What vegetables to grow in tropical heat during summer in Texas and Florida? Peppers and okra

From Executive Gardener: "In this episode I provide an update of what will grow in the heat and humidity of Houston in the middle of the summer. Very few crops can grow and prosper in this brutal heat, but some really do well. Please look into building a community garden in your area."



Growing peppers in the heat is fine and dandy, however, once the night temperatures stay above 80 F, peppers will not produce fruit. They will flower but the flowers will fall off. Peppers, like tomatoes, need night temperatures around 70 F for optimal fruit production.

Jeff Bernhard from the Executive Gardener channel thinks he has found a solution. He waters peppers with cold water in the evening and he thinks this tricks the plants to perceive the soil temperature as lower than 80-90 F and thus to keep producing fruit. Watch him explain this approach in the video below:



"If you live in Zone 8, 9 or 10, you know that it is very difficult to grow sweet and bell Peppers in the middle of the summer with temperatures around 100 degrees every day. During the nights, the temperature gets to a low of 87 degrees. In these conditions flower buds drop off the plant, leaves wilt and fruit will certainly not set if temperatures do not get below 75 degree at night. I have found a way to grow bell peppers in these conditions all summer long in these hot, hot conditions and also get tons of peppers to set."

Vegetables to grow in the summer heat in Florida, Texas, Nevada, etc:

- eggplant
- okra
- peppers
- chard
- parsley
- green onions

Also, Seascape Strawberries are heat tolerant.

Related: How to grow Hot Peppers, from PepperJoes PennysTomatoes:

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