what heirloom vegetables grow well in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

[Vege grower]

Hi There,
I was wondering what heirloom vege's grow well in Louisiana?
I am trying to grow all heirlooms in my garden.

Thank you for any information you may be able to provide

[Marlingardener]

You need to talk to Gumbo, who gardens in New Orleans. He recommends Creole tomatoes, and will be able to put you on to other appropriate vegetables.
I am in Texas, but grow Louisiana Long Green eggplant which, judging from the name, must do well in Louisiana. LLG is open-pollinated.

[gumbo2176]

I'll see if I can help a bit here. Not all the things I grow are heirloom, but they do grow well for me in this hot/humid climate.

Right now I have Creole, Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Julliette Plum and Green Zebra tomatoes, with the majority being Creoles.

For peppers, I am growing Jalapeno, Hungarian Yellow Hot Wax, Sweet Banana Peppers and Bell Peppers.

For beans, I am now growing Japanese Yard Longs(pole beans), have grown Kentucky Wonder pole and bush beans, Purple Pod Pole Beans and for Edamame, I grow Envy Soybeans twice a year.

I love Okra and every summer have about 30 Clemson Spineless plants.

I grow many greens in the fall and some of them over-winter and last until summer. I use 2 types Swiss Chard, Fordhook Giant and Bright Lites. Lettuces usually consist of Black Seeded Simpson, Red Oak Leaf, and Buttercrunch. I also grow a Mesculin Mix of bitter greens, some Arugula, and Dwarf Blue Curled Kale.

I plant Georgia Collards each fall along with Brussel Sprouts and Broccoli and enjoy a bountiful harvest with these. I can't remember which variety of Sprouts and Broccoli I planted this year but they produced very well. I should keep a journal since CRS is creeping in.

Here's a couple sites to see what they offer in Heirlooms. El Dorado Heirloom Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange and look at this site for more info-----LSUAgCenter.com for a Planting Guide for our area.


Hope this helps a bit.

[gumbo2176]

I read my post and forgot the cucumbers, eggplant and squash.

I am growing Black Beauty and Ichiban Eggplant. For cucumbers, I am growing 3 varieties, Straight Eight and Armenian for slicing and General Lee for pickling. For Squash I have Yellow Crook Neck and Green Zucchini. This is the one plant I've had a lot of problems with and it seems many folks on the group suffered the same set-back with Squash Vine Borers last year. I lost all my plants to this pest on 3 different occasions last year from spring until early fall. I barely harvested much off the plants I had due to their infestation. There are varieties that are resistant to borers, but I'm not fond of those.

[Vege grower]

Thank you so much Gumbo and Marlingardener for all of the helpful information. That is just what I needed to know. I will also check out the websites you recommended too.

God bless you!

[Susan W]

As for varieties of seed, and great info, do contact Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. They have been used as a source for seeds for several years at Ft Toulouse (18th c French, n of Montgomery AL).

This past weekend I put in some sunflower starts there, seeds from them. These are Cucumber Leaf, Gulf Coast native. I also got some cotton seeds from them, Nankeen and Mississippi brown. My plantation will be a couple of containers on the deck! I've grown the brown cottons before, just for fun.