What Vegetables Can I Grow In Summer?

Summer Vegetables

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

Tomato - Quick Reference Summer Vegetable Planting Guide

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)

Eggplant/Brinjal/Aubergine - Quick Reference Summer Vegetable Planting Guide

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

Peppers - Quick Reference Summer Vegetable Planting Guide

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

Beans - Quick Reference Summer Vegetable Planting Guide

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

Corn - Quick Reference Summer Vegetable Planting Guide

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

Okra - Quick Reference Summer Vegetable Planting Guide

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

Sweet Potato - Quick Reference Summer Vegetable Planting Guide

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

Pumpkin - Quick Reference Summer Vegetable Planting Guide

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

28

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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Summer Vegetables To Grow peppers tomatoes and cucumbers
What Vegetables Can I Grow In Summer?

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