Tips for Successful Late Season Planting- Dealing with Plant Stress

We tried an experiment starting sweet corn, watermelon, squash, beans and cukes during this last week of 90+ temps. Soaked the seeds overnight, saturated the soil, planted and then mulched with all of our spent broccoli and cauliflower leaves. For added pest prevention, we laid down a shade cloth over each bed to deter curious squirrels chipmunks and birds. We've had germination through the soil within 3-4 days on everything, and they are looking strong even with the heat. Gotta get creative this time of year!

Life gets in the way...THAT is the statement of the day! Right now, this year, we are planting less than last year, exactly because of life. That, and temperatures are oppressive already, much earlier than usual here in Georgia. Every year cannot be a bumper year, sadly.

Shade cloth is a must this summer. I am glad to have them.

I have worked on mending and adding compost to our soil for our vertical gardens here in zone 7b with some success. The greatest problems this year are a few you have addressed well here, increasing microbial content and keeping worm/beetle damage at bay. Oh, and definitely appreciate that we're not the only ones sowing crop seeds late in the season.

A wonderful, timely video for us central Kentucky folk. Thanks for your clear and concise information. Your delivery is wonderful.

Just want to say you rock the wide brim hats and love your style in general. Thank you for the valueable info as always! 🙏🏽

Zone 3 here. My garden is just getting going! ❤

As the climate seems to be changing faster than I can keep up I’m planting later ie: beans bush, cucumbers, eggplant etc. It has helped with bean beetles and cover with insect netting until they bloom. Also found much less damage with purple bush beans instead of the regular green beans. Used shade cloth for the first time this year in all my years of gardening! Thanks so much for posting these tips because it is getting challenging. 💚

A garden buffet of tips you are not born knowing. Sometimes it is the little things we do in the beginning that makes a large difference come harvest time. A few things I do. When I 1st started gardening I also started a worm bin, 5 years later I can easily generate 500 lbs of vermicompost a year, more if I really wanted to. I use a lot of vermicompost in the garden. When I transplant seedlings I mix a generous helping of vermicompost in the planting hole, when I direct sow, add vermicompost into the soil. After I plant or sow, I use a vermicompost/compost extract and water everything in with that. Prior to heavy rains I will top dress the established plants with vermicompost to give the plants a boost of nutrients and biology. You mentioned the importance of healthy soils, diversity in the soil biology is really key, vermicompost supplies part of that. After I direct sow both in the spring and summer, I cover the seeds with finished leaf mold, then a light mulch of dried grass, the leaf mold holds a ton of moisture as does the vermicompost, with normal watering everything does fine. I have to look into that bacillus you tried on your tomatoes. For my nemesis, powdery mildew, the only thing that worked for me last year was lactic acid bacteria (LAB), getting a head start with that this year. Using more chop and drop of comfey, borage and weeds this year as a mulch. Still learning about carbon nitrogen ratios and nutrient cycles, seems to be doing OK. Added plantings of yarrow and bee balm to draw in more beneficial predatory insects, can't have too many of the good guys. More of a comment than you were looking for for sure, but you did ask, lol. As always, a terrific video! Stay Well!!!!

North central OH here. Your video boosted my confidence in my late start garden . Thank you.

Rain! Glorious rain! Finally! My gardens were suffering with the heat and drought. I had to cover my basil for a week. Now I think everything has a chance and maybe I can fertilize. Extreme heat in NH is uncommon but we broke records last week, even reaching 100F. VT had rain. Northern NH had rain, but I'm in the central part of NH and, no rain for two weeks. After the rain over the weekend, I mulched with red cedar shavings. Seems alright.

This was just the video I needed here just South of Lexington KY! Lots of helpful steps on where you are and where we are going in the growing season. Love your videos for nearby zone insight Jenna!

I started doing this a few years ago and you are right. It is a lot less work all at once both at planting time and harvest time. I only can jalapenos and everything else I just eat fresh so staggered planting works out great.

So this year I also planted cucumbers and melons out late to avoid the cucumber beetles. As soon as they emerged I hit them with the surround kaolin clay. This seems to have helped with sun scald and pest pressure as so far there have been no signs of it. I also frequently water and mulched the beds with about 1-2 inches of what I could get my hands on that I knew would be safe - pine shavings. The soil has retained moisture really well, the plants are doing really well so far even in this heat wave. I'm looking forward to seeing what the results are later this year.

Love your vids! As a beginner you are my 1st "go to" for anything. I was concerned I didn't get things planted soon enough and then the heat wave eased my worries. Your garden is amazing and I'm sure it is basically 24/7 work.

Funny at 15:59 Chicken owners would understand that 😂

😊 Watching while eating dinner on the back porch over looking gardens. When potatoes come out I plan to put in zucchini seeds because they’ll grow quickly, will be higher up in the raised bed and I need to restock my freezer for winter bread baking.

It's funny that you are now leaning into the liquid fertilizers. I have always used the liquids, usually as a foliar spray because it seems to make a faster improvement, but I just started adding in some granular fertilizers. I have always struggled to grow melons; the growth always seems very slow and I get tiny melons. I decided to try some bone meal and Espoma Plant Tone as a side-dressing every few weeks and that has made a big improvement. Now I'm testing it on all of my plants (even though I'm pretty happy with their growth and production).... always trying to tweak and improve things.

Been going through my own struggles. without my garden and dog (dog is getting old), I would be lost, really miss my cat. My garden is sowed with love, I let her go her way and try to just add more beauty. 2/3rds of what I grow i give away or feed to my worms, I am fine with that. No matter what, my garden has brought nature back into my life. I have to start celebrating the garden outside again with my violin . A couple years ago I used to play a lot outside, actually grew an audience once or twice. Hope to survive the next year, really need to, many living things depend on that.Here is a poem I wrote a year or so ago. Who would care, at the stare, of a hummingbird! My only peace, is what they mean to me . When I am gone, no one will care, but the hummingbird, when they take, the flowers away. I care not bout the bounty of the garden, of what it brings to me, I care more for the bounty of the garden, that gives to all things that are free.          It is my soul, as a combat veteran, I bring to thee, the aroma of the herbs on a  warm evenings night, it should have been me. The garden has given me a light, not to fear the lonesome night. Love your videos. Please stay well!!!!

I love your expert educational videos Jenna! You are the best!