Vegetables and Fruits You Can Grow In Your Home Garden This Summer

Vegetables and fruits are easy to grow in the summer months, when the temperatures are pleasant and the soil is moist. While some crops do best in cooler temperatures, others grow best in hotter weather. Fortunately, many fruits and vegetables are equally easy to grow in the summer. In this article, we'll cover some of the most popular summer home garden crops, from corn to amaranth.

Corn

Sweet corn is one of the quintessential summer foods and is a favorite for barbecues. This vegetable loves lots of water and fertilizer and will produce plump, tender kernels. When planting, plant the seeds one-half inch deep, with rows spaced about 9 to 12 inches apart and at least 30 to 36 inches apart. Plant more than one variety of sweet corn, to ensure cross-pollination.

Peas can be planted as early as two weeks before the average last spring frost date. Once they've been planted, they'll be ready for harvesting every 24 days. You can interplant them with other vegetables that take longer to mature, such as lettuce. Peas are best when harvested early in the summer. They taste better when they're fresh, so plan your planting season accordingly.

Vegetables and fruits that do well in hot weather are also a great way to get started in the garden. While most vegetables don't thrive in cool temperatures, some do. Try to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and other cool-season vegetables. After all, they grow best in warm weather and can tolerate high temperatures. But if you'd like a more exotic taste, try planting eggplant and peppers.

Echinops are another excellent choice for your summer home garden. Echinops are edible berries that mature in about 50 days. They should have green "hats" attached and be at least six to eight inches in diameter. When picking, remember to harvest the young fruit before it becomes tough and woody. Picking frequently will encourage more blossoms. This plant is edible as well. Echinopsis is also a delicious ornamental plant.

Cucumber

To plant cucumbers in your summer home garden, you will need to prepare the soil for them before planting them. They need to be planted at least an inch deep in well-drained soil. In order to keep them healthy, you should plant them on small mounds that are 4 to 6 inches high to help the soil drain and prevent root rot. Plant cucumbers in rows approximately three to four feet apart and space them at least one foot apart to avoid crowding.

One of the most common types of cucumbers is the 'Green Fingers' variety, which produces finger-sized fruit with a smooth skin and a small seed cavity. It is resistant to mosaic virus, scab, downy mildew, and powdery mildew. This cucumber takes about 55 days to mature and is perfect for containers and raised bed gardening. It is also disease-resistant and produces heavy yields of eight to 11-inch fruits.

Cucumbers grow best in soil that is well-drained and warm. Its pH level should be between six and eight. Because cucumbers have shallow roots, they require ample moisture. Water the plants every week for optimal growth. To improve soil moisture, add compost or well-rotted manure to the soil. You can also use black plastic mulch to warm the soil in early summer and increase yields. Mulching the plants with straw will prevent weeds and slugs from damaging the fruits. Cucumbers can be harvested once they are large enough to eat.

Amaranth

Amaranth is a beautiful plant with colorful leaves and flowers. Its flowers are plume-like and cascade, depending on the variety. This unique plant is a great choice for a summer home garden and makes a great addition to edible landscapes. Planting amaranth is easy - just sow six seeds per rockwool cube in the spring and wait for them to germinate. Plant seeds about a week after the last frost. Provide plenty of light during this growing period, because amaranth seeds to germinate and grow.

Amaranth is a versatile plant that grows well in average soil. Amaranth likes full sun and well-drained soil. Plant seeds about four inches apart in the spring, six to eight weeks before the last frost in Zones 6 and below. When planting amaranth, space plants 10 to 18 inches apart to maintain even spacing. You can also plant seeds in a shallow pot, which will help them germinate faster.

Amaranth is native to the southern United States and Mexico and thrives in warm climates. It needs little water to grow and doesn't require supplemental fertilizer. But, do avoid overfeeding it with nitrogen because the plant can get leggy and become less suitable for harvest. There are many varieties of amaranth to choose from, including red leaf amaranth, purple amaranth, and love bleeding amaranth.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a heavy feeder. Whether you are growing them from seed or starting plants from a transplant, tomatoes need a steady supply of moisture, and if it doesn't rain an inch a week, it's time to water. While there are many factors that influence a tomato's quality and yield, you can improve your tomatoes' chances of success by growing them in raised beds or using black plastic mulch.

Choose tomato plants that have one or two vigorous stems. These plants will develop suckers (stems that grow from leaves meeting the main stem) if left unpruned. Prune these stems when they reach two to four inches in length. Tie them to a stake with a soft string or cloth. The stake should be placed eight to 12 inches above the ground. If you are using heavy-duty stakes, space them four feet apart.

After you've harvested some of your summer harvest, you can start planting some of your fall harvest. You can plant tomatoes now or wait until the fall to plant them. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, leeks, and herbs are excellent vegetables to plant. You can also grow okra, basil, and other vegetables in June. The best time to plant tomatoes is in June.

Sweet potatoes

The earliest time to plant sweet potatoes is about three to four weeks after the last spring frost. The soil should be warm, and nighttime temperatures should remain around 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius). Sweet potatoes are hardy and have few pests or diseases. They are a traditional Southern crop, but they can grow successfully in any part of the country. To protect the young plants, use row covers or plastic milk jugs to cover the beds.

In the summer, sweet potatoes are best grown from vigorous vines. The size of the tubers is directly proportional to the amount of sunlight they get. Sweet potato plants should be grown vertically so that the leaves receive ample sunlight. Lifting vines to harvest sweet potatoes is not recommended. Rooting takes energy away from the main tubers and produces many small, undersized tubers. After harvesting, leave the sweet potatoes to cure for about 10 days before eating.

To plant sweet potatoes, you can purchase root sprouts at a mail-order supplier or from a nursery. The roots of store-bought sweet potatoes may be waxed to prevent sprouting. Make sure you save a few for next year's garden. Plant the root sprouts in pots of good-quality potting soil and place them in a sunny location. Wait until the soil temperature reaches 75 degrees Fahrenheit before removing the plant's leaves. Once the soil temperature reaches this temperature, the shoots will emerge. Cut off the shoots when they reach about 6 to nine inches in length. Make sure you cut away the bottom inch, as it can harbor disease organisms.

Blueberries

This delicious summer vegetable grows on a vine and can be harvested from early July through the end of October. It belongs to the Vaccinium genus and is closely related to heaths and heathers. Blueberries are small, ornamental shrubs that produce blue fruit in summer and red leaves in autumn. All types of blueberry require some chilling in the winter, though the lowbush type requires the most chilling time. Blueberries require acid soil with a pH of 4 to 5.5. This can be accomplished by adding sulfur to the soil or using organic fertilizer like Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost.

To get started with growing blueberries, prepare your garden soil with a good quality organic mulch. Mulch will prevent weeds from spreading and conserve soil moisture. Blueberries also do not need fertilization during their first year of growth, but if you have heavy clay soil, you can apply a thin layer of limestone or fertilizer during the first few weeks of growth. You can find this information at your county extension office.

When it comes to planting blueberries, it's important to prepare your garden soil to support them. You need acidic soil with a pH of between 4.5.2. You can determine the exact pH of your soil by taking a sample from your garden. To help blueberries grow, you can also plant them as a landscape shrub. The same goes for planting them among other plants that thrive in acidic soils.

There are many fruits and vegetables you can grow in your home garden. Try these and some others and let us know how your crop turns out. Eat well and be healthy.

Written by: Coach Clinton