits are generally a little sweeter and more flavorful, but when planted from seed, they can produce a male plant, which won’t produce fruit, but is necessary for the female plants to produce. So I generally stick with the Mexican variety because they don’t have these pollination issues—even if you only have one tree, you will (if all goes well) get rewarded with some fruit and you won’t have to waste valuable full-sun spots in the garden on a fruit that isn’t going to produce. Many New Orleans gardeners use banana plants to add tropical dimension to the summer garden. Bananas are fast growing plants that instantly create a tropical feel. But a lot of the hardy varieties that can withstand our non-tropical winter are more of an ornamental variety that produces fruits too small to eat, have large seeds, or are simply not very tasty and are better eaten cooked or fried like plaintains. Last year, I went on a mission to find some varieties of banana trees that I might actually like to eat. Most of the nurseries around here don’t sell banana plants, unless they look colorful and very ornamental, like the reddish burgundy bananas that flower but don’t really produce fruit. Most people here, if they want bananas in their landscape, tend to just inherit them from someone else’s garden, because they grow like crazy. All you need to do to duplicate the bananas from someone else’s yard is to use a shovel to dig up one of the energetic little sprouts (called pups) that pop up in the spring and summer, taking care to at least get a small piece of root. Plant that in a well-draining, sunny spot, and you’ll have bananas for life. But what I really want from most plants in my yard, is something that will produce delectable fruit, not just something that I eat because it’s free. I found a website (www. banana-plants.com) for an online mail-order banana plant nursery that sells different edible banana plants with all sorts of different characteristics. Some plants are more coldhardy than others, some varieties are dwarfs that are more adaptable for smaller spaces (so even if you only have a sunny patio, you can still grow bananas). I ordered four different varieties, and when I opened the box that arrived on my doorstep, I laughed at how small the little banana ‘pups’ were. But I stoically planted them last June, and proceeded to forget about them. One variety didn’t make it—the Ice Cream banana, which is supposed to taste just like vanilla ice cream, unfortunately needed more maintenance or different conditions than I gave it. Two varieties, the 1,000 finger and the Lady Finger, are growing like mad in a large stand that now includes five to six trees each. They had the misfortune of flowering at the wrong time of year, so it died back with the colder weather of February. Now the plants are back on track with new flowers and a giant bunch of bananas I hope to harvest this summer or early fall. The last tropical fruit success I’ve had in my yard is from a guava tree. Last April, I went to Bantings nursery, (my favorite New Orleans nursery) across the Huey P. Long in Bridge City, looking for some plants to fill in my recently moved into backyard. I came with specific plants and trees in mind—however, I left with a pink guava tree. It seemed small and spindly, but we planted it on the South-facing side of the house, where the guava tree can take advantage of year-round sun exposure. I also planted the guava right next to the house so the tree can enjoy the few extra degrees of heat that radiate off the house during the winter, sheltering the tree from possibly deadly freezes. The guava thrived over last summer. Normally, a tree takes several years to get established, but the guava seemed to relish its South-facing position. It flowered and produced fruit within six months of planting the tree and actually needed to be pruned into a manageable shape. The fruits are ripe when yellow and will fall off into your hand. When placed in the kitchen, they perfume several rooms with their sweet tropical flavor. Now that I’ve focused on the tropical plants that I think can truly thrive in my yard, I hope to have all three at once for a New Orleans taste of the tropics.

“Lupins are a legume, meaning they host mycorrhizal bacteria on their roots that fix nitrogen in the soil. While they shouldn’t be planted with nightshades (tomatoes, eggplants, tobacco, potatoes), they are good companions to brassicas (cabbages, kales), as well as lettuce, strawberries, rosemary, and cucumbers.”

meadow garlic, jicama...

“Organic Methods for Vegetable Gardening in Florida arranges plants by family to help growers design their crop rotation schemes and features some unconventional but robust Florida native plants that are suitable to grow alongside traditional vegetables, such as meadow garlic, tomatillos, Seminole pumpkin, spotted horsemint, jicama, and prickly pear.”

from biodiverseed.com book review

Lead in Garden Soils

Suggestions for Reducing Lead Availability in Vegetable Gardens

“Soils can be amended to lessen the amount of lead available for plant uptake. Generally this is accomplished by maintaining the soil pH around 6.5, maintaining adequate phosphorus in the soil, and increasing organic matter levels

The soil pH is a measurement of the acidity of a soil. A pH of 7.0 is neutral, a pH below 7.0 indicates acidity, and a pH above 7.0 indicates alkalinity. Most soils in Connecticut are acidic. If non-native vegetables and herbs are to be grown, the soil pH would be raised to the pH level these plants prefer, typically in the mid 6’s. Limestone is commonly used to raise the soil pH. The soil pH is important because it affects the solubility, and thus, the availability of both plant nutrients and contaminants in the soil. Lead is less available for plant uptake in near neutral soils. Recommended amounts of ground limestone to apply will be listed on your soil test results.

