Too Hot to Garden?

Most of the country has been affected by this summer's drought conditions. Heat has been unbearable and rain has been almost nonexistent. Here in mid-Missouri, temperatures have reached record breaking highs, with the first three digit temps in June since 1988.

Every county in Missouri has been declared a disaster. Farmers are already applying for relief and news reports abound regarding the increasing cost of food.

The hobbyist gardener has likely seen the effects of the drought in their own backyard. Gardens that normally require watering once every two to three days have needed watering every day, sometimes twice each day, since early June. Some fruits and vegetables suffer from sun scorch. Plants stop blooming and existing blooms wilt and die. Even the most careful hobbyist gardener can lose a multitude of crops simply because the temperatures are too high.

Is it really too hot to garden or can certain measures be taken to insure crops against the heat? This all depends upon the types of items that are being grown and the location of the garden itself. My little garden is located in a sunny patch in the backyard. This is an ideal spot for most summers as plants receive long hours of sunlight and no direct shade. This year, certain plants continue to thrive while others are not able to withstand the extreme heat.

Disclaimer: This is not a scientific study. This year marks my first successful garden and everything that I've found could be a fluke. Still.


Cucumbers continue to thrive despite the high temperatures. However, I have to remember to water the cucumbers twice each day. Otherwise, most of the blooms (male and female) wilt and drop. I've lost a number of female blooms on those days after I chose to water only in the afternoon. Even so, I have more cucumbers than I can possibly use, despite my recent exploration into the world of pickle-making.

Peppers and Tomatoes do not like extreme heat. While both types of plants like sunny spots, the extreme heat causes the plants to go into hibernation mode. This means that while they're trying to survive, fruit is not produced. You can have big, green, leafy plants in extreme heat if you keep them well watered. I haven't yet found a way to make them produce. However, my experience is that as soon as the temps drop, an abundance of tomatoes and peppers appear. I have read that you should try to shade your plants in high temperatures. I've done that with some of mine, but it really hasn't helped at all.

Cold weather loving plants like lettuce, spinach, and brassicas may not grow at all in the heat, or they may bolt immediately. This means that instead of getting large, beautiful, and tasty, they begin flowering far too soon. If you can't shade or find other ways to cool these plants, you may simply be out of luck. Except for lettuce, this is not personal experience. I have chosen to start these cold loving plants, along with some others, from seed beginning now in the extreme temps. Your best bet may just be to start over.

Squash plants can handle more heat than some of the others as they have a natural barrier against extreme sunlight. Like cucumbers, their large leaves protect them from the harsh light of day. However, I have also found that the pests that are attracted to squash plants, particularly squash bugs, are much more difficult to control in the heat. During cooler days, I was able to keep them at bay with peppermint. Now, I have had to resort to drastic measures, including uprooting a couple of badly infested plants and trimming leaves that were covered in eggs. This may just be a coincidence, though.

One plant that I have found that loves the heat is okra. It has taken me a while to figure out exactly how to grow and harvest okra, but now that I have, I have more than enough with just the four plants left that the rabbits/dog didn't destroy. If you live in a very hot climate, okra seems to be an excellent crop to grow.

The plants that I have that have not done well at all in the heat are the green beans and watermelon. I had great plans for my watermelon, but even with twice daily watering, the little green balls have completely stopped growing. The green beans became such a lost cause that I uprooted them and planted radishes and chard in their place.

Again, this is not a be-all end-all guide for growing in the heat. This is my first foray and just what I have learned. I hope it may help someone along the way. Happy gardening!