It's too hot to be gardening!!!

It is the middle of the summer and every day seems to be 90 degrees and above. You are trying to remind yourself why you embarked on a journey to spend time being scorched by the sun.

The reality is gardening in the summer looks a little different. Being outside during the hours of 10 am - 4 pm, especially in the south can be risky for your health as heat can overcome you quicker than you realize. This is a great time to lower your expectations with how your garden looks and what you garde.

Plant a cover crop

What should you be doing during the summer gardening? This is a great time to take a break from gardening the other times of the year. You don't have to plant anything in your beds - try cover crops like peas and beans. Here is an article giving more details about cover crops.

Give your garden beds a vacation.

What if you don't want to plant at all? Guess what? You don't have to. Between vacations and shuttling your kids around or just needing some time to recharge you may not want to grow anything. Summer is a great time to allow your garden beds to take a vacation as well. If you save your seeds, keep growing to get the ripest seeds. Take your summer veggie scraps, egg shells, dried grass and even cardboard and bury that in your garden. You are refreshing the nutrients in your garden beds which will help your fall plants get a great head start.

Things to remember about resting your garden beds:

1. Don't spend time pulling your weeds - remember it's hot. Covering it with dark plastic or cardboard will smother them and not allow any growth.

2. If you have pets or potential for animals to come into your backyard, be sure to cover the beds with dirt and then plastic or other material that will prevent them from digging up the scraps. Who wants to come out to garden that has been trashed?

3. DO NOT - I repeat do not plant meat or meat products in your bed. You will not like the results.

4. If your area does not see enough rainfall, what you add to your bed will not potentially break down as well as you like. I recommend you water your bed every 2-3 days if you do not have rainfall.

But I still want to garden.

If you really are committed to gardening, including the summer pick low maintenance, high producing foods. Here are a few suggestions:

Okra - I know, I know...its slimy. But you can eat it in gumbo, fried, pickled or roasted with Indian spices. Okra will also produce so much and throughout the day that you will find yourself harvesting morning and evening on the same day.

Baby cucumbers - If you are like me and want to be able to harvest fresh, crisp food that can be eaten right out of the garden, grow thin or small cucumbers. Try Mexican sour gherkin or Straight 8.

Chard - be sure to plant these with partial shade or under a shade cloth to reduce the heat. I also recommend covering with a light mesh material like netting to prevent pests from eating your harvest.

Butternut Squash - this does well in the summer heat and has some resistance to borers that will run a harvest in no time. Once you get a squash going, trellis it cut down on powdery mildew.

Whatever you choose, enjoy your summer time "gardening" style.