What else to plant? Southern California

[beavis]

Hi guys and gals,


I have tons of fruit trees such as apple, fig, plum, pear, peach, mulberry, asian pear, lemon,lime,orange, tangerine, blood orange and lemon planted and producing.

And my herb garden is where I want it to be.

So, that brings me to the main reason for this thread, I am looking for ideas and suggestions on what other vegetables to plant on my property this season. And this is definitely the hot season here in Southern California.

I currently have in the ground

tomatoes
onions
peppers (bell and hot)
beets
sweet potatoes
squash varieties
zucchini
H20melon
green beans
cucumber
tomatillo
sunflower
quinoa
asparagus
artichoke

No one likes okra in our family, corn is too expensive too grow for its return here in my climate.

I was thinking perhaps

amaranth
mexican sour gherkin
radishes (prob. in the shade)
more types of squash

I am really looking for some suggestions on what else to plant, I have about 120 sq. ft. of extra raised beds already plumbed with drip irrigation ready to go.

 

[so lucky]

Grow some chickens!

 

[beavis]

Grow some chickens!

7 chickens, 6 ducks already growing......

 

[desertlady]

canteloupe?

 

[digitS']

Yeah, cantaloupe . . . there are a number of sweet melons - seems like you could have a real mix!

I'm not sure if I can be of much help, Beavis. You already have what I would plant during mid-season - greenbeans & summer squash.

I have grown amaranth but just used it as an ornamental. (Eaten pigweed before but that doesn't count for much.) Love-lies-bleeding, and others like it, are dramatic ornamentals but I also like purple Prince's Feather. They obviously make good use of mid-summer for growth and there are a number of Asian varieties to use as vegetables.

Radishes? I have had late-planted radish fail to bulb well. Maybe, diakon . . ?

I thought I was going to say something about the gherkin. Turns out that the Mexican gherkin is different from the West Indian gherkin . . . which is different from the gherkins we might buy in a jar at the soopermarket .

Okay, I don't know anything about the Mexican but the West Indian is really easy to grow. The "burr cucumber" isn't a lot different from the more common cucumber. It is, as I say, easy to grow and remarkably productive. I don't know if it has a special tolerance for heat but probably so.

Certainly, do 2nd plantings of summer squashes (and beans).

Steve

 

[beavis]

Thanks Steve,

I am going to try:

Pumpkins (an afterthought-mostly for the seeds)
Butternut squash
amaranth
those darn gerkins
parsnip!?!?
and black/pinto beans, mainly as an experimental crop

 

[digitS']

I bet you are going to be just fine with the beans. (How about soybeans for edamame?)

Parsnips? Wow, I don't know. I was just looking at my parnips and thinking that they look good - real cool here! Parsnips are started fairly early in my garden, most every year . I don't think they are quite as much for cold germination as say, lettuce & carrots but still, I have trouble imagining them as a hot-weather vegetable.

Howsomeever . . . I'm not sure what I know about gardening in southern California! Sheesh

!

Steve