Strive to maintain Modified-Morgan extractable soil phosphorus at optimum (13 to 20 lbs/acre) or slightly above optimum (21 to 60 lbs/acre) levels. Maintaining optimum soil phosphorus assists in reducing lead availability to plants because phosphorus forms insoluble lead phosphate in soils. The soil pH also affects the solubility of phosphorus. Phosphorus is most available to garden plants when the pH is between 6.0 and 7.0. A major drawback to using phosphorus solely to reduce lead availability to plants is that quantities in excess of plant requirements are needed. Excess phosphorus in soils can leach through the soil profile or be carried away by surface runoff, and this can lead to surface and groundwater pollution causing environmental degradation.

Adding organic matter to the soil will reduce the lead available for plant uptake because some organic compounds in the organic matter will chemically react with the lead and make it insoluble. Some sources of organic matter include organic fertilizers, compost, leaf mold, manure, reed-sedge Michigan peats, and organic mulches. Keep in mind that some composts and most manures contain significant amounts of nutrients and excess amounts of nutrients should not be applied. If the organic matter in the soil is low and the nutrients are already at optimum levels, select low nutrient leaf-based composts, leaf mold and reed-sedge Michigan peats. If the more acidic sphagnum peat moss is used, plan on adding limestone to counteract the acidity. Aim to increase your soil organic matter content 1 to 2 %, for example, from 3 % to 4 % or from 5 % to 7%. Greater increases require careful monitoring of soil phosphorus.

Have your soil retested every 2 to 3 years to monitor nutrient and pH levels. If you are applying manure or compost to increase soil organic matter content, test your soil annually. Do not increase Modified-Morgan extractable phosphorus above 60 lbs/acre because above 60 lbs/acre you increase the chance of phosphorus contamination of water bodies. The standard nutrient analysis offered by the UConn Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory measures soil pH, available macro- and micro-nutrients using Modified-Morgan as the extractant, and screens for lead contamination. The laboratory can also determine the organic matter content of soils.”

Permaculture Plants: Udo

Common Name: Udo, Japanese Spikenard, Mountain Asparagus Scientific Name: Aralia cordata Family: Ariliaceae (the Aralia or Ivy family)

Description: Udo is a large, tropical looking herbaceous plant that is very cold hardy, attracts beneficial insects, and has edible shoots (used like asparagus) and leaves (used for salad and cooked greens). On top of all this, it can also grow in deep shade, a niche we often struggle to fill in the Forest Garden. I never tried eating this plant, because I missed my opportunity. I am almost certain there were some shoots available at the Asian market I frequented when I lived in Minnesota, but I was not sure what it was. My timidity cost me my chance; it won’t happen again!

History: Native to Japan, Korea, and eastern China, it is currently cultivated in Japan in underground tunnels. Udo was popular in the U.S. a few generations ago. Many popular seed catalogs offered Udo, but for some reason, the popularity kept waning over the last few decades. However, a few new varieties with lighter leaves are now gaining popularity as an ornamental plant, and these are more widely available. I cannot speak to the flavor of these ornamentals; they may be just as good, but they may not be.

Trivia:

The plant is called Japanese Spikenard for a reason… it has spikes – well, they are actually more like bristles on the stems. The original spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi) is a very different plant, almost unrelated. It is from the Himalayas and produces a highly aromatic and prized essential oil. Udo does not. There is a Japanese proverb: “Udo no taiboku”, which means “great wood of Udo”… this is a rather sarcastic statement as Udo is herbaceous and has a soft, not woody, stem. It is used to say something is useless. Udo that is gathered from the wild is called yamaudo. Udo that is cultivated is called shiroudo. Udowormy Tea is a highly prized medicinal tea made from leaves that have been infested with the pupae of the Japanese Beetle… interesting! The tea is said to treat stress and anxiety. Udo is related to ginseng, and its roots are often used as a substitute. There are some varieties that are bright green and seem to glow in the dark shade at dusk. This has given rise to Udo being called a “glow in the dark” plant.

