Category Archives: Garden Advice

10 Heat-Tolerant Greens to Grow All Summer

June 4, 2026 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment

Leafy greens are underrated workhorses in the garden. They’re nutritious, easy to use, and highly productive. Unfortunately, the hot weather that arrives all too quickly in southern gardens causes many greens to bolt or start flowering, making them bitter and inedible.

While we enjoy growing and even overwintering tender greens like spinach, endive, lettuce, and Chinese cabbage, we still want to enjoy greens during the summer. These are a few of our favorite heat-tolerant greens that you can grow all summer long to use for salads, sandwich toppings, smoothies, quiches, stir-fries, and more.

Malabar Spinach

The fleshy leaves and ruby-red stems of Malabar spinach make it look like a stunning ornamental, but it’s tasty too! This Asian green makes a wonderful summer spinach substitute, ideal for salads, stir-fries, and thickening summer soups.

Malabar spinach is quite hardy, will regrow even if severely cut back, and will readily self-seed. Thanks to its vigorous, vining nature, it performs best when grown on a trellis. We like to sow them at the base of our spring pea trellises. As the peas start to die back, Malabar spinach begins to flourish in the warm weather, climbing the trellis. It’s the perfect companion plant.

New Zealand Summer Spinach

Introduced to the U.S. in 1772, New Zealand summer spinach is a good spinach substitute for hot weather. While it enjoys similar soil conditions to traditional spinach, New Zealand summer spinach is exceptionally heat and drought tolerant. It’s best as a cooked green.

Before sowing, soak your New Zealand summer spinach seeds for 4 to 24 hours to help speed germination.

Watercress

Watercress is a leafy, aquatic vegetable with a delicious, peppery crunch that makes it a popular choice for salads and finger sandwiches. While it’s not technically the most heat-tolerant, you’ll need cool water and a bit of shade; it is possible to grow it in summer.

We recommend starting watercress in spring through midsummer. In hot weather, grow your watercress in at least partial shade. The traditional option is to plant watercress into a cool stream of fresh water, but you can also grow it in pots of water or trays in a cool spot; you just need to change the water daily. Use enough water so that the crowns float.

Callaloo Amaranth Greens

We received this delicious Jamaican variety from Melissa DeSa in Florida. It’s a quick-growing, self sowing hot weather green that’s popular throughout the African diaspora, as well as in Asian cuisines. Usually folks enjoy the greens cooked.

After your last frost, direct sow or transplant 3-week-old seedlings. For continuous harvest, plant every 2 to 4 weeks. Space plants up to 18 inches apart. The upright plants can reach 6 to 8 feet tall in favorable conditions! Harvest greens before the plants flower.

Callaloo is tolerant of poor soil, root-knot nematodes, and bacterial wilt. It’s a great green for almost any garden! It also self-sows. Cucumber beetles may occasionally snack on callaloo, but it’s rarely enough to slow down the plant’s growth.

Golden Purslane

Golden purslane features fleshy orange stems and large, succulent leaves that help it survive hot, dry weather. It’s cut-and-come again and offers a slightly tart, lemony flavor that’s perfect for salads. You can also pickle it for later use or use it medicinally. Herbalists sometimes use purslane, and it’s high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Transplant or direct sow your purslane after all chance of frost has passed, and the soil has reached at least 70°F. Purslane needs full sun to thrive.

Magenta Magic Orach

Add some color to any salad with magenta magic orach. Magenta magic is the deepest, darkest red of all the orach varieties available. The leaves are slightly spicy and good for salad mixes or sandwiches.

Direct sow your orach after the danger of frost has passed, about 2 inches apart. As the plants grow, thin them to 9 inches apart. You can enjoy the thinned plants. The plants hold their flavor even as they mature in the summer heat. You can continue to harvest leaves as the plants go to seed.

Jewels of Opar (Fame Flower)

A relative of purslane with panicles of little pink flowers, this elegant plant has many uses. The mild, succulent leaves are great in salads, on sandwiches, and as a spinach substitute. The seed stalks are attractive in dried arrangements with seedpods that dry down through shades of orange, red, brown, gold, and grey. Herbalists also use the plant medicinally.

Jewels of Opar is native to parts of the South and the Caribbean. It tolerates poor soil and will grow in full sun or partial shade. Perennial in zones 8 and up, Jewels of Opar also self-sows readily and may naturalize.

Swiss Chard

Just a few Swiss chard plants will provide plentiful greens through spring, summer, and fall. In warm climates or with a greenhouse, you may also overwinter Swiss chard, as it withstands light frost.

Swiss chard leaves have an earthy flavor with a hint of bitterness, while the midribs have a slightly sweet crunch that’s similar to celery. Cooking gives chard a mellower flavor, making it ideal for stir-fries.

In the Southeast, blister beetles may attack chard in midsummer. Pick off beetles (wear gloves!), or pull up plants and wait to replant for fall.

