HEAT-TOLERANT COVER CROPS: Save Your Soil & Take the Summer Off!

[@rickf.9253]

With our AZ growing seasons so different from the east and mid west, I so appreciate your videos.

[@makeupgirl8886]

good for us in super hot & dry Texas, as well. It is so helpful to have someone addressing the 100+ degree weather in July, August & Sept, and helping us to take care of our soil while most of our plants are not producing and pretty much sitting dormant until it cools off again in October.

[@amyenever]

I never thought to do this. Thanks! Makes sense now why I see local farms have things planted off-season

[@bsweat9230]

Great information, thank you. Florida zone 9.

[@Freedom2025-x2b]

Florida 9b…..had already decided not to plant veggies until maybe September. We’re already in the 90’s with no/sparce rain.

[@debbiesorganicgarden]

@@Freedom2025-x2b peanuts, asian long beans, sweet potatoes will grow in our hot summer (I am in central Florida, 9b).

[@fatasiancat]

Thank you for sharing.

[@bethb8276]

So hot and humid in the summer months for South Florida. Sweet potatoes love it though!

[@mariap.894]

Minus the Iguanas 🦎 They are eating all the leaves from my vines! I don't know if I'll get anything 💔

[@bethb8276]

@@mariap.894 Have you tried insect netting? Amazon carries it. I've also heard from others that old dvds strung up so they can spin in the wind helps, but I haven't tried that.

[@haleyjuddrobinson8637]

Garden looks amazing!

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Thank you!

[@samanthawolf1317]

Thank you! I grew up in the Midwest and gardening in California is so different that how I learned. Your videos are extremely helpful!

[@patriciaterry5539]

Yes! I plant to plant a cover crop! Yes!

[@virginiabond7071]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@LifeHomeandGardenwithAnaRica]

Thank you so much for your great advice!

[@JasonLumactod23]

Great advice in this vid for our AZ summer gardens! Thanks for sharing.

[@hazratkhan9232]

Boath the gardin and gardener are getting beautiful day by day.whats the secret is still a secret🤭. anyhow best wishes and prayers for boath to flurish as it is.

[@mariap.894]

Angela, you are on fire! 💥💯💫 Great info. Do you have any video about solarize planters during the summer months? Would be interesting to know your opinion ❤ Thank you for all you do💐

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

There is information about how to do it at the end of this post: growinginthegarden.com/summer-gardening-in-arizona/

[@traryvery8851]

Thanks for your channel Angela. I value your advice and experience and your garden is lovely. Our challenge is lowish rainfall and hot dry summers (the worst heatwave recorded was 15 consecutive days over 95F but I know other places have it hotter). Interestingly, when I was younger a prevailing view was to only mulch because living ground covers would take the water from what we wanted to grow. Soil health is so much more dynamic and complex! Now I value greater plant diversity and keeping roots in the soil and green cover to shade it, along with mulch and added shade during peak heat. Thanks again for your excellent advice.

[@lindag9975]

Thanks! I host a small gardening group in the Valley, and we watch your videos at each meeting.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

So nice of you, thanks.

[@madisonshelby4411]

Where?? That sounds like a blast

[@SpringNotes]

Thank you ! Such straightforward advice - love it ❤

[@TheH20please]

Thank you for this video. You're a very good teacher. I container garden here in south Texas, zone 9a, where it often reaches over 115* F in July and August. I think I'll try this cover crop method. Very interested to see what happens.

[@lanettelawrence6308]

Thank you very much for that cover crop information. I had just decided to plant sweet potato slips in the front two ares for that purpose. You just confirmed my point.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Makes for easy summer gardening!

[@maydanavabarnett5177]

Thanks for the great info, Angela! I have some of these seeds already and can put them to good use to improve my soil. 👍👌🏽😊🌿 I garden in southern New Mexico close to El Paso, TX. Hopefully, some day I can relocate to the Phoenix area 🌈😉

[@juneramirez8580]

Phoenix is getting so unbelievably hot, you may want to rethink that move!