USING THIS PLANT Primary Uses: Edible Shoots – Cooked (like asparagus). They are tender, but crisp with a lemony flavor, and some say with a hint of fennel. Blanching is common. It can sometimes have an unpleasant taste, but this is easily removed by boiling in salted water or slicing and soaking in salted water. Some reports state that the shoots can be peeled and eaten raw. In Japan, it is used in miso soup, other soups, vegetable salads, and vinegared. Edible Leaves – only very young leaves are used, cooked. A great addition to salads. Edible Root – Cooked (very little information available about this). Secondary Uses:

General insect (especially bees) nectar plant. Wildlife Food Source – birds eat the fruit (which are reported to be toxic to humans) Ornamental Plant – a great plant for shade Biomass Plant – this large, fast growing plant is herbaceous – meaning it has no woody stems. The entire plant can be used as mulch come Winter. This is a lot of mulch from one herbaceous plant growing in deep shade! Medicinal – used in Japanese and Traditional Chinese Medicine Yield: No good information available. Harvesting: Shoots are harvested in Spring. Young leaves in Spring and Summer. Storage: No good information available, but I would recommend treating like Asparagus shoots. Store for as short a time as possible. Same with the leaves.

DESIGNING WITH THIS PLANT USDA Hardiness Zone: Zone 4-9. However, there are a number of reports that this plant is only hardy to Zone 7 or 8. It is possible that there are some varieties that are more cold hardy. It is also possible that there is a lot of bad information being propagated on the internet and in books. There is not a whole lot of authoritative information available for this plant. AHS Heat Zone: Zone 9-1 Chill Requirement: Not likely, but no reliable information is available. Plant Type: Very Large Herbaceous Plant Leaf Type: Deciduous Forest Garden Use: Herbaceous Layer Cultivars/Varieties: There are a number of varieties available.

Pollination: Self-fertile (likely, but no reliable information available). Pollinated by bees. Flowering: Summer (July-August)

Life Span:

Years of Useful Life: No good information available. Considering that the plant can be propagated via suckers, and also that it completely dies back in the Winter and reemerges each Spring, an individual’s life span is likely irrelevant. Udo flowers will produce dark berries that are toxic to humans, but the birds love them!

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS PLANT Size: 6-9 feet (1.8-2.7 meters) tall and wide Roots: Suckering roots – new shoots from spreading roots can grow into new plants Growth Rate: Fast

GROWING CONDITIONS FOR THIS PLANT

Light: Prefers light shade, but can grow in full sun if moisture is maintained and if the sun is not too hot Shade: Can grow in partial to full shade Moisture: Prefers moist soils. pH: 5.0-7.5 Special Considerations for Growing:

This is a great plant for the deep shade areas of your gardens or behind structures. Many growers recommend wind protection for this plant as the large leaves are susceptible to wind damage. Propagation: Propagated by seed. Needs 3-5 months of cold stratification and can take 1-4 months to germinate. Can propagate via root cuttings. Division of suckers when dormant.

Maintenance: Minimal. May need to keep new plants in check if you live in an area where the seeds readily germinate.

Concerns:

Poisonous – raw berries are reportedly toxic Dispersive – there are reports that this plant reproduces easily from seed in certain locations, and birds like to eat the seeds and spread it around

Possible Local Soil Amendment -- in Houma:

DRIED SHRIMP MEAL

Blum & Bergeron carries high quality shrimp meal, used for fish, bird, and animal feed. Minimum Crude Protein.......................... 40.0% Minimum Crude Fat............................... 1.5% Minimum Nitrogen Free Extract Carbohydrates..... .5% Maximum Crude Fiber............................ 14.0% Shrimp meal is packed in 50 lb. paper bags with a liner. We take orders from 50 lbs. thru container loads. Please call 1-800-875-2548 for current prices on this product or

e-mail Blum & Bergeron

(Noted that same business may also carry feather meal)

Indeed, when purchasing cubic yards of garden soil or blended topsoil from local companies for use in large landscaping projects, you should always ask for details on:

• The soil components

• Their proportions in the mix

• Nutrient levels

• The pH and salt levels

• How well the organic matter is composted

After all, the soil you use will play a huge role in whether all of those plants you bought do well.

Gypsum to soften hard soil? Probably not…

Garden centers and lawncare services often advise applying gypsum (calcium sulfate) to your lawn to “decompact” a hard soil. This is supposed to accomplish softening by improving the structure of the compacted clay soil. With the exception of the arid western United States and our coastal areas (where sodium can be high and clay soils may be common), adding gypsum as a soil-softening amendment is not necessary in nonagricultural areas.

