New Veggie garden

[Simon]

Hey All

I have been busy preparing a piece of ground in my backyard where i want to start planting some vegetables. Now the thing is that the back of my yard gets sunshine from morning until the sun sets, The sun gets really hot at mid day and most plants just die. Which vegetables can I plant in such an area without installing additional shade nets or anything. I live in Pretoria south Africa. Any ideas will be appreciated since i'm still new to gardening.

Thank you all in advance

 

[Cheerio]

That's a lot of sun. I can relate because I tried to grow vegetables in the hot climate of Texas. Most vegetable plants that require "full sun" need about 8 hours and more than that seemed to kill my plants. I think it was mainly from lack of water.

The best thing you can do is put a lot of mulch around the plants and water them often enough to keep up with the heat. Do your watering in the evening.

I'd say that the shade nets are probably your best bet to give your plants some protection from too much sun.

 

[TheCrazyPlantLady]

You may have luck with tomatoes, melons, squash, all of which love the sun. The biggest trick will be making sure that they have enough water. The tomatoes will provide a bit of shade for herbs, carrots, etc. So will the melons and squash plants if you give them trellises to climb up, rather than letting them sprawl on the ground. Good luck!

 

[Simon]

Hi all

thank you so much for your replies, I will take it all into consideration and experiment a bit and see how it goes. Just one more question. Should I plant directly into the ground or should i start by planting it in pots until its slightly grown ?

 

[gata montes]

Hi Simon
I grow fruit and veg in conditions which are possibly similar to yours, summer temperatures ranging from between 37 - 40 degrees, with at least 12 hours of unabating scorching hot sun and virtually no rain for at least 3 months. My veg/fruit patch faces mainly south.
As for choice - its unlimited, as you can grow virtually anything you desire.
Watering - you will need a plentiful supply of water, as there are times, that it will be necessary to water twice a day,
once in the morning, before the sun comes up and again in the evening, before the sun goes down. Depending on the size of your patch, you may like myself, find it easier to install an irrigation system.
Mulching - as Cheerio mentioned, this is a good idea, and I use horticultural sheeting for this purpose because not only does it keep the moisture in, but keeps the weeds at bay.
Shading - Some of my neighbors use some light shade and some like myself don't, and as yet have experienced nothing more than a few scorched leaves and the occasional watermelon explosion.
Starting in pots - most plants are best started off in pots and planted out, when strong enough to survive the hostile conditions. The only things I sow directly, are melons, squash, cucumbers and zucchini.
Hope this helps.

 

[TheCrazyPlantLady]

Hi Simon
I grow fruit and veg in conditions which are possibly similar to yours, summer temperatures ranging from between 37 - 40 degrees, with at least 12 hours of unabating scorching hot sun and virtually no rain for at least 3 months. My veg/fruit patch faces mainly south.
As for choice - its unlimited, as you can grow virtually anything you desire.
Watering - you will need a plentiful supply of water, as there are times, that it will be necessary to water twice a day,
once in the morning, before the sun comes up and again in the evening, before the sun goes down. Depending on the size of your patch, you may like myself, find it easier to install an irrigation system.
Mulching - as Cheerio mentioned, this is a good idea, and I use horticultural sheeting for this purpose because not only does it keep the moisture in, but keeps the weeds at bay.
Shading - Some of my neighbors use some light shade and some like myself don't, and as yet have experienced nothing more than a few scorched leaves and the occasional watermelon explosion.
Starting in pots - most plants are best started off in pots and planted out, when strong enough to survive the hostile conditions. The only things I sow directly, are melons, squash, cucumbers and zucchini.
Hope this helps.

You've had watermelon explode? Wow, that must be messy!

 

[gata montes]

Yes TheCarzyPlantLady, we have watermelon explosions on a regular basis, when the temperatures are up in the 38 - 40s.
I often have to pick them, when they are not quite ripe, but occasionally I miss a few. Which inevitably lead to an explosion, as when the flesh heats up, it causes a build up of pressure inside that tough skin and before you know it, without any warning, a watermelon has exploded leaving a sticky mess over the watermelon patch, which I have to say, is much more preferable than the few times I've had this occur in the storeroom. At least outside, a flock of blue magpies descend on the sticky mess and clear all but the skin.

 

[TheCrazyPlantLady]

Oh, my gosh that does sound messy. But does it make a big bang?

 

[gata montes]

Yes, TheCrazyPlantLady, they do make a bang, but not enough to startle you, unless of course, you were standing in the
vicinity and experiencing this phenomena for the first few times. For me, the most worrying aspect is, trying to avoid the barrage of flying watermelon flesh.

 

[TheCrazyPlantLady]

Well, I know that must be messy, but I must say, I'd love to see one explode!

 

[gata montes]

TheCrazyPlantLady - Would love to oblige with some photos, it is however, quite a difficult task, as there are no warning signs of when an explosion is imminent, and particularly difficult this year, due to the fact that, our summer has been unusually cool and so far no explosions have taken place, instead they just split and grin at you!

 

[Simon]

Hey guys
I have started planting now , gonna start with green peppers and tomato, I start by planting the seeds into a small pot and when it grows i move it into my garden. Dont know if it is necessary but someone told me that if I dont there is a good chance that insects will just eat my seeds , Does that happen ?

 

[MindyT]

I have had watermelons explode too. I did not realize it was because they got too hot. That makes sense. That summer was very hot with very little rain.

 

[justusforus]

I have been able to grow all types of squash in the hottest of summers here in California. They actually like well drained soil and you can experiment and see. Mine grow to mammoth proportions and incredible yields.

 

[headfullofbees]

In the Mediterranean, they use polytunnels to protect their plants from the sun and to keep in moisture.