4 Vegetables You Must Grow This Summer

If you think your garden is done until fall, read on because I think I can change your mind! The do-over season is here, and I want to show you four plants you have got to grow in your summer garden!  Get these guys in the ground in July and enjoy harvests until frost!!

First is ‘Gypsy’ Peppers.  You will harvest them all summer and then you can stuff with cream cheese and breakfast sausage, which is literal heaven on earth.  Space them 12 inches apart, and they will thrive in the heat! These plants are OVER PRODUCERS!   And they turn orange and red in the heat.  So fun!!  Grab the recipe for stuffed gypsy peppers below. You will love it!!

Next is BUSH BEANS!  If you are not growing bush beans, stop everything and go buy you a pack of seeds.  You can plant 9 bean seeds per square foot!  And in a little over 4 weeks you will be eating beans!  It is pure magic.  Now you don't want to plant them until a little later in the summer, but get your seeds now and plant to put them in the ground in August. One pro tip is to plant them along the edges and in the corners of the beds. Then they won't interfere with your fall veggies coming in right after them.  Some wild child favorite varieties are ‘Dragon’s Tongue,’ 'Royal Burgundy,' 'Calima,' and 'Contender.'  You won't be disappointed in these guys!  They are overproducing, delicious, and absolutely beautiful. 

Another wild child favorite is late summer cucumbers.  If you are already sad about how your cucumber plants are doing in this heat, give them a little bit and start them again.  And this time around, choose 'Sweet Success.'  These guys are pest and disease resistant, a truly seedless, burpless variety that is so high-performing it won an AAS award. It sets fruit without pollination, so it is about the best variety you can grow! I love it! Plant it at the end of the summer for a “do-over” harvest.

Finally, you have got to grow okra.  I mean come on! Okra for the gumbo, in the freezer, at the ready, all winter long!! Yes, please!!  Okra thrives in the hot Louisiana summer, and it is a serious overproducer.  Choose varieties like 'Orange Jing,' or 'Burgundy' for some color and 'Heavy Hitter,' and 'Clemson Spineless' for some tried and true overproducing varieties. Okra grows itself and will be a staple in your summer garden, I promise.

Do-overs are my favorite! Maybe you feel like you need one. Cucumbers plagued with disease already? Tomatoes not doing what you thought they would? Forgot to plant beans? This is your chance!! Never thought you had space for okra?  Get your garden ready for a do-over and come grow with us. Learn more at www.releaseyourinnerwildchild.com/summer.