If a storm wipes out your zucchini and squash, what’s one to do but plant again!

Beans aren’t performing? Rip’em out. What a great place to add in more okra… right next to the watermelon. Oh, and there’s some extra space for okra by the cantaloupe. Perfect!

Moral of the story? It’s mid-summer and it’s not too late to plant a few additional crops. This will keep you harvesting into the fall.

We pulled out some onions, which are now drying in the shade, which opens up even more space for fall harvest vegetables.

This time of year, we start seeds indoors to protect them from the heat. As soon as the seeds sprout, we place the seedlings in a bed so they will have some protection from the weather and be watered with the rest of the garden.

So what all did we plant?

We planted more Star of David okra, which will produce until frost at the end of October. We also planted some yellow summer squash which will start producing in about 45 days as the heat and humidity of the summer will accelerate the growth.

We added more Burpee Fordhook and David's Tigress zucchini to the garden and started 36 new cucumber plants.  Even though we have a lot of cukes, the heat has been brutal to the plants.  We are going to plant the cucumbers in another bed and let the sweet potatoes take over the “old” cucumber bed.

We still need to start the cabbage, kale and Pak Choi, which will be planted in late August to the first of September.  We provide weather protection for a couple beds and they will continue producing to mid November. At that time we will sow more lettuce for fall eating and also plant a couple kinds of carrots that will be ready by spring.

There are ways to keep your garden growing all year long. Rotate your crops and use some plastic tarps to protect the beds from the harsh winter winds. The spring carrots are always the sweetest because they’ve been blasted with cold, and it’s always nice to enjoy produce from the garden at the end of a long winter.

Visit our Garden Gallery to see how things are growing.

“The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture.” —Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States

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