Summer Plantings

Summer plantings can be direct seeded as soon as the ground warms up and the soil temperatures are above 60. Vegetables that can be direct seeded, like: lima beans, bush beans, okra, and corn.

In some northern areas, certain vegetables are best planted as transplants due to their longer growing season requirements. Some of these vegetables include cantaloupes, celery, cucumbers, eggplants, melons, peppers, pumpkins, squashes, tomatoes, and watermelons. If you prefer not to use store-bought seedlings, you can take a few actions. Soaking the seeds for 24 hours can shorten the germination time. These seeds will become plump and will germinate quickly once placed in the ground giving you an extra week to ten days of planting. Those that do well by soaking are: melons, corn, squashes, cucumbers, cantaloupes and pumpkins.

To learn greater detail about organic growing practices get ‘Garden the Organic Way‘ https://gardentheorganicway.etsy.com

Choosing short-season varieties of watermelon, such as Sugar Baby, Yellow Baby, Golden Crown, are some, which can be started from seed in the garden in early June and are ready for harvest in as little as 65 days. Other melons varieties are also available which can help expedite the growing season, allowing for direct seeding. Additionally, using a row cover to warm the soil and keep the plants warm for a longer period is a common practice to speed up germination, growth, and development, especially in cooler climates.

There are several blogs that will help you become a better gardener. To learn more about growing corn https://gardeningtheorganicway.com/vegetables/how-to-grow-corn/ Subscribe to my Youtube channel. This video discusses some issues with cucumbers. https://youtu.be/0qhEKbY_PIY

Happy summer planting! You can also get ‘Garden the Organic Way‘ as an eBook at http://Amazon- Garden the Organic Way