[@st2577]

I never knew this . This is amazing information. Thank you

[@dawndawn6946]

Thank you, Angela! I tried cowpeas, buckwheat, and one other cover crop before (can't remember). I wasn't sure what to do at the end of the season. I chopped and dropped, but apparently, the cowpeas had peas on them. I have them all over my property now.😂

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Yep, that can happen for sure.

[@ooulalah4333]

Nice! I'd take any crop over non edible weeds and bermuda!

[@ObsessiveAboutCats]

Great advice! I did this last October with a new bed I wouldn't need until March. That bed's contents are going absolutely nuts. Thank you for the reminder to do this to my former onion bed that is about to be empty.

[@rickwarner516]

So thankful for your channel. Just got back from a month long vacation and everything is brown 😕😕😕😕

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Yay for month long vacations! Sorry about your garden.

[@L.C.vanVive]

Not really too hot: damn too wet. Perhaps a video on how to garden when it rains all the time. Even winter was very wet (here in Belgium).

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Each area has its challenges for sure. Send me some of your rain and I'll send you some of my heat!

[@ooulalah4333]

She lives in the desert SW US and shares what she's learned by experience, fortunately...for us desert dwellers. No doubt there are experts for your zone as well.

[@juneramirez8580]

​@@ooulalah4333 I agree with you. Since we get so little rain, she can't really show how to grow in a wet climate!

[@andreac7223]

Helpful exceptional video always dropping the tea in gardening! ❤thank you

[@jenifercarpenter3185]

Love watching your videos . Our Australia summers get hot . I m lucky not heatwave where I am . Live inland 3klms from the sea . Get lots very strong winds . It,s amazing what I can get too grow. My daughter and family are only 10 away ,we swap fruit and the odd veg.

[@LividGiraffe17]

Good intro!

[@outbacklarder7767]

Great advice Angela. I grow peanuts/groundnuts in my hot Western Australian outback garden as a summer cover crop. They love the heat and you get nuts in autumn/fall! When I pull them up the soil is always in great condition under their shady canopy. And they're nitrogen fixing! It's winter here now but next spring/summer I'm going to plant a mix of peanuts and cow peas. If I can get some seed I'll plant Tithonia too now that I've seen your video.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Love that. Thanks for the tip. After reading your comment, I planted some peanuts today to try them as a cover crop. The summers are certainly challenging. I appreciate you sharing your experience and what works for you!

[@intuitivegina]

Thank you ❤

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

You're welcome 😊

[@mrsjaydie]

Such a helpful video!

[@loydacoulombe1397]

We are in the same city. We have bunnies coming in and devouring everything they see. Even my marigolds this week are gone. I have tomatoes and zucchini left. They are squeezing thru the smallest opening.. My pumpkin had flowers almost ready to open and this morning they were gone... It is so frustrating

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Shoot. I'm so sorry. That is very frustrating.

[@makeupgirl8886]

bless your heart. that is frustrating. many of us here use tulle (like the kind for wedding veils) to cover our plants. works for most little critters. bunnies eat everything down to the ground. I've planted catnip in hopes of attracting the neighborhood cats to my garden. that helps, too.

[@debbiesorganicgarden]

I got rid of rabbits by making a diluted but still hot pepper spray and sprayed the leave with it. I did that with bean plants and it did not damage the foliage. You could tell where the rabbits stopped eating immediately. IDK if the spray would affect tomatoes or zucchini. I would try a few leave to see if it hurt the plant. If not, your rabbits will be knocking on your door for some water!

[@kathiesimpson571]

Thank you, Angela. Even though I live in NE TN, your videos are always helpful and applicable. One huge question please. Where can I find that awesome stainless soil scoop that you use?💚🌱💦

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Thanks. Amazon: amzn.to/454OQQB

[@karenr7931]

I'm curious.. At the end of the video, was it my imagination or were you adding the mulch from your pathways to the beds? If so, how long do you leave the material on the pathways before you use it on your beds as mulch?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

I use the same mulch in my pathways and beds. So I'm always pulling it on or off or putting it in the worm bins, etc. In this case I had pulled all of it off before laying the plant matter down and piled the mulch by the side of the bed so I was putting it back on the bed.

[@highdesertgrowingABQ]

Beautifully and concisely laid out. Bravo!

