Heat tolerant vegetables
I used to live in Florida, so growing heat tolerant vegetables was really the only option when planning for crops. We had a long growing season, with just a small amount of cool weather. As a generally hot climate state, Florida brings hot weather even in the Fall and Spring season some years.
Then I moved to Kentucky. PHEW! No more ridiculously hot weather! Right? NOPE. Without fail, we always have a few bouts of “Extreme heat watch”, as stated by my weather app. With this information, I knew I would still have to consider the heat when planning my crops.
I’ve set out to find the most heat tolerant vegetables to grow in my garden to beat the summer heat during the summer months!
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Not only are these heat tolerant vegetables but…
As a bonus, some of these vegetables are also some of the easiest vegetables to grow in your gardens. It’s always a great idea to grow easy vegetables in the garden, especially when you’re a beginning gardener or a gardener who just doesn’t have enough time and needs a more low maintenance setup.
It’s been a few years since I’ve grown my own gardens. *During this update in June 2025*. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling incredibly rusty. On top of learning to garden in zone 6 a/b, when I’ve only ever gardened in zone 9 a/b. Gardening in a location with actual seasons is a totally new game, but that is a discussion for another day, another blog post.
If you’re living in the deep south, or somewhere with extreme heat at any point in the summer, finding crops that thrive in hot weather will be a great tool in your gardener’s first aid kit.
Additionally, you could always add shade cloth to your garden beds to battle the heat, in cases of prolonged heat. In Florida, I had hoop gardens that had heat shade and it was an absolute game changer!
Okra
Not only is okra one of the best vegetables to grow in hot, humid weather but they truly are one of the extreme heat tolerant vegetables. I loved growing clemson okra in my Florida garden.
There were times in Florida where it was hot, hot, hot. Like, you can not go outside between noon and 5pm type of hot. I was totally slacking on properly watering my vegetable gardens (oops), but guess what? My okra was still THRIVING. In fact, it was the best okra I had ever grown. Here’s a pic!
Eggplant
I’ll admit I’ve never grown eggplant. Actually, I don’t know if I even like to eat egg plant but I love the way the crops look. For my next Kentucky garden, I do plant to grow them because my husband loves eggplant. They just didn’t make the cut for this year’s crop.
The folks I know that DO grow eggplant in Florida thrive while doing it. I love the way these beautiful black squash look while hanging on their vines. Do you ever just want to grow something because of how beautiful it is?!
Cowpeas (a.k.a southern peas)
These legumes originated in Africa. They thrive in sandy soil and adjust wonderfully to low rainfall, making them a heat and drought tolerant vegetable. Also, they’re a great cover crop!
Recently a gardening friend told me about cowpeas and I was so intrigued. I never did get to grow these high crude-protein legumes, but planned to in order to supplement feed for my livestock. In Kentucky, we might not have a warm enough season to properly grow cowpeas. If you grow them, let me know!
Sweet potatoes
Unlike white potatoes that grow “up”, sweet potatoes grow downward into the soil. Grow this drought tolerant vegetable during the hottest months of the summer and watch their green vines take over the space around them.
At the end of the season, grab your gardening trowel and get to digging! I love to grow sweet potatoes in large containers so I can just dump them over to harvest. Okay, okay. I’ll admit I’m a lazy gardener!
In cooler climates, be sure to get these spuds in early enough to take advantage of each hot day you have.
Tomatillos
Green salsa is something I’ve learned to truly love. Tomatillos, also called husk tomatoes, are little green tomatoes inside a dry “wrapper” (or husk!) around.
Native to Mexico, American farmers love these little fruits (yep, technically a fruit) because they’re disease resistant and thrive in warm weather. I’ve always wanted to grow a salsa garden, and I’m a little bummed I didn’t think to try tomatillos in the garden this year. I DID plant tomatoes and peppers! It’s on my bucket list, though. I’ll get around to it next year.
New zealand spinach
Another staple in my Florida summer gardens is new zealand spinach. NZS thrives in full sun and can reach a couple feet of space in your garden, so be sure to allow this thick leafed spinach some space.