Urban soils are generally mixtures of subsoils plus native and nonnative topsoils. In home landscapes, high levels of organic and inorganic chemical additives are common. They may also be highly compacted and layered, and gypsum does not work well on layered soils. In such landscapes it is pointless to add yet more chemicals in the form of gypsum unless you need to increase soil calcium. Adding gypsum to sandy or nonsodic soils ( low in sodium) is a waste of money and natural resources and can have negative impacts on plant, soil and ecosystem health. Excessive soil calcium may release cations like aluminum or tie up nutrients like phosphorus. In our noncoastal soils, the soil calcium (Ca++) concentration is much higher than the sodium (Na+).

Really want to know why gypsum doesn’t work here? In arid parts of the country, sodium occupies many of the cation exchange sites in the soil. And since it is only a +1 charge, soil colloids tend to disperse and can be easily compacted together causing a poor soil structure. Adding gypsum (CaSO4) allows the Ca++ to release and replace the soil-bound Na+. The released Na+ is leached out as Na2SO4, and the soil tends to granulate due to flocculation (fluffing up and colloidally glued together on the microscopic level) with more Ca++ on the exchange sites. This granulated condition improves soil structure, and soil is then less prone to compaction. Since there is far more calcium than sodium on exchange sites in our Louisiana soils, adding calcium via gypsum has little or no effect on most of our soils.

Instead of gypsum, consider core aerifying in spring, summer or early fall to reduce the compaction and improve plant health. Aerifying with large half-inch hollow tines and punching about 25 holes/square foot will produce good results. Very compacted soil can benefit from several corings each year (common with sport fields). This does not minimize the benefit of have a high Ca and Mg level reading in your soil test, but coring does physically reverse a physical compaction of soil particles. Yes, coring is an expensive service to buy, and most lawns really don’t need it; but it won’t hurt. And if the soil is compacted, it’s usually the best solution to the stifled growth. Last Updated: 4/28/2014 9:53:54 AM

An Overview of Louisiana Soils

David Weindorf

The soils of Louisiana are as diverse as its people with more than 300 different kinds. Louisiana even has a state soil, the Ruston soil series. Unique factors of soil formation, which include parent material, climate, topography, living organisms and time, have combined to produce soils across the state that are fertile, unique and reflective of local ecosystems.

When considering soils and their features, a number of chemical and physical properties are commonly evaluated. The most fundamental soil property is soil texture. Essentially, soil can be thought of as a collection of particles of different sizes: sand (largest), silt (intermediate) and clay (smallest). These three sizes of particles join in different combinations to form 12 different soil textures.

Another key soil property is soil color. Using a book of standardized colored paint chips, soil scientists can establish the precise color of the soil by noting the hue, value and color saturation or chroma. Soil color is often tied to a number of soil properties, such as organic matter, which make the soil dark in color, or iron oxides, which impart a rusty-reddish hue to the soil.

Organic matter within the soil is vital because it serves as a key nutrient reserve that improves soil fertility. Organic matter typically is highest – around 2-5 percent – in the surface level and tends to decrease with depth. Plowing the soil for agricultural production tends to reduce soil organic matter compared to natural occurrence. Some soils, found mostly in marsh areas with large organic deposits, can be up to 50 percent organic matter – for example, peat, needles and leaves.

Soil pH indicates relative acidity or alkalinity. For optimal availability of soil nutrients, slightly acidic soil with a pH of about 6.5 is desirable. Unfavorable soil pH can be modified by applying acidifying fertilizers or lime.

Soil salinity is another commonly measured chemical parameter. It is expressed in terms of electrical conductivity (EC); whereby soils with higher salinity tend to have a higher conductance.

Finally, cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a term used to describe the overall availability of nutrients within the soil. The more cations that are available in the soil, the higher the soil fertility. Soil CEC comes from two sources: organic matter and certain types of clays.

Soils of similar chemical, physical and biological features are grouped into soil series. Many of these types of data are provided to clients when they send a soil sample to the AgCenter Soil Testing and Plant Analysis Lab. They can then use the results to optimize land use and management decisions based on where the sample was collected.

Across Louisiana, soils are grouped into 11 major land resource areas (Figure 1). Many of the areas feature the terms alluvium or loess in their names. These are types of soil parent material. Alluvium indicates a soil that has been deposited by rivers. Given the large number of rivers that cross Louisiana, it is no wonder that so many of our soils are alluvial.

Alluvium can be excellent soil for farming and comes in a variety of soil textures from sandy and silty to heavy clays, depending on the source of the sediment. Areas laid down as alluvium typically have flat, deep soils, often with appreciable organic matter content that became mixed into the soil as it travelled down the river system.

Loess is a type of wind-deposited sediment that is typically silty. In Louisiana, loess is common in East and West Feliciana Parishes, along with Franklin Parish on the Macon Ridge.

