About this episode

The episode discusses strategies for managing summer gardens under extreme heat and planning for fall crops.

Summer gardens are in full production, but extreme heat and changing weather patterns can create challenges for even the most experienced gardeners. In this episode of Hort Culture, Ray and Jessica discuss what they're seeing across Kentucky gardens as temperatures climb and crops begin producing. The conversation covers how prolonged heat affects common garden vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, green beans, berries, melons, and pumpkins. They explain common heat-related issues such as blossom drop, delayed ripening, leaf roll, blossom-end rot, sunscald, bitter cucumbers, uneven pollination, and reduced fruit set. The hosts also share practical strategies for helping gardens withstand summer stress through proper watering, mulching, thoughtful pruning, shade management, and variety selection. Along the way, they swap stories from their own gardens, including Jessica's children's "play garden," preserving the summer harvest, county fair gardening, and the excitement—and occasional frustrations—that come with growing your own food. They wrap up by looking ahead to fall gardening, discussing why July is the time to begin planning and planting cool-season crops like…

People in this episode

Hosts: Ray, Jessica

Topics covered

• summer gardening
• heat management
• vegetable production
• garden strategies
• fall gardening
• crop planning

Keywords

• summer gardens
• heat stress
• vegetable gardening
• crop management
• garden tips
• fall crops

Mentioned in this episode

Products: tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, green beans, berries, melons, pumpkins, carrots, spinach, broccoli

Books & works: play garden

Places: Kentucky

More episodes of Hort Culture

• Dr. Greg on Plants · July 21, 2026 · 50 min
• Living the Grant Life · July 10, 2026 · 48 min
• Helping Growers Grow · June 28, 2026 · 43 min
• Practical Botany Vocabulary Everyone Should Know · June 21, 2026 · 52 min
• Scout's Honor: Mid-Season Monitoring for Better Harvests · June 14, 2026 · 56 min

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