7 Perfect Vegetables to Grow in Hot Climates

If you're like me, you also deal with pretty hot temps during the hotter months of the year, so in this video @jacquesinthegarden and I cover 7 crops that can easily handle the heat and will save you a lot of time and headache!

IN THIS VIDEO

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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
00:17 - Malabar Spinach
01:30 - Okra
02:47 - Sweet Potatoes
04:34 - Summer Squash
05:33 - Peppers
07:52 - Tepary Beans
08:36 - Sunflowers

DISCLAIMER

[OMGitsaClaire]

In the South, where heat and humidity are the problem and nighttime temps don’t drop below 80 until at least September, in my experience, the things that really thrive are peppers, eggplants, certain squashes (spaghetti squash grow like weeds), mouse melons, sweet potatoes, okra, pole beans, red noodle beans, and cowpeas. If you live in a particularly hot and humid place, I especially recommend noodle beans. I put mine on an 8 foot tall bamboo tipi trellis and they swallowed it. We had more beans than we knew what to do with! They produced 18 inch long pencil thin purple pods for three solid months! We even ended up freezing a couple gallon bags full of cut beans for later.

[crystalhyuga]

A suggestion for really hot climates, water the peppers(or any plant really) early in the morning. It gives them time to soak up the water before the heat sets in and it decreases the likelihood of cooking your plants

[dugdale]

Sometimes I want to try these things in Scotland just to see how poorly they actually do here 😂

[rosea]

Malabar Spinach grows very well with okra as its trellis. Sweet potato leaves are also a delicious spinach substitute. Cherokee Trail of Tears Bean is a super productive pole bean. If you live in an area where vine borers are a problem, look for moschata or argyrosperma type squashes.

[donttrustjxlzz]

Love the growing tips you provide but I really like the history you give of the plants you are growing. Keep it up and thank you

[FinxOmally]

I'm in Sweden.
I tend to grow Chilli's in pots, stick them out on the balcony in the summer for them to get the all day and most of the night sun.. Then when it gets cooler, bring the pots in. To save them from the dark and frozen conditions. Trim them if they've got a bit dangley, and when it starts to warm up again straight back out on the balcony, and cut them into a better shape. As they're a few years old they recover really fast from being cut back and bush out really well. Have Habanero's, some finger chilli's and currently growing some Bhut Jolokia.
Love growing all Chilli's for making hot sauce.

[crystalprince]

I feel a dopamine rush when I watch your videos. Keep them coming! I’ve always been into gardening but every time I watch your videos I get more and more stoked to expand my garden and try something new. Thank you!

[noora]

For some time I had been dreaming of growing eggplants but I thought I would need to be living somewhere more southern location than Finland to be able to do it. This spring I realized that what the heck, I have a glassed southern facing balcony that heats up during the summer for temperatures that aren’t comfortable for humans so it must be adequate for eggplants… And it was! I have already harvested two sizable fruits and more is coming. They aren’t patio varieties but just normal ones. One hybrid is a long narrow style and one is the black beauty. I am a pretty proud eggplant mama now🍆☺️

[RafxfunZ]

Peppers really are amazing for hot climates, and here in Portugal (10b equivalent I believe) they overwinter pretty easily without any care. My peri-peri has been producing continuously (even during winter) for the past 3 years and it keep growing larger!

[Amanda-cnpk]

Malibar spinach drops seeds like mad! I've found it to become crazy invasive.

[mcrawd]

Cow/field peas are another heat loving candidate for vegetable gardens

[Honkey-Donkey]

Thank you for this. Living in the Az low desert, I really appreciate it. Would you consider doing a segment on sun scald? Identifying vs disease/pest, prevention, dealing with, etc.

[williammaxwell]

If you are in a cooler climate and want to grow sweet potatoes, try to find a NZ "Kumera" as these varieties developed in NZ, initially by the Moari and later by the Pakeha, are the most cold tolerant sweet potatoes.

[Patricia-djqn]

I don’t have a space where I can garden but when I get the space, I will grow these plants!

[BrendanMcGinley]

You know, I'm something of a warmth-loving vegetable myself.

[Growing]

Louisiana grower here - amaranth and Egyptian spinach is a good spinach substitute for greens in the summer, Everglades tomato does well in the heat, and tromboncino squash and cucuzzi squash are more vine borer resistant. I grow pumpkins almost all year because we can, and eat those like young squash. Zinnias won’t quit if you deadhead. Okra is ok, sweet potatoes you can do any variety but I love the white- and then for fall crops for us it’s almost time to plant seeds (in July) for brassicas since our cold window and frost are so close together and weird 😅

[DONE]

Topping peppers makes the plant bush out more, but also increases the time to harvest.

In my opinion, don’t top at all if you’re in zone 8 or colder. It only makes sense for really warm zones.

If you’re going to top, only do it to plants that typically grow tall and lanky. Typically capsicum annuum. Don’t do it to varieties that are already bushy, like Chinense and Baccatum. Especially don’t do it to super hots, because your fruit won’t ripen because your plant’s growth will be delayed.

[gardeningbros]

Another plant that I know that loves the heat and hot climates would be Strawberries. For all of the fall and winter they are dormant and in spring they grow leafs but nothing really else. But when it hits summer it gets very hot and they start growing multiple flowers and also branch out and make new Strawberry Plants.

[myurbangarden]

Peppers in the HATCH family have done so well in our HOT DRY area. I love the Burgundy OKRA. Put it in gumbo or air fry it and it is such a good conversation starter.

[jordanyeager]

Florida ZONE 8 here. Any thoughts on crops that grow in heat, rainy & humid climates?