Beating the humidity, banking on the fall
In North Carolina, the garden gets a little of everything — humid summers, generous rain, and one of the longest, kindest fall seasons in the country. The goal each week is simple: keep your summer crops healthy through the heat while lining up the fall garden that North Carolina does so well.
When a spring crop starts winding down, don't fight it. Pull tired plants, refresh the bed with compost, and let heat-lovers like okra, field peas, and sweet potatoes carry the summer. Then, from late July into September, comes the planting window North Carolina gardeners wait for: collards, turnips, broccoli, and greens that will produce right through the mild autumn.
Watering is where many gardeners run into trouble. Deep, early-morning watering a few times each week is almost always better than a light daily sprinkle. It encourages deeper root growth in our clay soils and lets leaves dry quickly — your best defense against the fungal diseases that thrive in North Carolina's warm, humid air.
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