00:00Hey, welcome. Jeffrey Johnson here, owner and operator of Depend on Planet Earth, also known as DOPE, seed saver extraordinaire,
00:07master gardener, southern gentleman.
00:10Speaking of southern, here I am in beautiful southeast Georgia to talk about warm, humid climates and the plants that
00:18I grow for my extremely long summers.
00:21Stick around. We'll have a few laughs, a few jokes. Maybe you'll learn some things.
00:32I live in coastal Georgia, where it gets very hot, as I said, for a long period of time, and
00:36it's extremely humid.
00:37So because of that, sometimes we might get a lot of rain, pop up thunderstorms, or we can go weeks
00:43without any rain at all.
00:44So it's more advantageous for us to grow plants that will thrive in our type of weather.
00:51While the heat can be challenging at times, it allows for a longer growing season.
00:54This means you'll get an opportunity to get your hands in the dirt for a much longer period of time
00:59than people in our cooler climates.
01:01Plus, you'll get the opportunity to experiment with different crops and several varieties.
01:07Warmer climates also experience less frost, allowing you to grow certain plants almost year-round.
01:13The satisfaction of growing your own food is incredibly amazing,
01:16and there's something rewarding about stepping into your backyard and harvesting a basket full of your own homegrown produce,
01:24especially okra, because I love okra.
01:26On the flip side, humidity in this high heat, mmm, brutal.
01:33When you're selecting your seeds, and I really hope you're using seeds like I am, or seedlings,
01:37make sure you look for heat-tolerant and drought-tolerant varieties,
01:41including those with fungal disease resistance,
01:44as humidity can increase the risk of certain fungal diseases.
01:53Pole beans are one of my favorite things to grow,
01:56the yard-long bean being my absolute favorite.
01:58I alternate between red and green beans.
02:01They're amazing performance in the heat.
02:02They're very prolific, and they taste absolutely amazing.
02:05I also like summer squash.
02:07I use these as a companion to beans, usually in the same raised bed.
02:13I don't use any specific variety of yellow squash, straight-neck, crook-neck, they both work for me.
02:18Zucchini is not a preference, because they're not as prolific later in the summer when the temperatures really start to
02:23rise.
02:24Also, to repel squash vine borers, which are these nasty little bugs that show up,
02:30I grow marigolds.
02:31Marigolds attract ladybugs, which eat the aphids that will most certainly be attracted to your beans.
02:37If you've got beans, if you've got squash, you're going to have aphids,
02:42like the Braves are going to have an NL East Division title every single year.
02:52Let's talk about tomatoes.
02:54I try to focus on tomatoes here that are crack-resistant and tolerant humidity very well.
02:59A few of my favorites, an heirloom homestead.
03:02As I said, crack-resistant, tolerates humidity well.
03:06San Marzano's, the perfect canning tomato.
03:09They're also crack-resistant, and they make great sauces.
03:12Moneymaker Pole.
03:14Yes, Moneymaker Pole Tomatoes.
03:16I know the name.
03:18But, they're another amazing tomato suited well for hot and humid areas.
03:22Black Krim is a great smoky-flavored tomato with a mix of salty and sweet, some would say.
03:28Amazing results in warm weather.
03:30And, if you want a small, beautiful-colored tomato, yellow pear heirloom.
03:36They're amazing in our summer heat.
03:39Everybody loves tomatoes.
03:41Most people love peppers.
03:42So, I group my tomatoes and my peppers together when I'm growing them.
03:45Bell peppers don't tolerate our heat very well down here.
03:49Banana peppers, amazing.
03:51They do a great job in our heat.
03:53Jalapeno peppers also do a great job in this heat.
03:56One of my personal favorites is the Shishito pepper.
03:59Very, very prolific.
04:01I've gotten Shishito peppers from June to October.
04:05I grow these three varieties every single year.
04:13I'm also asked a lot about melon.
04:16Cantaloupe, honeydew, and, of course, watermelon.
04:18They all work.
04:20Any type of watermelon, any type of cantaloupe, any type of honeydew.
04:23All you need is very high temperatures and space because they will sprawl and sprawl and sprawl.
04:38Okra, my specialty.
04:40They all grow.
04:41The hotter it is, the more you'll get.
04:43All you have to do is pick a variety.
04:46I love Alabama red okra.
04:49Really thick, fat pods that taste amazing fried.
04:53Clemson spineless, another one of my favorites.
04:55It's great.
04:56I eat it right off the plant.
04:58Less slimy than a lot of okra.
05:00A lot of people don't like okra because of the slime.
05:02Burgundy.
05:03Burgundy okra is a very good productive variety, but it's got to be harvested before it reaches six inches because
05:08the longer it gets, the more woodsy it becomes.
05:11And it doesn't really taste that good.
05:13Kyle Horn, another great heirloom okra that's still tender even if it gets to be about ten inches long.
05:19It's also great for pickling.
05:20I don't pickle okra.
05:22I prefer it fried, raw, gumbo.
05:25Pickling is not my thing, but hey, try it.
05:28Again, we're going to companion plant marigolds because aphids, okra, I mean, they go hand in hand.
05:36Did I mention the Braves and the NLE titles?
05:38Yeah, okay.
05:39I just wanted to make sure I did.
05:40Okra, aphids, Braves, NLEs, all consistent.
05:45No matter what, every single year, you're going to see those four things.
05:54Alright, so in high heat areas like this, in addition to growing fruits and vegetables, you can also grow some
06:00great flowers.
06:01Lantana is a great flower because nothing takes the heat better.
06:05Marigolds, as I've mentioned before, as long as you keep deadheading the blooms, they'll go on and on and on
06:10all summer long.
06:12Sunflowers are not only beautiful to look at, sunflower seeds are amazing to eat.
06:16The Mexican tort sunflower handles heat extremely well.
06:19And I call them my butterfly whisperer because once you plant them, butterflies come from miles and miles and miles
06:25for months and months and months.
06:28And you can't go wrong with zinnia either.
06:30Zinnia will last and keep going and going like the Energizer bunny.
06:33Honorable mentions, things I didn't talk about.
06:37Cucumbers.
06:37I've grown them before.
06:39They thrive in the heat, as do eggplant.
06:43Hope y'all learned some things today.
06:45Hope you've enjoyed.
06:46Thanks for watching.
06:47Happy gardening.
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