Hi ATP members!!

I'm here in AZ and we are expecting an excessive heat spike beginning on Thursday (101) thru Sunday getting as high as 108.

Tomorrow morning, I will be harvesting all my cauliflower and the remaining spinach. My question: how will bulb yellow and white onion handle this heat? Should I harvest them as well?

We have a sunshade screen with 70/30, so it'll block out 70% of the sun, but it's the ambient temp and heat that I'm worried about.

I have carrot, green peas, head cabbage, onion, celery, scalloped squash, cauliflower, and green bean... Oh, and Pontiac red potato, too.

I'm thinking only the green bean (pole, bush, yard) and squash will be able to handle this spike in temps with the sunshade.

I sure would appreciate your thoughts on this impending sitatuion!

Thank you!!

Such a beautiful harvest.

I have never gardened in such heat so don't know. But peas are a cool weather crop so I think those will give out. But maybe lots of water will save them.

I hope everything makes it.

Certainly peas and brassicas will not be able to stand it for more than a day or so. Most pole beans will struggle. Hopefully you are growing short day onions which should be finishing now. Other wise onions don't do well in heat. Pontiac potatoes should be close to finishing, but if they are late expect them to struggle. Shade will help as will plenty of water, but only summer vegetables like cowpeas, okra, lima beans, sweet potatoes okra etc do well when temps stay in triple digits.

You should grow Yard Long Beans. You could even start seeds now. They are a tropical plant and love the heat. Eat like green beans and they are tender and delicious.

Thank you Rita and Farmer Dill for your response.

I found myself on an unexpected trip to today, so it'll be an early rise and harvest and daybreak tomorrow morning.

Unfortunately, I'm not aware of the - onion whether long or short day types. I do see where a few of them have bulked up above ground, but it seems that the few that size are mostly due to being the largest seed when planted. This is only my second bulb onion crop with the last one bolting after an over wintering. I didn't know at the time that the cold forces the bolt. So, all is not lost as I can always handle these as I did that crop and freezing them. Who knows, maybe they'll be small yet still storable as I have a pen evaporative cooler room to help with the drying out process.

I'll take the remaining peas as I figure they'll simply dry out on the vine and turn to a seed stock. Boy, they sure have provide me with ample harvest as it stands, so I can work with that, too. I'll simply enjoy the young pods as a stri fry. Cabbage will go as they may be small but still tasty. I'm thinking the heat might simply cause them to bitter?

I'd hope to keep the carrots for a bit longer to increase the size and yield. Any advise if this week long heat wave will have a negative result on flavor should I try to keep them I ground, watered, and protected by shade cloth. I'd just as soon pull them tomorrow, too, if needed. I don't want them bolting either.

I'll leave the beans and potatoes to fight. Most are quite young with only a few beginning to flower. I do have Lima, long yard, pole, and bush beans, so all I can do is tend to them the best I can and hope for the best. The potatoes and Lima are in a separate bed without the sunshade, so maybe a sheet to help them beat the what will do for a few days.

My patty pan squash is in full flower with a few young fruits already set. I'm thinking maybe I should hand populate what I can and hope for the best?

After only two plus years of gardening, I'm glad to have your feedback that I'm at least thinking on the right track: to harvest early when needed. Some crop is better than a wasted crop. I certainly appreciate your response. Thank you.

So, in closing, once this heat wave passes, I was going to seed for the summer. I have okra intended, but also thought of pumpkin, tomatillo, hot pepper, zucchini, and eggplant. What do you think, Farmer Dill? Any advise on my summer selection? Fact is, our summer temps are typically 102-105 steady until September. Sounds like my corn will have to wait til Autumn.

You guys rock!! Thanks again for your sage advise!

Gina

You are actually in a warmer climate than I am. We usually get about 30 days of Triple digit temps scattered from late June to mid August. My main harvest is May- June. I grow lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, pak choi, cabbage, English peas, beets, Irish potatoes and onions for spring harvest. All of these are harvested in April and May. Summer squash and snap beans ( both pole and bush) are in full harvest now. sweet corn is harvested in June.From late June to Late August, I will be growing cowpeas, limas, eggplants, peppers, sweet potaoes, okra watermelons, cucumis type melons etc. All are up and growing now. I will do a scond planting of cowpeas and bush limas when the corn finishes. In late August til October I will be starting the full range of brassicas for late fall , early winter harvest. I also seed my onions around labor day for transplant in early December. Plant early English peas around Thanksgiving. I can grow a wide array of vegetables here, but the secret is to beat the heat. Plant early or plant late for heat susceptible species.

Thank you, Farmer Dill!

GinaY86441 said:Thank you, Farmer Dill!

Cantaloupe type melons love the heat.

Thank you, Rita! We did muskmelon, watermelon, and cucumbers last summer. Pumpkin, too, but not in the main bed. It has less than adequate soil, so I only harvested one sugar pie pumpkin. I thought putting it into the main bed this summer may yield better results.

The watermelon were superb, even placed knee high stockings on each, but the muskmelon split and then became infested with ants. The yield was very good, but the few we did harvest were mushy. Perhaps I waited too long to harvest??

