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Corn is one of the great pleasures of the summer vegetable garden. Few things compare to picking an ear at its peak and enjoying its sweet, crisp kernels just minutes after harvest. But corn has one weakness that surprises many gardeners: its pollination process is extremely sensitive to hot weather. A heat wave that arrives…
How to Protect, Maintain, and Restore Your Vegetable Garden During Heat Waves Extreme summer heat is becoming one of the greatest challenges for vegetable gardeners. Days above 90°F are no longer unusual, and many regions now experience multiple stretches of 95°F to 105°F weather each growing season. Add warm nights, low humidity—or sometimes oppressive humidity—and…
After more than three decades of growing sweet corn in various climates, I can say that choosing the right variety for your garden is the single most important decision for a successful harvest. It affects not just the flavor but how well your crop grows in your region’s soil and weather. Whether you’re planting in…
One of the most common vegetable gardening mistakes is planting crops too close together. Small seedlings rarely look crowded at planting time, especially in spring when beds still appear open and empty. But as soil temperatures rise and plants enter active growth, crowded beds quickly become difficult to manage. Proper spacing is not wasted space….
Successful vegetable gardening begins below the surface. While air temperatures rise and fall quickly, soil warms slowly and steadily—and that warming pattern determines when seeds germinate, roots grow, and plants truly begin to thrive. The Soil Temperature Ladder is a simple way to understand these seasonal shifts by dividing the gardening year into clear temperature…
After growing okra in my summer garden for more than three decades, I’ve come to appreciate just how rewarding this heat-loving vegetable can be—if you give it the warmth and space it craves. Whether I’m growing a towering row of ‘Clemson Spineless’ in a sunny raised bed or tucking dwarf varieties into containers on the…
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