Jericho Romaine Lettuce

Jericho is among our most bolt-resistant lettuce varieties. Bred in the desert heat in Palestine, Jericho thrives in our hot summers. The tall, heavy, light-green heads retain their sweetness even when other lettuces have gone bitter. Jericho has good tipburn resistance and is a favorite among market growers.

Collards

Collards are among our favorites on this list, and we carry so many great heirloom varieties, it’s too hard to pick just one! Collards tolerate heat and cold well, making them a great option for the Mid-Atlantic, Appalachia, and Southeast. They’re tasty, easy to grow, and high in iron and in vitamins A and C.

Folks mostly use collards as cooked greens, but you can harvest young leaves for salad mixes. Some collards, like cabbage collards, have a milder cabbage-like flavor, while some, like Alabama blue, offer stunning color, and others, like Minnie Mizelle, have a classic earthy, mustard-like flavor. Learn more about how to choose a collard variety for your garden.

Garden Advice

The Best Organic Mulch for Your Garden

May 26, 2026 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment

Organic mulch can help block weeds, add organic matter, hold in moisture, keep the soil cool, and increase your garden’s production. We’ve found that mulch is one of the best ways to improve soil over time. Like us, many of our customers garden in heavy clay soils where mulch is helpful for slowly building up organic matter. It’s also been critical for reducing our water usage when much of the Southeast has been in drought. If you want to add mulch to your garden this season, there are many options to consider.

The Best Mulches for Vegetable Gardens

The best mulch for your garden will depend on several factors. You want to consider your climate, your soil, and what’s readily available in your area.

Grass Clippings

If you have a mower with a bagger, grass clippings can be an excellent free option. They’re great for adding organic matter and a bit of nitrogen to the soil. While they’re decomposing, grass clippings can form thick, slimy mats. If you’re worried about this, dry your grass clippings in the sun for a couple of days, flipping the pile over with a rake a few times before placing them on your beds.

Avoid using grass clippings from lawns that may have been treated with pesticides or herbicides. It’s also best to avoid long, overgrown lawns that are full of grass and weed seed heads.

Old Leaves

Old leaves are one of our favorites because in our area, they are free and abundant. However, whole leaves have a tendency to blow away during dry periods. Shredding them or allowing them to decompose partially before applying them to the garden can help keep them in place.

Many cities have people collect leaves in bags, and you can sometimes get these for free. However, you risk that the leaves may be contaminated with herbicides or other chemicals on someone’s lawn.

Straw

Many gardeners prefer straw for their vegetable gardens. It’s attractive, easy to apply, and keeps produce like cucumbers and squash clean and dry. It’s also pleasant to walk on and usually isn’t treated with any chemicals.

The one major downside of straw is the price. Depending on your location and the size of your garden, using straw mulch can get expensive fast. alliums in hay mulch

Hay

Usually more affordable than straw, hay is a similarly popular choice for vegetable gardeners, especially those looking to build up organic matter. It can provide a dense layer to protect the soil and keep produce clean.

Unfortunately, most hay harbors weed seeds, which can sprout in your garden. You can help prevent the seeds from germinating by using a thick layer and re-applying two to three times throughout the season.

Sadly, the prevalent use of herbicides and pesticides across the United States can also make sourcing clean hay tricky. Some gardeners have had contaminated hay ruin their gardens.

Pine Needles or Pine Straw

Pine needles or pine straw is a popular mulch option in parts of the southern United States and other regions where pine forests are common. While many gardeners worry about it making their soil more acidic, old dried pine needles have a negligible effect on soil pH.

However, pine needles take a while to break down, meaning that they don’t add organic matter to the soil quickly. That said, if you have an abundance, they’re still a good option.

Avoid purchasing artificial pine straw mulch. It isn’t real pine needles; it’s made from shredded plastic and you shouldn’t use it in a vegetable garden.

Paper/Cardboard

Paper and cardboard are a common base layer in new vegetable gardens to block weeds, but you’ll want to select them carefully. Some cardboard and paper options may contain toxic dyes, glue, staples, plastic tape, or plastic linings. Use only undyed material and carefully remove and staples or tape before placing it in the garden.

Thick cardboard can also provide a pleasant spot for slugs to hide beneath. If you’re seeing signs of slug damage, check under the cardboard in the morning and remove any slugs. Rows of collards growing in wood chip mulch

Wood Chips

Though not everyone agrees, wood chips are another of our favorites, especially for pathways and perennial beds. You can often source wood chips for free from local power companies that chip trees and limbs they clear from power line right-of-ways. They make a good mulch that breaks down slowly over the season, meaning we don’t have to re-apply too often.

One concern many gardeners have is that wood chips will tie up nitrogen. However, this isn’t really an issue unless you’re tilling the wood chips into the soil. They don’t tie up nitrogen when they’re sitting on top. They can also create homes for insects like slugs or ants, but they provide space for beneficial insects, bacteria, and fungi. In fact, many gardeners grow edible mushrooms on wood chip mulch.

While usually more expensive, shredded, undyed bark mulch also works well.

