Choosing the most suitable vegetables for your vegetable garden is a crucial step in planning your summer vegetable garden. You should choose to grow vegetables that you like to eat, that will grow well in your local climate, and those that are suitable for the soil and microclimate conditions of your garden.
Given below is a list of vegetables that are popularly grown in summer home vegetable gardens. Summer vegetables are all warm-season vegetables and are mostly fruiting vegetables. If you live in a tropical or subtropical area at a lower elevation, you may be able to grow these vegetables all year round. Despite this, you will get the best harvest if you grow them within their local growing season.
You can use this list as a starting point to decide on the summer vegetables that you will grow. The basic growing requirements of each vegetable are given to help you understand whether these vegetables are suitable for the conditions in your vegetable garden.
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Tomato
Scientific name: Solanum lycopersicum
Optimum soil temperature for seed germination: 60-85°F (16-29°C)
Number of days from seed to harvest: 70-90
Ideal soil conditions: Well-draining loamy soil that is slightly acidic (pH 6.2-6.8)
Flowers and Pollination: Self-pollinated flowers that contain both male and female parts. Wind and the movement of bee wings or gently shaking the plant after flowers have opened will increase the rate of pollination.
Number of plants per person*: 2-4 plants
Spacing on the ground: 48″ x 24″
Minimum container size: 5 gallon (19 liters; diameter of about 12″) container
Best companion plants to be grown with: basil, bean, parsley, garlic
Plants to avoid growing with Tomato: fennel, broccoli, cabbage, and other brassicas; corn, potato
You can purchase high-quality tomato seeds from SeedsNOW! They have non-GMO, heirloom, non-hybrid, open-pollinated tomato seeds that will help you grow the best tomato plants in your organic vegetable garden.
Eggplant
(also known as Brinjal or Aubergine)
Scientific name: Solanum melongena
Optimum soil temperature for seed germination: 75-90°F (24-32°C)
Number of days from seed to harvest: 75-90
Ideal soil conditions: Well-draining loamy soil. Sandy loams are ideal.
Flowers and Pollination: Self-pollinated flowers that contain both male and female parts. Wind and the movement of bee wings or gently shaking the plant after flowers have opened will increase the rate of pollination.
Number of plants per person*: 2-3 plants
Spacing on the ground: 36″ x 24″
Minimum container size: 5 gallon (19 liters; diameter of about 12″) container
Best companion plants to be grown with: beans, peppers, thyme
Plants to avoid growing with Eggplant: fennel
You can purchase high-quality eggplant seeds from SeedsNOW! They have non-GMO, heirloom, non-hybrid, open-pollinated eggplant seeds that will help you grow the best eggplant plants in your organic vegetable garden.
Peppers
Scientific name: Capsicum annuum
Optimum soil temperature for seed germination: 65-95°F (18-35°C)
Number of days from seed to harvest: 65-95
Ideal soil conditions: Well-draining loamy soil. Sandy loams are ideal. Peppers can tolerate slightly alkaline conditions.
Flowers and Pollination: Self-pollinated flowers that contain both male and female parts. Wind and the movement of bee wings or gently shaking the plant after flowers have opened will increase the rate of pollination.
Number of plants per person*: 3-5 plants
Spacing on the ground: 36″ x 24″
Minimum container size: 3-5 gallon (11-19 liters; diameter of about 10-12″) container
Best companion plants to be grown with: eggplant, carrot, cucumber, members of the onion family (onion, garlic, leeks, chives etc.)
Plants to avoid growing with Peppers: fennel, beans, kohlrabi
You can purchase high-quality peppers seeds from SeedsNOW! They have non-GMO, heirloom, non-hybrid, open-pollinated peppers seeds that will help you grow the best pepper plants in your organic vegetable garden.
Beans
Scientific name: Phaseolus vulgaris
Optimum soil temperature for seed germination: 60-85°F (16-29°C)
Number of days from seed to harvest: bush beans, 50-60; pole beans and lima beans, 65-75
Ideal soil conditions: Loamy soil that is very slightly acidic is ideal, but beans are not fussy and will grow well in any type of soil from sandy, rocky to clayey soils.
Flowers and Pollination: Self-pollinated flowers that contain both male and female parts. Some varieties may benefit from insect pollinators.
