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Comment by Todd Allen on July 4, 2012 at 3:29am

Summer is a challenging time to be planting.   Well established plants take the heat better.  New seedlings and transplants need steady damp soil and may need shade from direct sun for a while.

Chard should do well now, kale is a good bet too.  Beets will likely be ok with careful watering.  Lettuce will be challenging and varieties that can take heat aren't as nice.  Spinach is nearly impossible until the cooler weather of fall.

Comment by Garth Liebhaber on July 3, 2012 at 6:27am

Yeah, I've had good luck with radishes at all times, including summer. I've been amazed at how quickly they've grown, too. I should confess I've had minimal experience with spinach, that's cool to know about multiple pickings. Sounds like you have good experience with beets. I know the rabbits like to eat the leaves!

Comment by Anne B. on July 3, 2012 at 6:14am

Huh, I've actually had pretty good luck getting radish yields in the heat but I can't get any leafy greens going. Is it just too hot? I've tried direct sowing as well as starting indoors and neither took. I've probably planted seeds 5 times over the last month or so. 

Comment by Allison M. down Ogden 7.9 mi on July 3, 2012 at 5:33am

Just wanted to touch on a few things that Garth said, from another perspective...

Spinach can definitely be more than a single crop, especially in a shady area. You can just pick the leaves off, and more will grow back, just like kale and chard. It doesn't do well in the summer, though. But there's a leafy green called "new zealand spinach" that does well. Then you can plant spinach again starting in late September, for the fall crop. I had mine last through winter last year.

Beets can be ready in less than two months, with the greens ready in less than one month. You can cut off and eat the greens while the root is still growing, and the greens will grow back as long as you leave a few inches. You can get 3 good beet crops in a season here.

Radishes are more like 40 days (seed to table) and don't grow well in the heat. The leaves grow, but they don't bulb. Spring/fall only.

Comment by Garth Liebhaber on July 3, 2012 at 2:07am

Lettuce is great for shady - it usually bolts (goes to seed) in full mid-summer sun. 

Spinach is a single crop - you have to replant after picking (or plant alternately "successive" rows. So the next rows are coming up while the first are maturing.

Chard is super, too. It does well both in full sun and partial shade. I think you have enough time for that, too. Chard is actually great to start indoors in spring.

Kale is great. It is a bienniel, so it overwinters, though will go to seed the second year, but I've had success cutting the sprouts off and getting successive pickings for several years. Aphids are the enemy, though.

Beets I'm not sure about. They usually take a full season to grow, but I believe are also cold tolerant, so you might be able to squeeze a crop in.

Radishes are a sure trick! 20 days. Garlic is also a must. You can put in a fall crop in Oct/Nov as well as a Spring crop in Mar/Apr.

You should also plant some flowers. Calendula are my favorite, Marigolds keep the bugs away and Sunflowers capture everyone's imagination! Good luck!

Comment by Sarah D. on July 3, 2012 at 2:01am

Good question, Gin - I have a few kales and beets I've been holding onto...I think they're going in this week. Hoping that's good timing, too. h' : gooseberries from seed? And, are you still giving them away?

Comment by Gin on July 3, 2012 at 1:52am

I think I am going to try to plant some edibles in my front yard. It faces north but does get sun in the summer, esp some spots. Just no mid day sun. I am a fiend for beets, spinach, kale, lettuce, chard, etc. Should I go for it? Wait a few weeks? I never quite know how to handle the "successive" planting thing.

Comment by Gin on July 3, 2012 at 1:49am

Howard--what a lovely picture. Are your gooseberries in full sun? How long have they been established?

Comment by Anne Alt on July 3, 2012 at 1:17am

This is the first year we've had any significant crop of gooseberries, and they've been amazing.  Same with our raspberries.  I only planted them a few years ago, so they've finally gotten well enough established to produce well.  Lovely to be enjoying them every morning for breakfast.

Comment by Laura on June 13, 2012 at 10:47am

Anyone good with weed identification? I am trying to identify different types of thistle. I know that I have a lot of bull thistle but I also have another one that I can not identify. I am hoping it is blessed thistle or milk thistle.  I haven't found a good enough source to 100% identify

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