Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Members
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Riverside, California
    Posts
    100

    hot weather veggies

    Gardening here in southern california is definately different...
    Our temps can be over 100 one day and in the mid 80's the next.
    My aquaponics system has pretty much gone quiet other than tomatoes for right now due to the heat but there has to be something other than tomatoes I can have growing in the primary beds.
    Does anyone have any good suggestions for what I can grow in the covered greenhouse till the temps cool down and I can go back to my lettuce and cukes???
    The celery became a nightmare after I had to cover the greenhouse for the heat as they got all spindly, tall thin stalks, they tasted good but never got nice and thick so I finally took them all down.
    The onions were a fun experiment too and did well but since they take so long to get nice and big I also took them out. My strawberries are doing pretty well in the 100 hole riverbed unit after I added some iron filings to each level but the fruit is still small but man o man are they sending out tons of runners so I will have enough plants to fill the unit by the end of the summer. I don't know what kind they are as I was given a bunch of bare root ones last year and had some of an unknown variety in one of my planters that did not bear any fruit the year before.

    So if anyone has any ideas of what would do well in a partially shaded greenhouse in this heat please let me know. I had to shade it to keep the fish from cooking in their water with these temps, not to mention fruit from cooking on the vine.
    take care
    sheryl
    Take care and stay safe

    Sheryl and Jake SD

  2. #2
    Moderator badflash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Malden Bridge, NY
    Posts
    1,544

    Re: hot weather veggies

    This is one I like, New Zealand Spinach
    http://www.burpee.com/product/vegetable ... eeds%29.do

    I've also had good luck with Nasturtiums. The leaves and flowers are really good to eat and test just like watercress.

    Most Swiss chard, Tomatillos, peppers, squash, cucumbers and mellons should do fine as well.
    The best fertilizer is the farmer's shadow

  3. #3
    Moderator wolfracer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Flint Hills of Kansas
    Posts
    263

    Re: hot weather veggies

    I am going to have to try these! Thanks

  4. #4
    Members
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Riverside, California
    Posts
    100

    Re: hot weather veggies

    Great, I have some of the spinach seeds and was considering swiss chard
    our family goes through tons of lettuce when I can grow it so I am really missing that one right now with this heat.
    What about collards, do they do well when the temps soar?
    I was afraid to try melons and squash as I thought that they took up a lot of room but right now the growbeds are pretty bare other than the tomatoes and bell peppers.
    Thanks
    Take care and stay safe

    Sheryl and Jake SD

  5. #5
    Moderator badflash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Malden Bridge, NY
    Posts
    1,544

    Re: hot weather veggies

    You can train vine crops to grow up & on nets. They then take up almost no space. They do that at Epcot. You can then plant other plants under the canopy and get double duty for the space.
    The best fertilizer is the farmer's shadow

  6. #6
    Members
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Riverside, California
    Posts
    100

    Re: hot weather veggies

    I do that in my garden where I have cucumbers planted under my dwarf trees, they then vine up the trees. The tomatoes I let vine up like that for a while then I lay them on the growbeds and sort of rope them together and wrap them around the perimeter of the growbeds. my cukes also climb up where the tomatoes do but didnt think I could do that inside a greenhouse with melons as I thought that they needed more space than that.

    I am not sure if my plastic net could support the weight of melons I guess I may have to reinforce the attachments and give it a try
    Take care and stay safe

    Sheryl and Jake SD

  7. #7
    Moderator badflash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Malden Bridge, NY
    Posts
    1,544

    Re: hot weather veggies

    Here are some pics I located from Epcot:



    http://image12.webshots.com/12/1/55/81/ ... HSQ_ph.jpg

    This last one has winter melons that weigh 80# and are over 3' long.
    The best fertilizer is the farmer's shadow

  8. #8
    Members
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Riverside, California
    Posts
    100

    Re: hot weather veggies

    Wow, I think I would need wire for that one, but it sure gives me an idea for a small gazebo in my "secret garden" area next year.
    I am working on a small area of about 30 x 40 ft that will have a catfish pond and 2 riverbeds, surrounded by fruit trees and all sorts of edible goodies with a sitting bench in the middle of it all to hide out in and pretend fish...
    It is between the greenhouse and my large aviary, to the back of this is the beginnings of my raised bed garden that is watered by 2 large kiddie pools filled with tilapia in the summer. No water waste here! I have to do raised beds to keep Mischief my 140 lb Sulcatta tortoise out of my goodies, right now I had to place barriers around what little garden I do have because he was eating my zuchinni and sweet potato vines! He is a tank that will try to bull doze his way through just about anything... hence his name...LOL

    If it wern't for the heat, I would take the shade cloth off of the back half of the greenhouse to allow more light in, but then it would quickly become a bake oven... One good thing about it is that the talipia I have in there grow 3 times as fast as those in the ponds! The water in the main tank was 92 at noon, their siblings in the house kept at 84 are 1/3 to 1/2 smaller.

    These are hybrids of Rocky mountian whites and Mike Sipe's cherry snappers, I find that they have zero cold water tolerance as I had some in one of the ponds outside and lost them when we had 3 75 degree days, the Mossambic that I have in the other ponds have tolerated nighttime temps down to 60 with zero losses. I know that most tilapia people hate the idea of cold tolerant strains but for me it is kind of a must as I cant run 1500 watt pond heaters in that outbuilding without starting a fire and hubby would eat my head for the electric bill in the winter. As long as I can keep them alive over the winter to grow up when the temps go up in the summer is great by me.
    I do like the hybrids and will keep them going in the greenhouse and in my house in the 250 that my cousin will be bringing me, but the mossambic that I have can tolerate the best I can do temp wise in the winter and still survive.

    Anyway, I got off topic here so I apologise.

    I think I will look in my aviary for some livestock fencing wire, I know I put in there somewhere, and I will put some up along the roofline inside the greenhouse. If I drill a few small holes in the support structure of the greenhouse I will have some places to attach the wire without making too big of a mess.

    Thanks
    Take care and stay safe

    Sheryl and Jake SD

  9. #9
    Moderator badflash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Malden Bridge, NY
    Posts
    1,544

    Re: hot weather veggies

    A cross between the rocky mountain white and Sipe Red Mossie is about the worst cross I can imagine. The rocky mountain white is a niloticus/aurea cross and has fair cold water tolerance. Mossies have poor cold weather tolerance unless selectively bred for it. Sipe's strainis not. Being in CA you run up against regulations unless you get mossies. I have a wild variety that has much better cold tolerance, but just barely. Below about 70 the get fungus.

    As far as a strainer for the suction, I use this stuff:


    Check the want adds here. I saw an associate of mine selling Rocky Mountain White Fry. She's in San Diego too.
    The best fertilizer is the farmer's shadow

Similar Threads

  1. Re-grow your veggies
    By davidstcldfl in forum Veggies in General
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-23-2014, 01:59 PM
  2. Best hot weather crops?
    By HillSider in forum SUMP
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 02-05-2011, 09:37 AM
  3. How's your weather today?
    By jackalope in forum SUMP
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 12-19-2010, 09:51 AM
  4. Replies: 3
    Last Post: 02-02-2010, 08:58 PM
  5. Miniature Veggies?
    By jackalope in forum Veggies in General
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 08-13-2009, 04:37 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •