H&S Family Farms | Keithville, Louisiana
We are not going to pretend we had it all figured out from the beginning.
We started late. And the first thought that crept in was exactly what you might expect: we are not going to get anything done this season. Maybe we should just pause. Figure it out later. Wait until the timing is right.
We are not stopping.
That is the decision we made. Not because everything is in place. Not because we have all the resources we need. We need a tractor. We need help. We are working with what we have, and right now what we have includes a whole lot of determination and a good load of free wood chips.
And we are going to get this done.
The vision is here. The timing is now. So we started.
Here is what we know about farming and about life: there is always a reason to wait. The season is almost over. The ground is not ready. The budget is not there yet. The equipment is not lined up. And sometimes those things are true. But waiting for perfect conditions means the harvest never comes.
We may be slightly behind on spring. Summer is right around the corner, and we will be ready for it. Next season is already coming whether we move or not. We would rather meet it in motion than watch it arrive from the sidelines.
Since we are getting started, you should too. Here is everything you need to know to grow in Louisiana.
When to Start: North Louisiana Timing (Zone 8B)
Louisiana has one of the longest growing seasons in the country, which means even a late start is not a lost cause. In north Louisiana, including the Shreveport and Keithville area, the last average frost falls around March 10. That is your anchor date for everything.
Here is a simple breakdown to work from:
Cool-season crops like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, and spinach can be direct-seeded outdoors as early as late January if the ground is workable. For better results, start those indoors around the last day of December and transplant around mid to late February. Garden.org
Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are your warm-season workhorses. Start those indoors around the end of December and plan to transplant outside around early March, after the last frost has passed. Garden.org
Warm-season crops like beans, corn, squash, cucumbers, melons, and sunflowers do best when direct-seeded around March 10, once soil temperature reaches 60 degrees. Louisianasnursery
April opens the door to cantaloupe, okra, lima beans, Southern peas, sweet potatoes, and watermelon. By May, the heat is your friend and almost anything goes. Louisianasnursery
Starting Seeds Indoors
Starting seeds indoors gives your plants a head start in a stable, controlled environment protected from unpredictable rain, drought, frost, and temperature swings. For most crops, seeds should be started 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost to ensure plants are large and healthy enough to survive transplanting. The Old Farmer’s Almanac
Use a good seed starting mix, not garden soil. Garden soil compacts in containers and can suffocate young roots. Keep your trays warm, consistently moist but not waterlogged, and near a light source. A sunny south-facing window works. If you have one, a grow light has worked very successfully for us.
Hardening Off: The Step Most People Skip
This is where a lot of new gardeners lose plants and do not know why.
When seedlings have been growing indoors, they are soft. They have never faced direct sun, wind, or temperature swings. If you take them straight from your kitchen windowsill and put them in the ground, the shock can set them back weeks or kill them entirely.
Hardening off is the process of slowly introducing your plants to the outdoors over 7 to 10 days. Here is how to do it:
Days 1 and 2: Set plants outside in a shaded, sheltered spot for 1 to 2 hours. Bring them back in.
Days 3 and 4: Move them to a spot with a little morning sun. Leave them out for 3 to 4 hours.
Days 5 and 6: Increase to a half day outside including some direct sun.
Days 7 through 10: Leave them outside most of the day, including full sun exposure. Bring in at night if temperatures drop.
After 10 days they are ready. Do not rush this. The extra week is worth it every single time.
Transplanting: Do It Right
Choose a cloudy day or transplant in the late afternoon. Direct sun right after transplanting stresses the plant before its roots have had a chance to settle in.
Dig your hole a little deeper and wider than the root ball. Loosen the soil around the edges so roots have somewhere easy to grow. For tomatoes specifically, you can plant them deeper than they were in the container. Tomatoes grow roots all along their buried stem, which makes for a stronger plant.
Soil matters more than most people realize. You want loose, well-draining, living soil. Compacted, waterlogged, or anaerobic soil is one of the most common reasons plants fail. Anaerobic soil has had the oxygen squeezed out of it, usually from overwatering or compaction. It smells sour or sulfurous, and roots cannot thrive in it. If your soil smells off, that is your first sign something needs to change. Adding compost, worm castings, or wood chip mulch over time builds the kind of living soil that plants love.
After you place your transplant, press the soil gently but firmly around the base. No air pockets. Then water it in deeply right away. That first watering is not optional. It closes the air gaps around the roots and helps the plant make contact with the soil. Do not just mist the surface. Water slowly and deeply until the soil around the transplant is thoroughly saturated.
Mulch around the base of the plant immediately after watering. Two to three inches of organic mulch like leaves or wood chips reduces evaporation and keeps weed pressure down. Keep mulch a few inches away from the stem itself so it does not hold moisture against the base and cause rot. LSU AgCenter
What to Plant Right Now in North Louisiana
We are in May, which means we are squarely in warm-season territory. Here is what you can still get in the ground:
Okra, Southern peas, sweet potatoes, squash, eggplant, hot peppers, luffa, pumpkin, and heat-tolerant tomatoes can all go in now. These are crops that thrive in Louisiana heat and humidity rather than fighting it. Louisianasnursery
Do not mourn the spring crops you missed. Start preparing now for a strong summer harvest and an even stronger fall garden. Fall gardening in Louisiana is underrated and it starts sooner than most people think.
We will cover the fall planting guide in a future post.
Come Join Us
Every week we will be here updating you, showing you what is growing, asking for your input, and sharing what we are learning as we go. Your suggestions matter to us. Your questions matter to us. This farm is being built for this community, and we want you in the conversation.
Come join us on the journey.
There is always now. And now is enough to begin.
Rooted in Purpose. Growing for Generations.