What to Grow through Very Hot Summers

AlwaysHotinFL wrote:Came here for Okra, saw it in several posts, was not disappointed. Since I'm in (alwayshot)FL I'm pretty sure it'll produce for years and become a tree  . Also winners in the heat are my cherry tomatoes and cukes. Not to mention my perennial avocados and mangos  

I'll have to try the asparagus beans as my Kentucky wonder aren't looking so hot! Have had a lot of pests and disease though.

sanderson wrote:Suz,  I tried both Abu Rawan and Basrawya.  I have given up on them and did not bother this year.  The tomatoes were small with thick skins.  I will be following your experience with Abu next summer.

You may want to try Snow Fairy.  Being such a compact plant, the tomatoes are well shaded.  I even wrote a comment on the Baker Creek site.  Oh, and try the Black Vernissage.  I counted 74 tomatoes on one plant in the BTE.  It's caged and I haven't been pruning suckers like I was supposed to.  

sanderson wrote:The best I can remember the Iraqi tomatoes were fairly bland.  When Ken and I were in Missouri, we stopped by Baker Creek and browsed their selection.   I asked for a recommendation for hot Mediterranean summers.  They had just started carrying the 2 tomatoes, basically salvaged from war torn Iraq, and since their summers are hot and dry, he suggested I try them.  If I lived in the desert and they were the only tomatoes I could have, I would be happy.

GloriaG wrote:Here in the Dallas area it's beginning to get hot. 

I just finished picking the last of the spring lettuce. Cukes are doing well in the shade.  Green beans and pole beans are both producing nicely. I'll get another picking or two from them.  I haven't pulled the onions, garlic and shallots yet.  Tomatoes are about finished.  They have more flowers but won't sett fruit in the heat.

For the summer I have Egg Plant, Red Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, Salad Burnett, Swiss Chard, melons, squash, sweet potatoes, okra and herbs.  A few Blackberries.  Peaches, Goji berries and apples are maturing. The Pomegranates and Passion Fruit haven't started to fruit yet.

In another week I'll plant the fall tomatoes and start other fall crops like peppers and winter squash.

sanderson wrote:Has, just jumping in here.  Muncher cucumbers are producing well for the second year.  Also, Pickling has just caught up on production.

countrynaturals wrote:Arugula survives, too. I don't like it so mine is not well-loved and yet it's hanging in there. I'm starting to think that's the clue -- if I don't like it, it survives the summer. If it's something I really want, it croaks or languishes. 

has55 wrote:

countrynaturals wrote:Arugula survives, too. I don't like it so mine is not well-loved and yet it's hanging in there. I'm starting to think that's the clue -- if I don't like it, it survives the summer. If it's something I really want, it croaks or languishes. 

my Arugula died. will plant for fall. I like it, but it grows so fast for me to keep up with it. I'm going to compost or try dehydrating them this fall.

Devil plants!

CapeCoddess wrote:If I was having a hot summer, like we did the past 5 yrs, I'd try some Malabar spinach.
But alas, hi tomorrow is 68F.

sanderson wrote:Has,  mostly in the sun so far.  Typing on iPad. Only some west protection.  At coast enjoying the cool fog

countrynaturals wrote:I am becoming an expert on summer survival and frustration. I can get most things through it, even if they don't produce until fall, but there are a few exceptions. 

Cilantro

Lemon Balm

They just curled up and died. Period. I kept their cousins going -- parsley and mint, however. In the interest of full disclosure, the lemon balm was new and in a small container. Started earlier and in the ground, it may have survived. I'll try that next year.

Anybody else have experience with what NOT to grow if your summers are long and hot?

RoOsTeR wrote:

countrynaturals wrote:I am becoming an expert on summer survival and frustration. I can get most things through it, even if they don't produce until fall, but there are a few exceptions. 

Cilantro

Lemon Balm

They just curled up and died. Period. I kept their cousins going -- parsley and mint, however. In the interest of full disclosure, the lemon balm was new and in a small container. Started earlier and in the ground, it may have survived. I'll try that next year.

Anybody else have experience with what NOT to grow if your summers are long and hot?

Well, obviously cool crops won't do well in the heat. Like cilantro, lettuces, brassicas etc. Just like heat loving plants won't do well in cool temps. Plant for the seasons. Weather is not always going to be the same year to year, and there will be extremes like perhaps you're experiencing now. I'm guessing a lot of us gardeners have been through the same. There are all kinds of things you can do to extend seasons, or try and help with heat, shade and the like. But sometimes you will have extremes that can just be to much.