What to plant right now?

[skeeter9]

We have 2 4X8 beds that had cooler weather crops in them - peas, etc. What can we plant/start right now that will do ok in the heat of summer? Our growing season will last until at least the end of October.

 

[digitS']

Skeeter, my succession plantings summer crops:

bush beans
summer squash

This year I'm adding - cucumbers, to see how they do.

The sowing schedule calls for bush beans by the 15th of July. The squash is right about now. I had my very first snap peas today. The succession for a good number of years has been "peas out/beans in."

Steve

 

[bj taylor]

the only thing here that will perform in this heat is okra and southern peas

 

[skeeter9]

We already have pole beans and summer squash going strong. We don't eat okra, so it would be a waste to plant it. We thought about putting some more sweet peppers in, but we can't find anything interesting around here. I could just leave the beds to rest until time to plant the garlic and other fall stuff. It just seems so hot to try to put baby plants in right now.

 

[digitS']

I will plant snow pea seed the last week of July.

Seed for Asian greens go in thru most of August.

The way my pepper plants look, new plants would probably be better .

Keep movin' movin' movin'
Though they're disapprovin'
Keep them doggies movin'
Rawhide

Steve

 

[skeeter9]

August and September are very hot here, so I'm pretty sure we would have to wait until a little later for asian greens, but I do have seed and want to try them.

 

[digitS']

Usually, there is a fair amount of cool-down in late August for us, Skeeter. That still means that the Asian greens have a week or 3 of very warm weather at the start. I was a little surprised that they did well with that.

It is still a strange experience for me to be out in the very hottest week of the year, often, sowing snow peas . Their entire late summer experience might be a little difficult for them but it is obvious that they really, really slow down with the first frost. The greens & peas can survive a frost but it doesn't encourage them any, that I can see.

Also, the daylength is really headed in the wrong direction. Still, there is often nice weather here at that time of year and "lingering" veggies are things to be treasured. Oh, and the peas don't really need a trellis and I'm perfectly happy to enjoy the flowering tips of the vines in a salad or steamed if it comes down to that.

Steve

 

[skeeter9]

I guess I should look up our first frost date and count backward from there to see when we should plant fall crops here. I think we may stay hotter later than you do up there, Steve. I've never really looked into it because I'm hot and heavy back at school at that time and don't have hardly any time for gardeining.

 

[digitS']

Tollhouse isn't on NOAA's freeze/frost list but Auberry is, Skeeter.

Unfortunately, Auberry isn't on their climatological list for the Fresno area so it wasn't quick and easy for me to look at averages throughout the year. But, for that first frost date for Auberry - it is November 25th (link).

Now, you can go ahead and tell me that your home garden doesn't have the same weather as Auberry. I know. You get up into mountains and things change just in a short distance.

I suspect that your home has dry conditions during early fall. That's true here even tho' "fall" comes about 2 months before it does in Auberry, anywayberry .

Steve

 

[skeeter9]

Our climate/weather here is pretty similar to Auberry, but we do have a funky microclimate because we are situated at the mouth of a canyon. Our fall is indeed very dry, but we are used to watering a lot, so it's no biggie.

November 25 sounds about right as a first frost date. Thanks for checking that out, Steve.