What can't we grow in Summer here in South East Queensland? What 'could' we grow if we tried?

[Dave Riley]

The thing about 'Spring' when it doth sprung is that it soon enough gets hotter and hotter so the vegey garden suffers.

Some plants won't grow. Others will thrive too much and rush to seed. It can be too humid...

What a tragedy! Long days -- and all that sunshine -- going to waste.

So I'm asking folk what can't we grow in Summer and are there any workarounds for particular plants  if we do?

With a semi shaded garden I consciously start planting seedlings in the shadowed zone when the heat starts climbing. Keeping the water up will cool the soil as will a good layer of mulch -- if the soil is kept moist.

Summer is also climber time and I have many squashes clambering skywards, and they shade the plants below. Also corn and sunflowers are useful shade crops.

But a few plants are still problematical, and I'm looking for hacks:

• Tomatoes
• Green beans
• Some radish varieties
• Bok choi and other Asian greens
• growing seedlings from seeds

Any thoughts? What don't you grow and what do you grow or could?

Of course there are substitutions: snake beans and Winged Bean for instance. Trombochino rather than some other zucchini.

A great advantage with shading your plants by using other plants is that you too are shaded when you work in the garden. That is immensely important. Otherwise, I would not be venturing out during the day.

[Jeff Kiehne]

I have some pak choi  growing in full sun that was from seed from plants that went to seed and has self seeded  and they grew ok and did not go to seed  so would recommend  direct planting of  pak choi because the shock of transplanting  may be part of the reason that it goes to seed early.

[Dave Riley]

 Do you allow for a lot of self seeding, Jeff?

[Jeff Kiehne]

No do not but with pak choi  earlier this year dug up ground to plant potatoes and had a couple of  pak choi come up and was a long time that the seed was in the ground  and the ground was well cultivated  and the  pak choi   plants grew very well and also have a big patch of pak choi  where did not get to collect all the seed before it fell on the grown  and its not going to seed yet in the hot weather.

Pak choi is good to let flower as does attract the bees  and can get a lot of seed from a few plants and if have spare room would suggest growing Pak choi as a cover crop .

[Andrew Cumberland]

I got sambal from Sid.  I don't like it but the chooks love it and the stuff grows like a weed.