Soil properties across Louisiana vary considerably as well. Generally speaking, the soils are slightly to moderately acidic, owing to the large annual rainfall. Slightly acidic soils are ideal for the optimal availability of soil nutrients. However, rainfall has a tendency to leach nutrients out of soil, so proper fertilization based on soil test results is recommended. When fertilizing, it is important to apply at the proper rate to prevent fertilizer or chemical runoff into surface waters such as bayous and streams.

Soil textures range from sandy deposits, such as Felicity loamy fine sand, to silt loams, such as Commerce silt loam, and heavy clays, such as Sharkey or Schriever clay. Here, the names Felicity, Commerce, Sharkey and Schriever denote unique soil series. The heavy clay soils, referred to as vertisols, are highly fertile. Clay particles within the soil store and exchange many soil nutrients. Such vertisols, however, are also highly influenced by moisture. They tend to swell when moist, and then crack open when dry, making building foundations, roads and pipelines difficult.

Given the lush vegetation across most of Louisiana, the soils tend to have high levels of organic materials that slowly decompose to humus. This is also an important source of nutrients for future plants to use. In fact, some soils in Louisiana are categorized as organic soils, such as Allemands mucky peat.

Given the uniqueness of soils in Louisiana, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has recognized a number of benchmark soils – soils that hold unique research, historical or cultural significance. In fact, Louisiana has 59 benchmark soils. A listing of these famous soils can be found in the publication “An Update of the Field Guide to Louisiana Soil Classification” on the LSU AgCenter website.

Excellent electronic resources are available to help you understand the soils beneath your feet. Don’t know what type of soil you’re standing on right now? Don’t worry, there’s an app for that! Download the free application known as SoilWeb to your smartphone. When you open this application, simply click the button that says “get my location.” Your phone will use GPS to find your location, and then report what soil is there. You can then click on each soil component listed for more information.

If you don’t have a smartphone, you can still access a tremendous amount of soils information, maps, and interpretations for soil use via Web Soil Survey website http://websoilsurvey. nrcs.usda.gov. There you can navigate to a specific location and find soils data and interpretations on top of an aerial map.

Other resources related to soils include the Soil Science Society of America website www.soils.org and the Natural Resources Conservation Service website soils.usda.gov. The AgCenter website features downloadable publications such as “An Update of the Field Guide to Louisiana Soil Classification.”

Two books for younger readers are “Know Soil, Know Life” by David L. Lindbo, Deb A. Kozlowski and Clay Robinson and “SOIL! Get the Inside Scoop” by David Lindbo and others.

David C. Weindorf was an associate professor of soil classification/ land use in the School of Renewable Natural Resources when he wrote this article. He has since moved to Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

(This article was published in the spring 2013 issue of Louisiana Agriculture magazine.)

Don’t believe soil myths

For Release On Or After 05/21/10

By Dan Gill LSU AgCenter Horticulturist

A number of misconceptions surround how we prepare soils for planting. Sometimes the advice may sound reasonable, but it may not provide the benefits you expect.

Gypsum’s not the answer

I have often seen and heard recommendations to apply gypsum – calcium sulfate – to heavy clay soils to “loosen” them and make them easier to work. Sometimes recommendations are to spread gypsum over hard, compacted soil in a lawn to loosen it. This is supposed to be accomplished by the gypsum improving the structure of the compacted clay soil.

According to Tom Koske and J. Stevens with the LSU AgCenter, however, with the exception of the arid western United States and, perhaps, some of our coastal areas where clay soils can be high in sodium, adding gypsum as a soil-softening amendment is not generally beneficial and will not loosen the soil. So in the overwhelming majority of soils Louisianans gardeners garden in, it is pointless to add gypsum unless you need to increase soil calcium.

Calcium is deficient in soils in many parts of Louisiana. But generally when soil calcium is low, the pH is also low. In this instance, lime – calcium carbonate – can be added to the soil to raise calcium level and raise the pH to a more desirable level. If the soil is also low in magnesium, you should use dolomitic lime.

Some situations arise where the soil is low in calcium but the pH of the soil is high enough. In those cases, adding lime would make the pH unacceptably high, and gypsum is the perfect solution. Gypsum is calcium sulfate and has a neutral reaction in the soil. By adding gypsum, you can raise the calcium level without raising the pH. How do you know if you soil needs calcium and what the pH is? Contact your local LSU AgCenter office and request a soil test kit. A standard soil test costs $10.

