A Wild Child Garden In July

July can be one of the most difficult months to grow a garden in the south.  But, summer can also be one of the easiest, most beautiful, and overwhelmingly satisfying seasons to grow in.  It just takes a little bit of know how.  Guess what?  I've got it for you!!  Here is what Im doing in my garden this month to keep it thriving all summer!  BONUS:  It will make my fall season even better!! Say whaattt?? Yep! More on that below!

Planting Heat Tolerant Plants Is A Must

When you think about a summer garden, you really have to consider heat tolerance. Our summers are seeming to get hotter and hotter for longer and longer.  So in July, I am thinking of a few key veggies that are absolute musts in my garden.

Out With The Old - Replace Tomatoes With Okra

Not everything is going to appreciate the rising temps and unpredictable weather patterns of a summer in the south.  When the tomatoes start ripening too quick, stop producing fruit, or become engulfed in stink bugs, they are out of my garden.  By this point, we have been picking tomatoes for months now, and when you live in season, the end of a vegetable's time is just as important as the beginning.  I will say goodbye to my tomatoes and replace them with okra.   

You have to have okra growing in the summer.  For one because okra is a drought lover.  This means that while you are enjoying the AC or the beach, your okra will be thriving.  Unlike the plants that okra replaced, tomatoes I'm talking to you, okra needs very little watering and even less tending and will help you fill the freezer for gumbo season.  

^{Gorgeous and heat loving 'Burgundy' okra}

Melons and Pumpkins Are My Summer Love Language

Let's get a little more specific. 'Charentais' melons and 'Fairytale' pumpkins are my summer love language.  I want them everywhere!  So, I use all of my empty grow bags that were housing potatoes and corn and fill them up with fresh soil for melons and pumpkins!!  One thing I have learned is that when you are growing melons and pumpkins it is always best to follow the crowd.  Find someone who grows them really well, and follow suit.  If you want to follow my lead, come on!! It is 'Charentais' and 'Fairytale' all the way over here!!  They are disease resistant, virtually pest free (they have no issues with squash vine borers), and love our hot summers!! So let these babies grow!!  If you can give them a little bit of afternoon shade, bonus points. You will be so happy you have these in your backyard!  No garden required!

^{The beautiful and easy to grow 'Fairyale' pumpkin.}

Some Plants Are Just Getting Started

I call peppers and eggplant the comeback kids.  While they will stumble along giving you a pepper here and a pepper there for most of the spring, when the temps crank up, so does their production.  In August, the peppers and eggplant will be the star of the entire garden. So if you have them growing and are thinking about how terrible of a gardener you are because you aren't harvesting baskets of them, you just wait. Keep the peppers and eggplant fed with a balanced organic fertilizer and enjoy the show.  They will produce all the way to frost so keep that in mind for fall planting.

^{I like to grow as many pepper varieties as I have room for.  'Gypsy' peppers are my favorite!}

What I'm A Planning To Do Next

And speaking of fall planting. Can we take a moment for the fact that we will be starting our seeds for fall planting at the end of the month.  That's right. So with everything you plant, make sure you know what you are going to do come September. For me, I take almost everything out when fall gardens go in.  That is because I have messed my fall garden up enough times waiting on a few more zucchini.  I don't do that anymore. Now, I get what I can get off of everything and in September, it all comes out except my peppers and okra.  They stay until frost, and I plant my fall veggies right under and around them.  That is wild child gardening!

What I'm Picking In July

We Pick 52 Weeks A Year In The wild child garden, and right now it is all about figs, blueberries, and cherry tomatoes. That isn't too shabby of a harvest basket, right??  These are the stars of the summer garden. When everything seems to tire out, those figs and blueberries just keep coming, and the cherry tomatoes.  Man oh man!!  While the slicers have slowed, the cherries have shown no sign of quit.  They are not affected by the 90 degree rule like slicers are.  In case you don't know, the 90 degree rule is that, as a rule, tomatoes stop setting fruit at 90 days.  They will start again once temps cool down, but they will go for a good little while with nothing on the vine.  But not those cherry tomatoes. They keep on trucking. And we love them for it!! 

My harvest apron is full of cherry tomatoes right now, and my favorite varieties are 'Sungold,' 'Sweet 100,' and 'Barry's Crazy Cherry.'  They are the gift that keeps on giving.  I wouldn't be without them, and is not too late to plant.  Add some cherry tomatoes to your arches and trellises this month to see how you like having them in the fall. My guess is that you will love them.

Need some good tomato recipes? Get my favorites below.