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News Filed Under Vegetable Gardens

Irrigation watering system in a garden
August 15, 2024 - Filed Under: Irrigation, Vegetable Gardens

If there’s one thing that’s important in gardening, it’s proper watering. Vegetable gardens need about 1 inch of water each week.

A green tomato on a bush is dusted lightly with powder.
July 3, 2024 - Filed Under: Insects Vegetable Gardens, Vegetable Gardens

Mississippi’s ideal growing season means gardens can yield a lot of produce, but this usually comes with the help of pesticides to combat insects and diseases.
It is vital that home gardeners know how much time must elapse between application of the product and when the food is harvested, a time frame known as the pre-harvest interval, or PHI.

Closeup of a dial on a pressure canner.
May 17, 2024 - Filed Under: Fruit, Food and Health, Food, Food Safety, Lawn and Garden, Vegetable Gardens

Home canning is an economical way to preserve the bounty of your garden. This Q&A may answer some questions for you, whether you’re new to canning or you’ve been canning for years.

A cucumber leaf with disease lesions rests on a hand.
April 25, 2024 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Crops, Soybeans, Sweet Potatoes, Plant Disease and Nematode Diagnostic Services, Vegetable Diseases, Vegetable Gardens

Did you know the Mississippi State University Extension Service has a laboratory that is designated to diagnose plant diseases and nematodes? Yes, it does! Learn how the Mississippi State University Extension Service Plant Diagnostic Laboratory and its scientists protect the crops that provide our food and fiber along with other home and garden crops.

February 28, 2024 - Filed Under: Vegetable Gardens

With nearly a decade of horticultural production experience, the new vegetable specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service plans to serve growers statewide.

Person planting vegetables.
February 26, 2024 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens, Vegetable Gardens

Spring is right around the corner, and you probably are getting an itch to start setting out plants in your landscape and garden. If you’re new to gardening, you’ll need to know what plant hardiness zone you’re in.

A woman scrapes vegetable scraps off a cutting board into a countertop compost bin.
February 21, 2024 - Filed Under: Health and Wellness, Lawn and Garden, Flower Gardens, Vegetable Gardens, Natural Resources, Waste Management

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Many of the practices associated with sustainability, such as recycling, can be extended into the garden. Composting is a way to help reduce organic waste that goes to the landfill and helps feed gardens. These organic materials, which include grass clippings, leaves and other yard wastes, account for about 30% of trash that goes to the landfill.

A kale plant grows in a garden.
August 25, 2023 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Vegetable Gardens

Fall is around the corner, but you don’t have to give up fresh produce from your garden.

marigolds planted with other ornamentals.
August 18, 2023 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Vegetable Gardens

You’ve likely heard of companion planting, but do the principles work?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no; and other times maybe.

Tomatoes on a vine.
May 24, 2023 - Filed Under: Tomato Pepper and Eggplant, Vegetable Gardens

There’s nothing as divine as a homegrown tomato. I’m a sucker for a tomato sandwich or a BLT during summer.

A squash sits in a garden.
March 10, 2023 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Vegetable Gardens

BELZONI, Miss. -- A team whose mission is to “Keep Belzoni Beautiful” has earned national recognition for its work.

Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit organization committed to community improvement and beautification, presented the Mississippi State University Extension Service a Keep America Beautiful State Agency Partnership award for 2021. Only 13 such awards were presented nationwide. Keep Belzoni Beautiful -- KBB for short -- is a chapter of Keep Mississippi Beautiful.

A group of people stand in a shop around a woodwork project.
January 4, 2023 - Filed Under: Master Gardener, Lawn and Garden, Vegetable Gardens

What started out in 2012 as a small volunteer project to make two accessible gardens for use by residents of a Hattiesburg nursing home grew and multiplied until the group recently completed its 1,000th one. The Pine Belt Master Gardeners offer a service of making what are known as “salad tables” -- small, wooden-framed gardens raised about 3 feet off the ground. They make about 12-14 tables per month.

Turban Squash
October 17, 2022 - Filed Under: Food, Vegetable Gardens

Pumpkins, gourds, and squash, oh my! With fall in full effect, I’m buying fall décor all the time. Do I already have several pumpkins on my porch? Yes. Will I be buying more? Also, yes. 

Dirt covers three colors of freshly picked carrots.
July 25, 2022 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens, Vegetable Gardens

Simply walking out the front door each day, we’re reminded that it is a blistering hot summer season. But believe it or not, now is the time to start planning and getting ready for the fall vegetable garden. We’re only 36 days from the meteorological start of the fall gardening season.

A hand sprinkles eggshells on garden soil
June 27, 2022 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Vegetable Gardens

Most of us have heard that eggshells can help increase the calcium in our garden soil, and some of us may have even tried it in our own yards. The goal is to help prevent blossom end rot on tomatoes and other plants affected by calcium deficiency. As it turns out, using eggshells really doesn’t fix anything.

Canned salsa in a basket with other produce
June 2, 2022 - Filed Under: Fruit, Food and Health, Food, Food Safety, Vegetable Gardens

Canning is a precise process that must be done correctly to have a safe, edible product. Proper preparation ahead of time will make the entire process much easier. These steps will help you get started.

Green tomato with buckeye rot.
May 26, 2022 - Filed Under: Tomato Pepper and Eggplant, Food, Vegetable Gardens

Tomatoes are a popular crop for home gardeners, but they can be tricky to grow. Insects, disorders, and diseases can all cause problems with tomatoes. 

People gardening in hay bales.
May 26, 2022 - Filed Under: Vegetable Gardens

Summertime means everyone is hard at work on their gardens. Gardening can be quite the tiresome project and can even be difficult for those who can’t bend over easily. That’s where hay or straw bales come in handy!

A pile of heirloom tomatoes
May 12, 2022 - Filed Under: Food, Lawn and Garden, Vegetable Gardens

Heirloom tomatoes have three distinct characteristics. Learn what makes them different from other kinds of tomatoes.

Canned salsa in a basket with other produce
May 10, 2022 - Filed Under: Food and Health, Food, Lawn and Garden, Herb Gardens, Vegetable Gardens

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Gardeners who want to preserve their abundant harvests by canning should make their list and check it twice -- now, before it’s time to begin canning. Home canners should be sure they have the right recipes and equipment for the foods they intend to preserve. They should also make sure they inspect all their equipment.

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