We have turned the calendar over to June, which means temperatures are heating up! Our spring garden harvest is rolling in with an abundant supply of tomatoes, squash, onions, and green beans.
Summers in Texas are hot, and many seasoned gardeners make plans to close the garden for a few weeks to escape the heat of July and August. One look at our Williamson County Vegetable Planting Guide shows that the options for planting in June and July start to get slim. However, if you are willing to endure the heat, we have some heat-loving vegetables that you can plant in June.
Two of my favorite vegetables grow great in the summer heat
, okra and southern peas! You can also plant cantaloupe, Malabar spinach, and sweet potatoes in June.
Okra is a southern staple, and it will produce through the fall. I love it fried, roasted, and even grilled, but boiled okra is an acquired taste that I am still trying to acquire. The old faithful okra variety is Clemson Spineless, a favorite of gardeners for more than 80 years. Also try Emerald, Lee, or Cajun Delight varieties. Okra needs to be picked every one to two days to maintain production. Pick the pods when they are young because okra can get tough and stringy.
Southern peas are another favorite of mine, and we have so many great varieties for Central Texas. Try Crowder, Pink Eye Purple Hull, Lady Cream or Texas Cream 40. My personal favorite is Zipper Cream, and it was one of the top picks in the Master Gardener variety trial in 2019. The two problems we encountered with southern peas was an outbreak of aphids and a rust fungus. The aphids were treated by knocking them off with a water hose, and we used a copper fungicide for the rust. I have Zipper Cream peas already planted this year, and I cannot wait for the harvest!
Sweet potatoes are a fun crop to grow but be prepared to give them lots of space! You can purchase sweet potato slips or start your own at home. A sweet potato slip is a rooted sprout that grows out of a sweet potato tuber. To start your own slips, fill a foil pan or other flat container with a moist potting soil or water (either one will work), then cut a sweet potato in half lengthwise and place it cut side down in the soil or water. You want at least half of the potato sticking up out of the water or soil and be sure to not let it get dry. The sweet potato will produce several sprouts or slips that you can twist off or cut off when it has roots and several leaves. Plant sweet potato slips by the end of June for a harvest in the fall.
Enjoy some summer Texas gardening with these delicious summer crops! For more gardening information, contact the Williamson County Extension Office at 512-943-3300.
