Start your seedlings inside. This allows you to control the soil and air temperatures, and you can transplant outside when the nights are cooler. If you don’t have a setup with lights, you can use a sunny windowsill, but it’s a great time to learn about indoor seed- starting. Cool your garden soil by using shade cloth on hoops over the bed where your cool-weather plants will grow. Plant your seeds in a shaded bed and transplant into the sun later. Water frequently with cool water! This is a challenge! Seeds will germinate faster in warm soil than they did in cold soil, but some won’t like really warm soil, and even if the plants grow, they may bolt early in the heat. Here are some ways you can stop this from happening: But it’s hot out. How do I get cool-weather plants to grow in the summer? And remember that some plants grow quite quickly, such as looseleaf lettuce, radishes, and spinach, so you can start those even in early September and have a good harvest.
What about bugs? Once it gets cool outside, insect pests are less of a problem, but while it’s warm your crops may be invaded. Cabbage family plants, for example, are great favorites of harlequin bugs and various caterpillars. The simplest way to deal with these pests is using row cover. The supports you set up can do multiple duty: lightweight row cover and shade cloth, and then a heavier row cover to take your vegetables into the winter.
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