Enjoy your raised bed garden in July in Texas
So I am all in for year round gardening.
But if you decide to have an 11 month garden rather than a 12 month garden, July is the month to skip out. The days are so brutal and our overnight lows are too warm for most plants to fully recover. They are stressed to the max. Irrigation needs increase and if your garden gets more than 9 hours of sun, you may need to provide protection with a shade clothe for a few of the hottest hours. Your tomatoes and peppers may stop producing flowers due to the taxing heat.
But here are some tips to make it more fun:
Keep the healthy plants for a fall crop, remove the unhealthy ones.
Keep things pruned and healthy.
Your eggplants and okra will enjoy this heat and may not even need daily watering.
When your melons are softball size, reduce watering. Their flavor will improve in this heat.
Harvesting may be the primary bit of enjoyment this month; and possibly the only thing that takes you outside during these oppressive days! Keep up with it to take the pressure of the plants and enjoy some fresh mint and cucumber in a cold drink in the shade.
Use this month to plan your Fall garden, which is just around the corner!
Planting this month is hard - you will need to baby your seedlings so much it may not be worth it. But if you love working in the heat and want to plant something, try this:
Sow a few pumpkin seeds on the 4th of July, which would time them just right for a Halloween harvest.
In July, you can also quite easily plant:
Corn (by seed)
Okra (by transplants)
Peppers (by transplant)
Winter Squashes (also by transplant)
I hope you stay cool and enjoy yourself in your garden this month!