Best Foods to Grow in Our Hot Summer (Earth: garden, food)

[glorplaxy]

What are the best plants to grow for food in our hot summer? I'm looking for something that will be very prolific and can stand being in the sun at least for a couple of hours in the summer.

[houston-nomad]

Good question--my spring garden failed, thanks to a pesky cat and the drought. I'm looking for some new plants to fill sad empty spaces.

I will suggest squash-like things. I have a pumpkin plant defying the odds at the moment, and squash plants did well last year. No fruit, but lots of blossoms. I hear you have to help them pollinate with a paintbrush.

[tstone]

Tomatoes prefer the hot direct sun, but they also need a good flooding every day.

[AusParent]

Eggplant, eggplant and eggplant.

[NTT]

This year, I'm giving these a try: Tomatoes, yellow/summer squash and zucchinis. They're all in full sun and doing well. I'm in a wheelchair, besides making a raised bed, my only option is planting these in large 10 and 15-gallon containers. The squash plants are still small, about 6 inches or so, but are flowering. The tomatoes are about 3 feet high and are flowering.

I also planted Thai basils in containers. This is my 2nd year with them.

[pnc66]

Originally Posted by tstone

Tomatoes prefer the hot direct sun, but they also need a good flooding every day.

This is interesting... mine never survived the direct sun. Maybe I didn't give them enough water?

I've found that mine do best with full morning sun and filtered afternoon sun with lots of water. I have two plants in an old Earthbox container that are underneath a pergola so they get the morning sun but the back side of the pergola is lattice covered with a climbing rose so they get the filtered sun in the afternoon.

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by glorplaxy

What are the best plants to grow for food in our hot summer? I'm looking for something that will be very prolific and can stand being in the sun at least for a couple of hours in the summer.

Ice cream. And beer too.

[davidtk]

Peppers are cucumbers are the easiest veggies I've grown. I've tried many others but either they don't produce very much or they don't grow well for me.

Tomatoes are finicky in my experience. Not enough water and they wilt; too much water and they split. I've had the best luck with cherry tomatoes.

Squash and zucchini grow well here, but they need A LOT of space. They get huge, and you also need to keep an eye out for vine borer. I always end up losing my squash to these bugs. Google it for more info.

[karuna95]

yams, okra, eggplants and bell peppers for us. Since we're on the topic of gardening, anyone have a good squirrel recipe? Darn varmints have stripped my eggplants, kumquats, and tomatoes

[NTT]

Originally Posted by davidtk

Peppers are cucumbers are the easiest veggies I've grown. I've tried many others but either they don't produce very much or they don't grow well for me.

Tomatoes are finicky in my experience. Not enough water and they wilt; too much water and they split. I've had the best luck with cherry tomatoes.

Squash and zucchini grow well here, but they need A LOT of space. They get huge, and you also need to keep an eye out for vine borer. I always end up losing my squash to these bugs. Google it for more info.

Thanks for the tips! I will be on the watch for vine borer. I'll try bell peppers and cucumers next year.