Can I grow veggies over Summer?

Many people get excited in Spring and plant out a veggie patch, only to watch it die over Summer with nothing to replace it. With some careful planning and attention to watering and succession planting, Summer can be an abundant time in the garden, leaving you with veggies to harvest well into Autumn and even Winter. 

How to grow veggies over Summer

Growing veggies over Summer requires careful crop selection. Focus on heat-loving veggies like eggplant, okra, basil, kang kong, chilli, beans, zucchini, pumpkins, corn, squash, tomato, cucumbers and capsicum.

You can also grow leafy greens like lettuce, rainbow chard, Asian greens and cabbage, as well as potatoes, carrots and beetroot if you provide some shade during the hottest part of the day. 30% shadecloth is ideal. This will also protect tomatoes which don't form fruit in extremely hot weather. Watering every day is vital, unless it rains. 

Planting in September, then again monthly until February for crops like bush beans, cucumber, zucchini, corn, basil, lettuce, Asian greens, cabbage and root vegetables will ensure a steady supply of vegetables. Don't be afraid to pull out older crops to make way for new ones, such as zucchini, cucumber and beans that have powdery mildew, or lettuce that is flowering. 

Crops like pumpkin, chillies, capsicum, eggplant and rainbow chard should only need to be planted once in Spring and will see you through until late-Autumn. A second crop of more cold-tolerant tomatoes like Black Russian can be planted in December if you want to extend your harvest into June. 

With some care, you can have a flourishing veggie garden year round. 

Still to come

Next time I will talk about crops we harvest in Winter that need to be seeded in Spring and how to grow them. 

This week's recipe links

Beet Quiche from Not Quite Nigella. 

Sautéed Cabbage and Carrots from Well Plated. 

Creamy Beetroot Risotto from BBC Good Food. 

Honey Roasted Turnips with Tahini Miso from Denver Life Magazine. 

More info

To read more about what's happening on our local organic farm this week as we grow and care for veggies for our box delivery, check out this week's newsletter here.