Summer Veggies to Grow

Coping with summer heat and the onslaught of insects in the vegetable patch can be quite challenging during the hot summer months.

Grow the heat lovers - capsicum and chillies, zucchini and squash. Dig the soil extra deep for summer vegetables, and work in generous amounts of organic matter - well-made compost and/or well-rotted animal and poultry manures. If you’ve been growing veggies during spring, dig any remaining mulch into the soil too.

When selecting the plants you want to grow, choose varieties that are known to grow well during your area’s harshest summer conditions. Look for local favourites or reliable hybrids.

If you have grown your plants from seed, put the containers in the veggie garden bed for a few days before planting them into the soil. This will help them acclimatise to the unique micro-climate in your garden.

When planting out seedlings allow plenty of space for air circulation around each plant, to help with moulds and mildews. Ensure that watering will be effective on hot days when a lot of water will evaporate from overhead sprinklers.

Building soil ‘moats’ around the base of plants can very effectively channel water directly to the root system.

Watering the plants regularly with seaweed liquid or compost tea will help them to combat heat stress. Plus using extra mulch on beds of summer vegetables will suppress those fast-growing summer weeds. The mulch will also help moderate the soil temperatures and keep the roots of the plants cool.

Keep the mulch about 8 cm clear of the base of each plant so that water doesn’t have to penetrate the mulch to reach the root zone.

Try to buy organic seeds and seedlings if you can - or save your own organic seed this year and grow your own seedlings next year.

Heat stress causes more damage to seedlings in hot weather than insects or disease. Water them daily until well established, which is usually about two weeks from planting them into the garden.

Insects and diseases
As insects tend to be more numerous during summer, be prepared to spray or dust plants occasionally with nontoxic preparations. Insecticidal soap works well for aphids and whiteflies, and Dipel (Bacillus thuringiensis) will control chewing caterpillars.

Moulds and mildews are the most prevalent diseases affecting squash and zucchini. Control with Bordeaux mixture or water mixed 10 parts to 1 with fresh milk.

Try a change of attitude
A few insects or a little damage to leaves and fruit doesn’t change their edibility or delicious fresh flavour.

Capsicums and Chillies
Have you ever been halfway through cooking a meal or preparing a salad and realise you don’t have an important ingredient - a capsicum? Wouldn’t it be great to run outside and grab a fresh colourful capsicum or chilli from the veggie patch?

Although often called sweet peppers, the correct name for this fruit is capsicum. (Capsicum annuum). It is a relative of the potato and the tomato and cultivation is similar to tomatoes. Also related to hot chillies, capsicums are sweeter tasting and not hot to eat.

They are actually perennials, and able to grow for quite a few years, although they are usually treated as annuals as they are badly affected by frost.

The fruit is glossy, smooth-skinned and about 10 to 12 cm long by 6 to 10 cm across, with three or four lobes which slightly taper to one end. Some varieties are long and tapered. Capsicums also come in a range of colours, most commonly green or red, but also golden, black, mauve and orange.

Capsicums are actually fruits, but are used as a vegetable. Paprika and cayenne pepper (both well known spices) are different varieties of capsicums which are more suited to drying.

Red capsicums contain a higher vitamin A and C content than green capsicums. One fruit contains approximately 300 milligrams of vitamin C, compared to an orange which contains about 50 milligrams.

The red varieties are also rich in beta carotene which the body converts to vitamin A. One red capsicum contains about 2 teaspoons of natural sugar, making them more popular for flavour.

Yellow capsicums have almost as much natural sugar, but the green variety have little sugar and so taste slightly more bitter.

How to grow
Capsicums grow best in the warmer months of the year and don't like extreme changes in weather or temperature. The bush is medium sized, up to a metre tall, and the fruit forms from small white flowers.

Fruit is ready to harvest about 11 to 13 weeks after planting the seedlings. Because of the long growing season required, plants need to be started about eight to ten weeks before they are ready to be planted directly into the vegetable garden.

Popular Variety:
Californian Wonder ~ most popular and original bell type. Heavy producer, thick and sweet fruit to 10cm. Use green or ripen to rich red, for maximum vitamin C. 68-89 days.

It’s best to sow the seed in containers as these plants establish very slowly when grown from seed. If planted directly into the garden, the tiny seedlings are often suffocated by weeds.