Using Mulch in the Vegetable Garden

Always collect more mulch than you think you will need. In order for mulch to provide its many benefits, from blocking weeds to adding organic matter, it needs to be thick. For dense mulches like wood chips, a few inches will do, but for light, fluffy mulches like old leaves, you want to add at least 6 to 8 inches.

Before placing mulch, it’s ideal to start with a clean slate and remove any weeds. After adding your mulch, water it in. Alternatively, you can place it on a rainy day.

Avoid placing mulch over seeds that haven’t germinated or covering tiny seedlings. In wet climates, don’t pile mulch over plant crowns or up against plant stems, as it can encourage rot.

If you have slug problems, pull mulch away from plants for a time to remove the hiding places for slugs while you deal with the issue.

Garden Advice

12+ Best Crops for Raised Beds

May 14, 2026 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment

Raised beds offer a unique set of advantages and disadvantages. They drain well, warm quickly, and can provide soft, loose soil. They may also be more expensive, need to be watered more frequently, and may not provide enough space for large roots. Raised beds can be incredibly productive, especially for small spaces, when you make crop choices that play to their strengths. Here are some of the best crops for growing in raised beds.

Lettuce

One major problem with some raised beds is their shallow depth. Thankfully, lettuce has a relatively small root system and will thrive even in small raised beds. Raised beds are also usually easy to fit with some sort of cover cloth, allowing you to protect early lettuce from light frosts and late lettuce from intense sun and heat.

Other Greens

Like lettuce, many greens are relatively compact and quick-growing. We’ve had success growing Swiss chard, collards, kale, spinach, arugula, mustards, and other greens in raised beds.

Bush Beans

Bush beans offer speedy growth in a compact package, making them ideal for raised beds. They produce some of their own nitrogen and are ready to harvest in just 50 to 60 days, meaning you can plant several successions in your raised beds to enjoy harvests of beans throughout the season.

Pole beans are also a great option if you can place a sturdy trellis along one side of the bed. They’re productive and space-saving when trellised.

Garlic

A generally easy crop to grow, garlic suffers in wet, poorly drained soil and doesn’t bulb up well if it competes with too many weeds. In moist bottom land with heavy clay soil, common in much of the eastern United States, garlic may be a struggle. Raised beds are a great way to grow garlic, and their loose soil makes for much easier harvesting.

Strawberries

Adding fruit to the garden can be a challenge in a small space, but strawberries are a great option! They have relatively shallow roots and are incredibly productive for the amount of space they require. They’re a great fruit option for raised beds, smaller properties, and rentals.

Spring Radishes

Except for some baby greens, there are no crops that can match spring radishes for speed. Some varieties are ready to harvest in as little as 24 days. Their productivity and small roots make them well-suited to raised bed successions. To help make the most of your space, you can inter-plant them with slower-growing crops.

Bulb Onions

Like garlic, bulb onions do best in well-drained, fertile soil in a bed that’s kept weed-free. Using raised beds to meet these demands can help you produce large onion bulbs. Their shallow root system also makes them well-suited to smaller raised beds where deep-rooted crops will struggle.

Herbs

Basil, thyme, lavender, oregano, and so many of our other culinary herbs thrive in warm, well-draining soil. They’re a great option for raised beds, especially if you can place them somewhere near a door for easy access for quick additions to meals.

Summer Squash & Zucchini

In spring, raised beds always warm up faster than traditional garden beds. For heat-loving summer squash and zucchini, this is a great way to get a jump start on the season. They’re fast-growing and productive, so you’ll get plenty of squash even if you have minimal space.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers thrive in warm soil, so a raised bed can help you get an early start. Bush-type varieties like Spacemaster are ideal for small beds, or you can trellis larger varieties at the back of the bed to make the most of your space.

Sweet Potatoes

While sweet potatoes won’t work for very shallow raised beds, they do thrive if you have the space for them. The warm, loose soil of a raised bed is perfect for growing large sweet potatoes.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes thrive in warm, fertile soil and will perform well in raised beds if you have large enough beds and can provide a sturdy trellis. For smaller beds, stick to cherry-type tomatoes or determinate varieties, which offer a more compact, bush-like shape.

Peppers

Warm soil makes a noticeable difference in pepper plant growth! We even recommend waiting a month to mulch around pepper plants to allow the soil to warm up. The warm soil in raised beds can help you harvest peppers earlier. However, peppers do best in large raised beds. They need an uncrowded root system to produce the best yield.

Plants to Avoid in Raised Beds

Theoretically, you can grow anything in a raised bed. However, there are some features that make it tricky. As raised beds dry out quickly, crops like artichokes and asparagus thrive with plenty of moisture over a long season, which can be difficult to manage.

Your bed’s size and depth may also be a limiting factor. Deep-rooted crops like rhubarb and daikon radishes may need more space than a raised bed offers. Large or vigorous, sprawling plants like large indeterminate tomatoes, watermelons, and pumpkins can be tricky to support and manage in a limited space.

You should also avoid perennial crops that may spread aggressively in the bed, like mint or Jerusalem artichokes, as this could limit your production of other crops.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange