Seasonal Shifts: Gardening Insights from the South

In late winter, my husband John and I get an urge to travel, so we pack up our small conversion van and head somewhere sunny and potentially warm. We’re avid birders so the destination often includes new birding locations or visiting friends or both. This year we’re exploring the bayous and coastal areas of Louisiana. Which is where we are as I’m writing this article. We’ve hit the jackpot on both weather and birding spots. 

The best part of travel is always the learning. Southern Louisiana is rice and sugarcane country. As we drive past rice fields, we notice lines of white or red caps in the fields. What are these caps, we wonder.  A perplexing question easily answered at a lovely, small town museum in Abbeville. The recently retired curator and fascinating artist explained what we are seeing. He grew up in a rice farming family. After the rice is harvested, the fields are flooded. Crawfish traps are set in rows making for a second “crop” in the spring. The crawfish fertilize the fields and make indentations in the soil. After crawfish season, the fields are drained, the rice is planted and the seeds settle in the indentations made by the crawfish and the cycle starts again. This practice started in the early 1900’s and gained in popularity in the 1960’s. Prior to that, few people ate boiled crayfish. Now we see signs for the dish around every corner. 

Gardening has started in earnest in this southern climate. Potatoes and onions were already planted when we came in mid February and now, in early March, we see pepper and tomato plants available at farm and garden centers. 

I’ve noticed only a few varieties of pepper and tomato plants offered, which is common. It makes me really appreciate the diverse selection of beautiful plant starts offered by the Growing Collective. This year alone the collective will offer 55 tomato varieties and 52 types of peppers along with members of the brassica family, melons, squash, edible flowers and native plants. 

The Growing Collective has two plant sales. The Cold Hardy Plant Sale takes place Saturday, May 2nd. Onions, leeks and greens are offered at this one day sale. The week long plant sale runs from Saturday, May 16 - Thursday May 21. Both sales are held at the Farmshed greenhouse in Stevens Point. Here’s the website for more information: https://growingcollective.org/events