So adding gypsum to compacted sandy soils or to clay soils low in sodium, which is typical in Louisiana except right on the coast, is a waste of money and natural resources and can even have negative impacts. For instance, excessive calcium in the soil can tie up phosphorus, an important nutrient.

Add some sand

Heavy, clay soils that are difficult to work and garden in are not uncommon in Louisiana. When I moved to Prairieville just south of Baton Rouge, I was shocked at how much more difficult it was to garden. Since I knew gypsum wouldn’t help, I decided to improve the soil with sand.

The feeder roots of plants such as shrubs, vegetables and flowers are in the upper 6 to 8 inches of the soil, so that’s the critical zone to change by increasing the amount of sand. But this must be done properly to work.

The important thing to remember when adding sand to a heavy clay soil is that it takes a lot. An inch or two spread over the surface and worked in will simply not do the job. For sand to substantially change the nature of the clay, it must be at least 50 percent of the soil. So changing the upper 6 inches of soil means 6 inches of sand must be worked into it. This would be accomplished by tilling the soil at least 6 inches deep, spreading 3 inches of sand over the area, working that in, and then spreading another 3 inches of sand and working that in.

Along with the sand, you’ll also add organic matter – composted, finely ground pine bark is ideal for heavier soils. The addition of organic matter alone will improve and loosen clay soils. But organic matter decomposes, and the benefits are reduced in a year or less. The sand will permanently change the texture of the soil.

Don’t make a “bathtub”

Another solution often used to deal with bad soil involves digging out soil a foot or more deep and replacing it. In new subdivisions, the soil is often truly terrible. Contractors, who are more interested in providing a suitable base for the house than the landscape, often fill the lot with dense, heavy subsoil. Landscape plants understandably will not thrive when planted into this environment.

But digging out the soil and replacing it with a loose, high-organic matter soil mix – blended topsoil or garden soil – is not the solution. When it rains, rainwater will flow across the heavy soil and penetrate down into the loose soil in the bed. When the water hits the heavy clay bottom and sides, the bed will fill up like a bathtub. Plant roots can literally drown in these circumstances – so this isn’t the best solution.

Instead, go up. Build a raised bed about 12 inches high on top of the existing soil. The raised nature of the bed will provide for excellent drainage, and a 12-inch depth will allow for strong root systems.

Rick Bogren

“Some vegetables thrive in summer heat”

For Release On Or After 05/29/15

By Dan Gill LSU AgCenter Horticulturist

The high temperatures that will be with us now until October take their toll in the vegetable garden. Tomatoes set fewer fruit and snap beans produce poor-quality beans, for instance.

For some vegetables, on the other hand, the hotter it is the better they like it. As the last of the cool season crops like potatoes and onions are removed or plantings of early summer vegetables such as snap beans finish, these hot weather vegetables are ideal to plant in your garden.

Keep in mind that gardening in mid- to late summer can be more challenging than gardening in spring and early summer. Insect and disease problems are often more numerous, and you must stay on top of control.

Long stretches of hot, dry weather are not uncommon, and you will need to remember to irrigate the garden deeply as needed to keep the vegetables growing vigorously. When you water, avoid wetting the foliage if you can – use soaker hoses, for example. This can help to cut down on fungal infections. The spores of most fungi that cause vegetable diseases must land on a wet leaf to successfully grow and infect the plant.

Don’t forget to much your beds about 2 inches thick with your favorite mulch. I like to use free stuff like leaves and pine straw. A good layer of mulch provides a variety benefits.

Most importantly, mulches help prevent weeds. Annual weed seeds need light to germinate, and the mulch blocks light from reaching the soil. That’s why it needs to be thick enough. This keeps the seeds from germinating and the garden has less weeds.

Blocking sunlight from reaching the soil surface also prevents the soil from heating up. Keeping the roots cooler helps vegetables deal with summer heat.

Mulch conserves moisture and prevents the soil from drying out so fast – important during dry weather.

Heat-tolerant vegetables

You could hardly have a Southern garden without okra. Plant seeds now into well prepared beds spacing the seeds 4 to 6 inches apart. Water frequently. When the seeds come up, thin the seedlings to about 12 inches apart. Production usually begins in 50 to 60 days and continues until fall. Harvest the pods frequently while they are small and tender.

Southern peas are easy, productive and delicious. Excellent varieties include Mississippi Silver, Purple Hull, Whippoorwill, black-eyed and Elite. They grow on short vines and do not require trellises.

Members of the cucumber family that can be planted now include cantaloupe, cassabanana, cucuzza, luffa, mirliton (plant sprouted fruit), pumpkin and watermelon. Although squash and cucumbers can be planted now, production is difficult during midsummer because of pest problems – particularly squash vine borers.

