We are right in the heart of summer. It’s hot, humid, and those darn thunderstorms can’t seem to make up their minds. This can be a tough time of year if you are trying to grow normal “summer crops”. Our climate is just too much for tomatoes this time of year. However, there’s so much to grow now, even with fall right around the corner. Let’s get into the best seeds to sow in July to set your Florida garden up for success.
Growing Conditions In July
Highs are in the low 90’s with lows in the mid 70’s. The UV index is 11 and the pest pressure is high, and will be for a couple more months.
Be careful when gardening in the full sun, though. The humidity makes the heat stick right to you and no amount of sweat will cool you off. Also…. there’s lots of mosquitos if you try to garden in the morning or evening.
Here’s what I like to do.
Garden during the afternoon while the kids play in the sprinkler or their little blow up pool/splash pad. As needed, I can cool off with them. 🙂 And a wide brimmed sun hat is helpful, too.
The best part of gardening in the summer here is that once those seeds are in the ground, the rains will take care of the rest. Plus they’ll grow so vigorously they’ll be able to out compete weeds for the most part.
What seeds to sow in July
Again, you’ll notice a lot of repeats this month, since most everything we can sow now can also be sowed in June.
Cucurbits
These are some of the most enjoyable seeds to sow in July. They grow big, bushy and will turn your garden landscape into something out of a fairytale, especially if grown in a tunnel trellis.
- Kent pumpkins – I’ve personally never grown this variety but I’ve heard it does phenomenally in the heat and humidity.
- Seminole pumpkins – a Florida native similar to acorn squash. Grows reliably well here which is no surprise since this is it’s home. I’ve had my best success sowing these guys by taking an old, small pumpkin, cutting it up and shallowly burying it in my yard. Didn’t have to water the thing at all and the seeds popped up like daisies. 😀
- Gherkin cucumbers – I’m trying these guys out for the first time this year. They have small seeds and will need to be kept weed free and well watered to sprout. We shall see how it goes!
- Luffa – these guys are absolute champs. The immature fruit is edible and the mature fruits provide natural sponges for use in the home. They produce so much organic matter that they are a winner in my garden. I don’t know about you, but coming up with enough green material to make compost can be challenging.
- Kikinda – This is another gourd that is also edible. Apparently the fruit is very tasty in stir fry’s. I tried growing these last year but the landscaping guys cut it down before it could produce :/ The foliage is soft as velvet which is great if you have sensitive skin. This one won’t make you all itchy
- Chayote – Super delicious tropical summer squash? Not quite sure what category this plant would fall under but it grows similarly to the gourds and pumpkins. Long vines, loves climbing. This plant starts from a rooted fruit. The seeds are hard to remove without breaking so a whole fruit is used to start the next plant.
Legumes
These seeds to sow in July will really help round out the calories you’re producing in your back yard. Just, forgive the flatulence 😂
- Chinese noodle/yard long beans – these guys are amazing. They taste just like your traditional green beans except each bean is 12-18 inches long! They are beautiful in the garden and kids love them. You can grow these all year round if you want to supplement the water needs during the dry season.
- Puerto Rican black beans – These beans also produce super long pods filled with about 20 beans each. They grow so prolifically you may need to cut them back from time to time. They make beautiful purple flowers that all pollinators love. Even hummingbirds!
- Asparagus peas – Sometimes called winged beans, these produce good sized pods that taste like a sugar snap pea wrapped in a bigger package. The larger the pods the tougher and stringier they become so it’s best to harvest while they are only a few inches long. These produce baby blue flowers and grow happily straight into fall and early winter.
- Black eyed peas – Super easy to grow and super productive. We grow a pink hulled, red eyed variety because, why not? You can sow these all throughout the summer. So, if you all of a sudden have an empty spot in your garden, throw a couple of these seeds in the ground and they’ll take off.
- Peanuts – Peanuts can grow almost year round in Florida. However, to give them plenty of time in the hot sun, don’t start them any later than the beginning of July. If you notice your peanuts yellowing prematurely add a handful of Epsom salts around the base of the plants every couple weeks and they should darken to a beautiful green in no time.
Sweet Potatoes and Yams
Sweet potatoes are seriously the easiest crop to grow for a beginner gardener. Recently I purchased two new varieties to try out from Irish Eyes Garden Seeds. Those slips are taking off and I couldn’t be happier.
For more on growing sweet potatoes, check out this post.
Eggplant
These guys thrive in our heat and humidity. If only we ate them, 😂😢 So, if you love eggplant grow them now! You’ll have great success with them, I’m sure.
Garlic Chives
These guys will grow year round here, and will benefit from a bit of afternoon shade. Grow these under you’re taller plants like the squashes and gourds. They make a great substitute for green onions.
Lemongrass
This is one of my favorite plants. It smells amazing, looks amazing, tastes amazing. What’s not to love? Plus it produces so much organic matter that you need to make great homemade composts.
Flowers
The beans will produce flowers that bring in a lot of the pollinators your garden will need. But there are other flower seeds to sow in may that will add beauty to your garden and of course, bring in more good bugs.
Some of my favorite and easiest to grow are:
- Marigolds
- Coreopsis
- Rudbeckia
- Sunflowers
- Zinnia’s
Native Florida flowers are also great to grow in your garden. They want to be here so you can trust that they won’t up and die on you during the summer heat and rain. One that I can’t seem to stop growing is Bidens Alba.
For more on Florida native flowers visit www.flawildflowers.org
Check out this free Florida Gardening Guide for more Florida specific gardening tips!
I’d love to know what else you all grow this time of year. What works best for you? We’ve recently moved from our mostly clay soil to an all sand soil. We’re finding that some of the things that grew great for us previously are really struggling in our new location.
Have you all dealt with the struggle of gardening in sand? I’d love to know what plants did best for you as you worked on building your soils health and fertility.
Happy Gardening. 😊
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