The Bienville Parish Journal is proud to have Mitzi Thomas share her wealth of knowledge concerning agriculture with our readers. Her columns will run Fridays.

1.  Find a good sunny spot with good drainage. You don’t want your garden to stay wet. Of course, make sure that you can get to a water source if you need it.

2. Work the soil. Till up the space, work in the organic matter as much as you can. Sand, vermiculite, perlite, compost, and manure are great to get in the soil. Don’t get the manure from a farm without asking whether or not the hay feed to the animals was sprayed for weeds or not.  If so, do not use.

3. Select your seeds and plants carefully. Get the recommended varieties for your area.  Don’t plant too early, If there is too much cold and wet ground they will rot. Check your local sources for the right varieties.  Make sure you are getting what you ask for.  For instance, if you want running beans or not.  It is a lot of trouble to stake the beans. 

4. Try to keep your garden as weed free as possible. There is a lot of work to be done there.  Hoeing and tilling are great, but there are lots of products you can spray with to kill the grass and not harm your vegetables. Weeds in the garden take a lot of nutrients and fertilizer from the vegetables.  And of course, they ruin the looks of your garden. 

5. The planting order for vegetables is cool season plants first (broccoli, cauliflower, etc.). Next are potatoes, corn and beans, then tomatoes, peppers, squash, and others last.  Later in May or June it is time for sweet potatoes.

6. Enjoy the harvest!

(Mitzi Thomas owns Minden Farm & Garden LLC. Watch for her column on Fridays in Bienville Parish Journal.)