Our main crop medium- to large-size tomatoes are set in late April, May and June and ripen in May, June and July. Once it gets really hot, with days in the 90s and nights in the 70s, these tomatoes will set far fewer fruit as pollination is less reliable.

Tomato breeders have worked on this problem, however, and developed a number of varieties that are able to set fruit despite the high temperatures. So if you’re going to plant tomatoes this late, be sure you choose types able to set fruit in high temperatures, such as Florida 91, Heatwave II, Phoenix, Solar Set, Sun Leaper, Sun Master, Solar Fire and Talladega. Cherry tomatoes and paste tomatoes tend to continue to set fruit well during summer heat.

Disease and insect problems are often more challenging for tomatoes growing during the stressful heat of midsummer. Keep an eye out for pest problems and deal with them quickly with appropriate treatments before too much damage occurs. That really goes for all vegetables.

One of my favorites hot weather vegetables is the yardlong bean. Originating in southern Asia, it is now grown extensively in Asia and Europe and is slowly gaining popularity here in the United States. It is not as commonly grown in Louisiana as it deserves to be. Although they resemble pole snap beans, yardlong beans are more closely related to Southern peas, such as black-eyed, purple hull and crowder peas.

As with snap beans, the part of this plant commonly eaten is the immature bean pods. Harvest when the pods are smaller than the diameter of a pencil, before the seeds have filled out inside and when the pods still snap when bent – generally when about 12 to 18 inches long. You may need to harvest daily because continuous picking keeps the plants producing.

Other vegetables that can be planted now are amaranth, collards, eggplant (the long, skinny Japanese types are more productive in heat), Jerusalem artichokes, Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, peanuts, hot peppers, sweet peppers (Banana, Gypsy), sweet potato (slips), Swiss chard and tomatillo. This is also a great time to plant basil.

Rick Bogren

ONE OF WEEDS IN NEW LOT: Hydrocotyle umbellata

If you live in a warm or coastal climate, you’ve likely experienced the invasion of dollarweed (also called pennywort) in your lawn or garden. Dollarweed is caused by excess moisture, and it thrives in areas of poor drainage, excess irrigation, poor soil, and thin turf. Here’s what you need to know to control dollar weed in your yard.

About Dollarweed Dollarweed has small, round, shiny leaves that are shaped like coins. It’s often mistaken for dichondra, a weed with similar round leaves, but the difference is in the stem. Dollarweed’s stem comes directly out of the center of the leaf, while dichondra’s stem is attached at the edge of the leaf. As weeds go, dollarweed’s glossy leaves are actually rather pretty, and if you can keep it under control, dollarweed can serve as a groundcover in impossible areas.

The main culprit in a dollarweed invasion of your lawn is too much water. Whether it’s caused by over-irrigating, too much rain, or poor soil drainage, thin turf in wet areas can quickly be taken over by this tough and hardy plant. Dollarweed spreads both by seeds and underground roots, making it very difficult to eliminate. Like many weeds, you may find that you’re managing dollarweed rather than eradicating it.

In 2012 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) set the blood Pb reference value at ≥5 µg/dL. Clinical analysis of children’s blood Pb levels is the common way to diagnose environmental Pb contamination, and intervention ensues ...

Biology testing for Soil, Compost and Compost Tea

Bacteria and Fungi Package - Assays the total amounts and currently active amounts of bacteria and fungi in your soil, compost or compost tea. This test provides us with the needed information to develop a basic program to fix soil imbalances. In tea and compost samples this information allows us to direct you to make a better quality product for the plants in your care, or how to use the current product most successfully. This test will determine compost maturity.

Total Foodweb Package - Includes the above tests plus mycorrhizal colonization (soils only, not compost or tea), and the predatory microbes: protozoa and nematodes. Nematodes are identified to genus, and listed by functional group. This test serves as the blueprint to create detailed, specific soil health programs that will create the best growing conditions for your plants. This test also tells you how much plant available nitrogen will be cycled by the predatory microbes in your soil during the next 3 months.

Individual Assays - All individual tests included in the packages can be chosen separately.

Qualitative Assay - Can be performed on soil, compost and compost tea. Although this test doesn't quantify the specific amounts/biomass of organisms in your sample, it will inexpensively give you a general look at the presence of bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes in your sample. Each organism group is given a rating from: Not Detected to Very High. A specific program isn't developed from this assay.

Leaf Organism Assay - This test looks at the coverage of active, aerobic bacteria and fungi that are currently colonizing the leaf surface of your plants. This assay can be a key tool in a foliar program of compost teas and microbial amendments.