Number of plants per person*: 12-15 plants
Spacing on the ground: 36″ x 2-12″
Minimum container size: 2-3 plants in 1 gallon (4 liters; diameter of 7-8″) container
Best companion plants to be grown with: corn, squash, cucumber, carrot, potato
Plants to avoid growing with Beans: brassicas, garlic, chives, leeks
You can purchase high-quality bean seeds of many varieties from SeedsNOW! They have non-GMO, heirloom, non-hybrid, open-pollinated bean seeds that will help you grow the best bean plants in your organic vegetable garden.
Corn
Scientific name: Zea mays
Optimum soil temperature for seed germination: 60-95°F (16-35°C)
Number of days from seed to harvest: 65-90
Ideal soil conditions: Rich, well-draining loamy soil
Flowers and Pollination: Wind pollinated. Each plant has both male (tassels) and female (silk and ear) flowers. At least 16 plants should be planted together in a block for proper pollination to take place. Plants at the edges can be hand pollinated.
Number of plants per person*: 10-15 plants
Spacing on the ground: 36″ x 12-18″
Minimum container size: 5 gallon (19 liters; diameter of about 12″) container
Best companion plants to be grown with: beans, squash, cucumber, mint, thyme
Plants to avoid growing with Corn: tomato, brassicas, members of the onion family (onion, garlic, leeks, chives, etc.)
Okra
Scientific name: Abelmoschus esculentus
Optimum soil temperature for seed germination: 60-105°F (16-41°C)
Number of days from seed to harvest: 55-65
Ideal soil conditions: Well-drained sandy loam is the best but okra will grow in any type of soil
Flowers and Pollination: Self-pollinated flowers that contain both male and female parts. Pollination is better when visited by bees and other insects. May need to be hand-pollinated.
Number of plants per person*: 4-5 plants
Spacing on the ground: 36″ x 12″
Minimum container size: 3-5 gallon (11-19 liters; diameter of about 10-12″) container
Best companion plants to be grown with: min, thyme, sage, oregano, cucumber, melons, peppers
Plants to avoid growing with Okra/Lady’s-Fingers: squash, sweet potato
You can purchase high-quality okra seeds from SeedsNOW! They have non-GMO, heirloom, non-hybrid, open-pollinated okra seeds that will help you grow the best okra plants in your organic vegetable garden.
Sweet Potato
Scientific name: Ipomoea batatas
Optimum soil temperature for seed germination: 60-85°F (16-29°C)
Number of days from seed to harvest: 90-120 (usually grown from slips – small shoots that grow from each sweet potato)
Ideal soil conditions: Well-drained, loose sandy loam. Shoots will grow even in clay soils but the tubers will not be properly formed.
Flowers and Pollination: Pollination is not necessary to harvest tubers.
Number of plants per person*: 6 plants
Spacing on the ground: 36″ x 12″
Minimum container size: 5 gallon (19 liters; diameter of about 12″) container
Best companion plants to be grown with: potato, oregano, thyme, beans
Plants to avoid growing with Sweet Potato: tomato, squash, pumpkin
Pumpkin
Scientific name: Usually Cucurbita pepo
Optimum soil temperature for seed germination: 70-90°F (21-32°C)
Number of days from seed to harvest: 85-120
Ideal soil conditions: Well-drained loamy soil. They will even grow in slightly clay soil but can’t tolerate continuously wet conditions.
Flowers and Pollination: Each plant has separate male and female flowers that need insects for pollination. Plants grown in greenhouses need to be hand-pollinated.
Number of plants per person*: 1-2 plants
Spacing on the ground: 72″ x 48″
Minimum container size: 10 gallon (38 liters; diameter of about. 16″) or larger container
Best companion plants to be grown with: corn, beans, oregano, chives
Plants to avoid growing with Pumpkin: potato, onion, brassicas
Cucumber
Scientific name: Cucumis sativus
Optimum soil temperature for seed germination: 60-95°F (16-35°C)
Number of days from seed to harvest: 50-65
Ideal soil conditions: Well-drained loose loamy soil.
Flowers and Pollination: Each plant has separate male and female flowers that need insects for pollination. Growing several plants together will increase the rate of pollination. Plants grown in greenhouses may need to be hand-pollinated.
Number of plants per person*: 1 vine, 2 bushes
Spacing on the ground: 60″ x 12″
Minimum container size: 1 gallon (4 liters; diameter of 7-8″) container
Best companion plants to be grown with: corn, root vegetables, beans, onions, oregano
Plants to avoid growing with Cucumber: basil, rosemary, sage, tomato
You can purchase high-quality vegetable seeds from SeedsNOW! They have non-GMO, heirloom, non-hybrid, open-pollinated vegetable seeds that will help you grow the best vegetable plants in your organic vegetable garden.
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