[@naomi2646]

Thank uou for your help. It's crazy hot summers in north Texas. Could I plant alfalfa for a cover crop in the summe rmonths?

[@arialblack87]

My experience is that if it is already HOT, it will be difficult to germinate. If it is planted in spring or autumn, it will survive the summer beautifully if enough water is available.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Thanks for answering - I don't have any experience with alfalfa.

[@ooulalah4333]

This is exactly what I've wanted to know. Excellent!

[@glamrhinestones9283]

Suggestions for mulch that is not wood. I used it and had termites.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

More ideas in this blog post: growinginthegarden.com/mulching-your-garden-what-to-use-how-to-use-it/

[@melissakarner6707]

I use straw.

[@ShakiraYah]

9b Texas, eggplant, okra, watermelon,purple hull peas, peppers and squash are going strong. Zinnias are my cover crop of choice . Stay hydtated folks.

[@tory464]

💚👍

[@katiecrothers6945]

What is the metal gates thing you've placed over the plants to help hold them down?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

A watering grid. I lift it off (stays attached) when I'm working and then you put it back down.

[@makeupgirl8886]

@@GrowingInTheGarden those watering grids you use look so awesome. Where do they sell them for a good price?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

​@@makeupgirl8886 They are from Garden in Minutes. I use the garden grids in all of my raised beds. Use code Angela10 to save $10 off $100 or GITG5 to save 5 percent on any size order shrsl.com/3yanv

[@makeupgirl8886]

which are the peas & beans that can grow in the 100+ degree weather? Is that black eyed peas, or some other beans? I know they aren't cover crops, but I've had the best luck when it gets over 100 with okra and eggplant.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Black eyed peas, tepary beans, asparagus beans, cow peas, etc. Yes okra and eggplant do pretty well.

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

If you're far enough North will sweet potatoes winter kill?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Yes, they are frost sensitive

[@mariagordon7724]

I have heard you mention that old city garbage cans can be purchased to use as compost bins. Do you know if that is still possible?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

You would need to check with City of Mesa and other local cities Solid Waste / Recycling divisions to see if they are still doing the program.

[@maryleeelden6214]

I live in Sun Lakes and have very little room for a garden, I have been trying grow bags, not sure what to do with them during the summer months, they dry out so quickly I am trying to keep a couple peppers and tomatoes going by moving them until the shade of a pistache tree, but with the other bags should I still keep the soil damp? Thanks, love your videos.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Hard to say if it's worth it to keep the soil in the grow bags moist all summer. Hard to build up good soil in a grow bag.

[@maryleeelden6214]

@@GrowingInTheGarden thanks for your reply , now I don’t have to feel guilty 😎

[@essentialcomforts2166]

do you prefer straw or wood chip for mulch? How thick do you put on straw?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

I prefer wood chips - birds make a mess of straw in my garden. A few inches of straw too.

[@mariachang2505]

May I ask what’s the gardening gloves that you use?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

I get the 3 pack at Home Depot for around $10

[@ooulalah4333]

Is there a cover crop I can broadcast on the surface of the ground (clay dirt) to choke out the weed seeds which will come up densely? They're pretty bad over some large areas...about 1/5 acre all together.

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

I'm not sure.

[@chosen2030]

Have you used comfrey, alfalfa or vetiver?

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Comfrey doesn’t like our heat - I haven’t tried the other two

[@juneramirez8580]

Now IF I can only keep the rabbits from eating everything that is growing. They seem to be smarter than I am this year! And I have an acre to protect!

[@barryfoster5173]

What percent sunblock shade cloth do you use 40% , 70%

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

I use 50% - This is the shade cloth I use: amzn.to/3P4nfYW

[@barryfoster5173]

@@GrowingInTheGarden thank you

[@user-mj8ml2vs5d]

Summer rains? 😂

[@GrowingInTheGarden]

Right?!? That video was from a July storm, so they do happen... hopefully we will get a lot of them this year.

[@lanettelawrence6308]

Thank you very much for that cover crop information. I had just decided to plant sweet potato slips in the front two ares for that purpose. You just confirmed my point.