The Big Bayou Music Festival Lineup
March 1, 2013
Courts rule in LHSAA’s favor; VCHS ousted from playoffs
March 5, 2013
Hugh Paul Fanguy has been farming this Bayou Blue land since he was a child, well before he inherited property from his truck-farming father, and he’s still uncertain as to when he’ll bury roughly 500 tomato plant seeds this year.
March in south Louisiana ushers in the planting season for a variety of vegetables, but two weeks before turning the calendar, Fanguy surveyed his property and considered the weather.
“You have to be careful: Tomatoes, they won’t set under 60 degrees (Fahrenheit),” Fanguy says. “Even if you have them out, if you have a morning that’s 60 degrees, they won’t set or they’ll have a cat face because of the low temperature. And then at 90 degrees, they won’t set. So you have that little window.”
As president of the Cajun Farmers Market of Terrebonne, Fanguy understands the other side of the growing spectrum – consumer demand of the locally grown veggies, including the beloved Creole tomato.
Fanguy plants several varieties of tomatoes – Bella Rosa, Big Beef, Finish Line and Valley Girl among them – but because of his soil composition, they all fall under the Creole label. Out of everything else he grows – the citrus and cucumbers, onions and garlic, potatoes and turnips – tomatoes are his favorite.
“It’s sort of like Blue Bell: We eat as much as we can and sell the rest,” he says.
Prior to planting his seedlings in the spring, Fanguy covers his plots with black plastic. He then uses rebar to poke holes in the plastic in 1-foot intervals, where he buries the plants. The plastic eliminates weed issues and traps moisture in the soil.
“We use black in the spring and we use silver in the fall,” Fanguy says. “When you’re planting in August (the black cover) is too hot and it will kill the plants. … The black plastic absorbs heat faster and you’ll get tomatoes maybe a week earlier (in the spring).”
The farmers market requires that sellers grow their own produce in one of the parishes adjoining Terrebonne. Anyone who qualifies, by passing an inspection, can sell for an annual fee of $50.
The market is located at the corner of Naquin Street and Tunnel Boulevard in Houma. “We get a lot of traffic,” Fanguy says.
Anyone seeking more gardening or farming tips can reach out to the LSU AgCenter, which has extension programs in Lafourche, Terrebonne and St. Mary parishes.
“Nobody has a crystal ball, but the time to start planting is rapidly approaching,” says Barton Joffrion, the AgCenter’s Terrebonne Parish extension agent.
Hugh Paul Fanguy, of Bayou Blue, uses a hollow rod to weave string between rebar. The string helps his tomato plants grow straight and sturdy. He uses the black tarp to trap heat and moisture.