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2009 Nov;16(7):745-64. doi: 10.1007/s11356-009-0205-6. Epub 2009 Jun 16. Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Review

Abstract:

BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: Polluted sediments in rivers may be transported by the river to the sea, spread over river banks and tidal marshes or managed, i.e. actively dredged and disposed of on land. Once sedimented on tidal marshes, alluvial areas or control flood areas, the polluted sediments enter semi-terrestrial ecosystems or agro-ecosystems and may pose a risk. Disposal of polluted dredged sediments on land may also lead to certain risks. Up to a few years ago, contaminated dredged sediments were placed in confined disposal facilities. The European policy encourages sediment valorisation and this will be a technological challenge for the near future. Currently, contaminated dredged sediments are often not valorisable due to their high content of contaminants and their consequent hazardous properties. In addition, it is generally admitted that treatment and re-use of heavily contaminated dredged sediments is not a cost-effective alternative to confined disposal. For contaminated sediments and associated disposal facilities used in the past, a realistic, low cost, safe, ecologically sound and sustainable management option is required. In this context, phytoremediation is proposed in the literature as a management option. The aim of this paper is to review the current knowledge on management, (phyto)remediation and associated risks in the particular case of sediments contaminated with organic and inorganic pollutants.

MAIN FEATURES: This paper deals with the following features: (1) management and remediation of contaminated sediments and associated risk assessment; (2) management options for ecosystems on polluted sediments, based on phytoremediation of contaminated sediments with focus on phytoextraction, phytostabilisation and phytoremediation of organic pollutants and (3) microbial and mycorrhizal processes occurring in contaminated sediments during phytoremediation.

RESULTS: In this review, an overview is given of phytoremediation as a management option for semi-terrestrial and terrestrial ecosystems affected by polluted sediments, and the processes affecting pollutant bioavailability in the sediments. Studies that combine contaminated sediment and phytoremediation are relatively recent and are increasing in number since few years. Several papers suggest including phytoremediation in a management scheme for contaminated dredged sediments and state that phytoremediation can contribute to the revaluation of land-disposed contaminated sediments. The status of sediments, i.e. reduced or oxidised, highly influences contaminant mobility, its (eco)toxicity and the success of phytoremediation. Studies are performed either on near-fresh sediment or on sediment-derived soil. Field studies show temporal negative effects on plant growth due to oxidation and subsequent ageing of contaminated sediments disposed on land. The review shows that a large variety of plants and trees are able to colonise or develop on contaminated dredged sediment in particular conditions or events (e.g. high level of organic matter, clay and moisture content, flooding, seasonal hydrological variations). Depending on the studies, trees, high-biomass crop species and graminaceous species could be used to degrade organic pollutants, to extract or to stabilise inorganic pollutants. Water content of sediment is a limiting factor for mycorrhizal development. In sediment, specific bacteria may enhance the mobilisation of inorganic contaminants whereas others may participate in their immobilisation. Bacteria are also able to degrade organic pollutants. Their actions may be increased in the presence of plants.

DISCUSSION: Choice of plants is particularly crucial for phytoremediation success on contaminated sediments. Extremely few studies are long-term field-based studies. Short-term effects and resilience of ecosystems is observed in long-term studies, i.e. due to degradation and stabilisation of pollutants. Terrestrial ecosystems affected by polluted sediments range from riverine tidal marshes with several interacting processes and vegetation development mainly determined by hydrology, over alluvial soils affected by overbank sedimentation (including flood control areas), to dredged sediment disposal facilities where hydrology and vegetation might be affected or managed by human intervention. This gradient is also a gradient of systems with highly variable soil and hydrological conditions in a temporal scale (tidal marshes) versus systems with a distinct soil development over time (dredged sediment landfill sites).

CONCLUSIONS: In some circumstances (e.g. to avoid flooding or to ensure navigation) dredging operations are necessary. Management and remediation of contaminated sediments are necessary to reduce the ecological risks and risks associated with food chain contamination and leaching. Besides disposal, classical remediation technologies for contaminated sediment also extract or destroy contaminants. These techniques imply the sediment structure deterioration and prohibitive costs. On the contrary, phytoremediation could be a low-cost option, particularly suited to in situ remediation of large sites and environmentally friendly. However, phytoremediation is rarely included in the management scheme of contaminated sediment and accepted as a viable option.

PERSPECTIVES: Phytoremediation is still an emerging technology that has to prove its sustainability at field scale. Research needs to focus on optimisations to enhance applicability and to address the economic feasibility of phytoremediation.”

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