Calling all green thumbs (is this hopeless?)

[Farfle the smelly]

I live in northern Cali, so it’s perfect to grow food, right? The problem is that we had a massive heat wave a few weeks ago and I ended up significantly stagnating a germination cycle of crops that I’ve never grown before (broccoli, eggplants, carrots). In fact, the carrots refuse to even leave the mud altogether.

It is July first. If the seedling is 1” or shorter as of today, is it even possible to get a harvest before Oct? Oddly, my tomatoes still haven’t started flowering, at all. I think it’s because they’re in partial shade in the afternoon. Oops.

Tell me that there’s hope?

 

[DevaCat]

Lol, I'm living in the Valley of the Sun -- tell me about heat waves! I've grown eggplants here before (Japanese variety are very tasty) but not from seed. Sure, there's always hope lol!

Seriously though, try looking up an Agricultural Extension for your area, check with local universities, and search for Master Gardener programs in your area. Those resources all could give you info tailored to where you live. Good luck!

 

[Farfle the smelly]

Thanks! I was watching the YouTube channel epic gardening and he was talking about overwintering what didn’t end up growing in time and I was ‘oh no, this might’ve been a huge waste of time’. But then also: hello, quarantine. What else am I gonna do besides this and FOE?!

 

[RazorbackPirate]

I live in northern Cali, so it’s perfect to grow food, right? The problem is that we had a massive heat wave a few weeks ago and I ended up significantly stagnating a germination cycle of crops that I’ve never grown before (broccoli, eggplants, carrots). In fact, the carrots refuse to even leave the mud altogether.

It is July first. If the seedling is 1” or shorter as of today, is it even possible to get a harvest before Oct? Oddly, my tomatoes still haven’t started flowering, at all. I think it’s because they’re in partial shade in the afternoon. Oops.

Tell me that there’s hope?

Both Broccoli and Carrots are cool weather crops. They'll never do well in the summer, heat wave or not. Broccoli also takes a long time to grow, so you're better off either starting the seeds indoors 6 weeks before you put them in the garden, or buy plant starts to transplant. You'll want to put it out about 8 weeks before the first frost date in your area.

For summer crops like Eggplant, again, you're better off starting from seed early, then transplanting the starts. That will make them much less susceptible to the heat, as long as they get sufficient water.

Another thing that will stunt the growth of everything is poor soil. If there's not enough organic matter, the plants won't get the nutrients they need to grow.

 

[Farfle the smelly]

Both Broccoli and Carrots are cool weather crops. They'll never do well in the summer, heat wave or not. Broccoli also takes a long time to grow, so you're better off either starting the seeds indoors 6 weeks before you put them in the garden, or buy plant starts to transplant. You'll want to put it out about 8 weeks before the first frost date in your area.

For summer crops like Eggplant, again, you're better off starting from seed early, then transplanting the starts. That will make them much less susceptible to the heat, as long as they get sufficient water.

Another thing that will stunt the growth of everything is poor soil. If there's not enough organic matter, the plants won't get the nutrients they need to grow.

My soul is good, as is my fertilizer. I think it really is the super heat we’ve had. My patio is also enclosed and concrete so they’re basically baking even in the afternoon shade. Thanks for the broccoli timing. Hmm. Maybe I’ll pull it back inside until fall, and see how it does.

Thanks so much.

Edit: ‘my soul is good’ LOL, I meant soil. Stupid autocorrect.