Sow the seed in a tray or polystyrene box filled with a mixture of compost, sand and fine soil. Press down firmly and cover lightly with a thin layer of fine sand. Cover with damp newspaper until the tiny seedlings come through.

Transplant into small pots when 5 cm high, and continue to grow on until large enough to be planted into the garden when they are about 15 cm high.

Established seedlings are also available from most nurseries or garden suppliers.

Plants should be placed 45 cm apart, in rows 60 cm apart. They need at least five or six hours of sunlight each day.

Five or six plants will supply the average family with plenty of capsicums for table use.

Soil preparation
This versatile vegetable prefers a semi-rich soil, as excess fertiliser will encourage leaf growth at the expense of fruit. Fork over the soil and add a generous amount of
well-made compost or plant in soil that was heavily fertilised for a previous heavy feeding crop such as cabbage or cauliflower.

When the fruit starts to swell give the plants a weekly feed of liquid manure. As the stems of the bush can be quite brittle, its best to cut the fruit from the plant.

Select fruit (either at the green stage, or red and fully ripe) that is firm, with a glossy, unwrinkled skin. Keep in the vegetable crisper or a plastic bag in the refrigerator, and use within five days.

Chillies
Hot Chillies are grown using the same growing techniques as capsicum, and are becoming increasing popular for curries and Asian dishes.

Varieties:
Jalapena ~ small oval fruit to 3 cm diameter up to 7 cm long. Bush to one metre. Bright red firm thick flesh, most widely eaten, first chilli in space in 1982. 65- 80 days.

Long Red Cayenne ~ slim 1cm fruit, 5 to 10 cm long. Hot flavour in cooking, dried can be used in sauces and soups and decoratively, mostly used in powdered form. Cold cayenne tea can be used against aphids. 70-75 days.

Zucchini and Squash
Native to America, and known in Europe as courgettes, summer squash and zucchini are soft pulpy vegetables.

Best if lightly steamed to retain valuable vitamin A. Zucchini are marrows - picked when they are very young and have a delicious and delicate taste.

Squash and zucchini need a soil germinating temperature of about 12 to 35 degrees C and a similar growing temperature.

One or two plants will provide more than enough for the average family. Zucchini needs to be grown quickly, and this means keeping them moist but not sodden.

Cultivation
Rich soil and plenty of sunshine are essential. Dig holes 30 cm square, 90 cm apart and mix the soil with plenty of well-rotted manure/compost. Form a wide saucer shaped depression with the excavated soil forming a circular rim. Mulch thickly around the prepared areas.

Plant four or five seeds in each depression, and water in gently. Seeds should germinate in 7 to 10 days. Thin the plants when about 8cm high, leaving the strongest three plants to grow on. Remove the unwanted seedlings by cutting them off with scissors at ground level.

The vines will spread over the mulch, suppressing weeds, and the vegetables will stay clean. When flowers begin to form, side-dress with more manure or compost.

Foliar fertilise with seaweed extract every two weeks to control moulds and mildews, keep the plants healthy and optimise fruit set. Try to keep the water off the leaves and foliage to help control moulds and mildews. The large leaves may wilt during very hot weather, but will recover when watered.

Harvesting
Harvest zucchini when fruit is about 15 cm long and squash a few days after the fruit has first formed.

Varieties:
Zucchini *Black zucchini; early bearing, uniform dark green, fine quality, bush type. 50-63 days.
Squash *Early white bush scalloped; flat fruit borne in profusion on bushy plants. Best when picked young. 48 days.

Recommended varieties are non-hybrid, open pollinated varieties.

*Available from Warm Earth - see our seeds page.

Delicious zucchini flower fritters for 6 people.
Ingredients: 40 flowers, 6 sprigs of parsley, 150 gms of flour, 2 eggs, 25mls cold milk, salt, pepper and tomato sauce.

Method: Clean the flowers, removing the stalks and pistils. Mix the flour, egg yolks, salt to taste and a small amount of olive oil. Gradually add milk, then whip the egg whites and add to the mixture together with the chopped parsley. Add salt and pepper.

Dip the flowers in the batter, and fry in hot oil until golden. Serve with home-made tomato sauce.