I pulled the shade this morning, gave it a good watering, and took what heads of cauliflower and cabbage I could. Wouldn't you know I have an evaporative cooler installation today, so the peas, onion, and others will have to wait until tomorrow morning. Luckily, it's a mere 102 today with the unbearable 106 & 108 the following days. Then, it's back down to 102 for a couple of days returning to high 90s. It won't last though.... 100+ is here to stay.

I was thinking of letting the onion remain and let nature hasten the drying process... Sound about right?

Thank you, Rita!

In the cantaloupe type melons, if they split you for sure waited too long to harvest them.

I don't really know anything about growing watermelon or pumpkin.

Have you tried any of the Asian Cucumbers? They may look odd compared to the supermarket types we are more used to seeing but they are really good, super productive and can take the heat.

If you like green beans (snap beans what we used to call string beans) I really, really urge you to grow yardlong beans. Thrive in the heat as they are from tropical Southeast Asia.

Just a word of caution. Cantaloupes have lots of problems with heat. Sunscald is so prevalent that shade will be necessary. Honeydews are most heat tolerant of the group. Spanish types like canary and ananas do well except that varieties with dark green skin are subject to sunscald.

Yardlong/asparagus beans ar a subspecies of cowpea. grow well in southern summers. Taste is unique ( neither snap bean or asparagus). One of those that you either love or hate. I like them in Chinese dishes but not as a sub for P.vulgaris in traditional preps.

farmerdill said:Just a word of caution. Cantaloupes have lots of problems with heat. Sunscald is so prevalent that shade will be necessary. Honeydews are most heat tolerant of the group. Spanish types like canary and ananas do well except that varieties with dark green skin are subject to sunscald.

Yardlong/asparagus beans ar a subspecies of cowpea. grow well in southern summers. Taste is unique ( neither snap bean or asparagus). One of those that you either love or hate. I like them in Chinese dishes but not as a sub for P.vulgaris in traditional preps.

See, good to know about the melons. I was thinking that a spanish cantaloupe melon like Arancino or a Mid east type like Avara would do well but I have not dealt with those excessive temps.

As to the Yardlongs there are quite afew varieties. I just like yardlongs, especially the ones they call asparagus beans. In fact I already have mine planted.

The beans, picked at the correct stage, are tender and delicious, slightly sweet. Yes, taste slightly different than a regular green bean both both are good.

Wow!! There is so much to learn! I've always been a good student and I thank you both for the tantalizing education! I do like online research and it has provided me with much information; however, nothing online beats the words and lessons of experience.

So, after today's labor assistance in the evaporative cooler, I plan to take charge and make decisions pertaining to my garden. Peas will be harvested at the main stem and taken indoors to harvest. My flock will enjoy all the greens afterwards.

Remaining head cabbage will be harvested and cooked up.... Have I shared my cabbage rolls from earlier in the season? No? Ok, I'll attached the photos.... Old school at its finest!

Because that alone is a challenge for me... I think I'll leave carrots and onion in the shaded raised bed and monitor... It's going to be so very HOT! This week, they are coming out, but I might need one more day to physically get it done.

Anyway.... I'm happy I pulled the shade today... Gives me another day to take charge....

Here's those photos of the old school cabbage rolls!

looks good.

Looks absolutely delicious!! Yum, yum, yum.

(stomach rumbling)

My mother used to make them, it's aPolish recipe, ground beef and rice wrapped in cabbage then pour tomato soup over, cover and bake.

SCButtercup said:My mother used to make them, it's aPolish recipe, ground beef and rice wrapped in cabbage then pour tomato soup over, cover and bake.

Oh, yes, cabbage rolls (aka Galumpkis) are quite delicious. I used a recipe which added a touch of vinegar, wine, and sugar which gives the tomato sauce a sweet/sour taste. It called for ground beef and ground pork, but I used ground beef and pork sausage.... No other spices needed.

I also used the inner outer leaves of the cabbage plant to wrap and used the larger outer leaves to line and cover the pan. This old school techniques keeps the rolls from browning on the bottom of the pan and the top leaves replace the use of foil. I'm sold on this technique! Not only did I use more of my plant (keeping the head intact for slaw), but they were tender, dark green, and made for an excellent presentation. Credit goes to Chef Tyler of food network for the recipe.

Back to the garden: yesterday's temp reached 104 with the big daddy of heat today at 108. The shade screen has made a hug difference as I watered a 7 a.m. Yesterday and again at 2. Heading back down for a nighttime watering at 6 and I found the soil still moist and refrained from watering. I'm on my way out to harvest the remaining cabbage heads, but I'm going to keep watch on the onions and carrots for the time being. Quite frankly, I'm still a bit sore from yesterday pea harvest and shucking, so harvesting cabbage will be the extent of work today. It's truly amazing how many muscle groups gardening requires!!!

I'll just leave a couple photos from my pea harvest: started harvesting at 7 a.m. And finished my shucking and blanching at roughly 2 p.m. minus a brief 30 minute lunch... Tops of my shoulders and pecs are sore from keeping those elbows up! Yikes!



Large pasta bowl of peas for the freezer and immature pods for stir fry.



Happy Gardening, all!

I am truly impressed with all those peas. Your garden is a bounty of goodness.

I just love being able to grow edibles. In the summer when the veggies are producing I eat most of m,y meals from my garden. I just love it!!