I'm looking for vegetables and cover crops that do well in humid 100F+ weather.
I'm looking for vegetables and cover crops that do well in humid 100F+ weather.
The heat index has been over 110F here in Texas. Obviously it gets hot in summer, but this is a bit earlier than usual.
Leave a comment if you know of any heat tolerant vegetables and cover crops that still grow and produce during excessive heat.
Vegetables:
- Okra (Crimson Spineless and Heavy Hitter)
- Eggplant
- Pepper
- Lettuce of unknown variety under a shade cloth.
- Tomatillo
- Watermelon (Black Diamond)
- Butternut Squash
- Recently planted Saturn Peach tree is doing ok if I water every other day.
Cover crops:
Sorghum-Sudangrass (I'm using this to cover the ground, produce biomass and to assist with compaction).
Miscellaneous notes:
Lettuce under shade cloth is somehow growing, I figured it would have died by now.
My tomatoes are producing albiet slower than before.
Cucumber seems to have stopped growing.
Jardelle Pumpkin transplants are doing ok with afternoon shade.
2nd planting of Corn tasselled way too early.
Malabar spinach Cowpeas/asparagus beans Sweet potatoes
For tomatoes, stick to hybrid cherry types for best performance. Mid/large size ones will start dropping flowers when the lows get above 80F or so.
Covercrops- sorghum/Sudan is a really good choice. You can also look at species that need vernalization to set seed. Things like purple top turnips, seven top turnips, winter triticale, etc.
As for heat tolerance, look at specific varieties. For example beit alpha types of cucumbers (bred for the middle east heat). Indeterminate greenhouse tomatoes tend to produce better in heat than determinate ones, etc.
I know nothing, except I'm I'm in a similar climate and my hot peppers and cucumbers are doing well but banana and bell are hurting. It's very strange but may have something to do with pH, maybe? All of my stuff is in the ground and I did very little prep.
Perhaps basil with the tomatoes?
Cherry tomatoes grew fine over the summer. Most things just needed low intensity morning sun then shade afterwards. I planted a couple trees to help out.