Quote:
Originally Posted by tjg911
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one summer it was wicked hot, upper 90's may have hit 100 a day or 2...
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One summer? I am jealous. We see several week stretches of high 90's every year. If we are lucky, some not overly destructive thunderstorms roll through in the evening/night to break it up.
Maryland ranks 19th among states for the average high temp for June, July and August, and that includes the mountain areas of the western shore. Connecticut ranks 31. There is a four degree
average daily temperature difference during the summer between the two states. That four degrees plus the humidity = bolting and rotting brassica. That's one reason my brocolli have been out for three weeks now, and that has nothing to do with an early spring. It is what you need to do here if you want nice spring brocolli.
Oh it could likely be done. If I kept a mister running on them much of the day every day during July and August. Of course that would have nothing to do with a need for water, it would simply be an attempt to regulate the temperature and create an appropriate microclimate. Instead I start a second batch of plants and hot swap them after the bush beans for a nice fall crop, often better than the spring crop.
If I had a cooler climate I might keep them going too.