Parish-grown watermelons were big stars of this year's festival

Henry Harrison

County Agent

20th Annual

Watermelon Fest — Successful

Although this growing season presented some unusual challenges for our producers, they continue to produce good quality watermelons. Producers still have watermelons available and are asking the support of the community with their marketing efforts. The producers would like to thank the business community, volunteers, parish officials, and others for making the festival a success.

The festival organizers are looking for volunteers and sponsors to make our festival the BEST IN THE STATE! Give the LSU AgCenter a call at 735-0092 or 839-7855 if you are interested. In future articles look for the various winners of the prize watermelons that were on display during the festival.

Farmers' Market

With a successful farmers' market each Saturday in Bogalusa, vegetable vendors or anyone interested in growing vegetables this time of the year should consider these planting suggestions. Here is a list of vegetables to plant late July and early August. Plant: seed broccoli, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, collards, transplant tomatoes (see article), bell peppers, start bush snap beans, lima beans, cucumbers, squash, Southern peas, mustard and green shallot sets.

Fall Tomatoes: Transplant fall tomatoes in July to mid-August. Be prepared to spray with insecticides and fungicides; insect and disease pressure is usually worse in the fall than in the spring. The heat-set varieties that have produced well in recent trials are Sun Leaper, Florida 91, Sun Chaser, Solar Set and Heat Wave. These varieties have the ability to set fruit in high temperatures. Now, I am not saying that some traditional or standard varieties can not be planted. Some that do well are: Bingo, Merced, Pelican, Fantastic, Mountain Pride, and Hawaiian N65. Remember to plant your fall tomatoes deep, about 6 inches. This deep-set plant will take advantage of the lower soil temperature and good soil moisture at this level.

Fruit Care

Blueberries: Blueberry plants will put on a second flush of growth in August through October, so a final fertilizer application is needed now. Use 2 ounces of ammonium nitrate per year of age up to a maximum of 8 ounces per plant. Use urea at a 1-ounce rate per year of age on soils with pH of 5 or less. Be sure to distribute the fertilizer evenly at least 10 to 12 inches from the base of the plant.

Blueberry Pruning: Rabbiteye blueberries are vigorous growers and can reach 6 to 8 feet in a few years. Prune back to 48 inches after harvest. Plants will have ample time to produce more fruiting wood before frost. Old, unproductive canes can be removed to ground level, leaving a maximum of eight to 10 vigorous canes. Dormant pruning of rabbiteye blueberries removes fruiting wood and reduces yields. After harvest pruning is best!