Florida summers can be brutally hot. This can be a bit of a rest period for North Florida gardeners, as many of the popular spring crops are declining.

However, there are still crops that can be planted in July, and this is a great time for making compost. Keep adding grass clippings and weeds to your pile, and you should have a good batch of compost for a fall garden. If you are new to making compost, you can check out my post on how to make compost.

The large garden is growing well. The cucumbers are going crazy and the tomatoes are gloriously overgrown.

I did staple the DIY cucumber trellis in a few strategic spots, but it seems to be holding well. Time to make more refrigerator pickles!

The teepee has been a disappointment. The pole beans did not do well, so now I have resorted to training sweet potatoes, watermelon, and cantaloupe vines to grow on it.

I do have a tiny ‘Sugar Baby’ watermelon near the top. There is a larger one on the ground behind the sunflower.

The shed bed has some basil, green beans. onions, and cucumbers. The arch you see has a cucumber vine growing over it. It was a transplanted volunteer that has been producing very well.

My to-do list:

1. Can some tomatoes.

2. Can pickles. I absolutely love my crisp refrigerator pickles, but I want some for months to come.

3. Plant more eggplant. I have them already started in flats, they just need to go into the ground. I’ve already planted another row of okra. Both of these crops do well in the heat.

4. Propagate marigold for more color.

5. Harvest onions. The tops are dying, but they don’t seem to have made bulbs. Any ideas?

6. Propagate basil from cuttings.

7. Enjoy some of Easy Two Ingredient Strawberry Jam!

8. Make even more jam! My Small Batch Fresh Peach Jam recipe is pretty popular, as is my Easy Two Ingredient Blueberry Jam. A beautiful pairing of the two is in my Blueberry Peach Quick Jam. These recipes use little sugar and canning is optional!

I love to garden, don’t you? What are you doing this month in the garden?