You can also grow this hearty, heat tolerant vegetable in buckets or 5 gallon pots. Another perk of new zealand spinach in my garden is they’re pest resistant. Heat tolerant AND pest resistant? You know I’m saving them a seat! I know some folks who also grow malabar spinach with great results in their backyard raised garden beds.
Bell peppers
Bell peppers are another staple in summer gardens around the world. There are so many different varieties and colors to grow, you could really have a garden full of them and never get bored!
Bell peppers are best planted from transplants, as their direct sow germination rate is low (ask me how I know this). Bell peppers are slow to mature and need a warm, well drained soil. In full transparency, my Kentucky garden peppers are struggling this year. I suspect either a fertilizing problem or an over-watering issue. Time to troubleshoot! I’m hoping our upcoming bout of dry, high 90s weather will give them a little boost.
I plan to try my luck at growing beautiful purple beauty peppers next year alongside my red bell peppers. Hell, maybe I’ll just grow a pepper rainbow! My toddler would absolutely love that.
Hot peppers
Hot peppers, like jalepano peppers, absolutely love warm weather.My Florida jalapeño pepper plants were the last plant standing, and thriving, in my garden. I’m not kidding, it would not die.
I actually felt guilty when I pulled it out of the ground because it was thriving, despite not being watered in weeks. If you’re a lazy gardener and love some spice in your life, jalapenos are the plants for you.
There are so many different varieties of hot peppers to grow! I’m going to get this awesome Non-GMO Pepper Seed Variety Pack and work my way through each type of seed in it (there’s 7!)
Tomatoes
Early girl tomatoes and a variety of cherry tomatoes are great drought tolerant tomatoes to grow not only when it’s hot, but you’re not expecting rain anytime soon.
Typically when you plant tomatoes, you want to water them evenly the first month to establish healthy, deep roots. After the first month, you can relax a bit. But just remember these crops do need water to survive so don’t stop watering completely!
The hotter it gets, the more water a crop will need. Although you could stretch this a little by utilizing hoop frame gardens and mulching your crops! My favorite tomato I’ve grown yet was an heirloom tomato called Mr. Stripey, but there’s also a variety seed pack for tomatoes to you try out.
Lima beans (butter beans)
My mom always tells me about how she ate lima beans growing up in Ohio, or butter beans, as she calls them. These heat tolerant legumes are are a great crockpot option with some bacon or a hamhock.
You can grow pole or bush varieties as long as you assure well drained, warm and loose soil for the legumes to develop and establish solid roots. From home dinners to BBQs or pot lucks, these beans are sure to wow any crowd.
You can also check out asparagus beans, yard long beans and green beans!
Swiss chard
Swiss chard is another beautiful, heat tolerant vegetable to grow in your garden. A great companion plant with beans, these beautiful red greens are happy with full sun or light shade and well-draining, fertile soil.
For years I would grow swiss chard for our rabbits and I’m not sure why I stopped. Adding vibrant colors to your garden can make it so much more fun to head out to the garden space, especially if you have young children! Growing colorful tomatoes, peppers and beautiful greens like swiss chard can encourage children to not only want to grow their own food, but eat it, too.
Luffa sponges
Did you know that 1. Luffas are not sea sponges and 2. You can actually eat luffa sponges when they’re young?! I haven’t eaten them but they’re sure fun to grow!
Luffa sponges do very well in full sun, direct sow with a little bit of compost when you sow the seeds. These fun gourds can vine up to 30 feet long, so be sure to provide them space to grow.
I grew luffas in Florida and didn’t have the room to grow them in my first Kentucky garden (Spring/summer ’25). But this is another crop that would be so fun to grow with littles. Also, they can be used to make soaps or dyed (preferably with natural dye) and sold or gifted during the holidays.
I have a whole series on growing these cool little gourds, you can read all about it here:
Summary for these heat tolerant vegetables
I haven’t grown all of these heat tolerant vegetables yet, but I do plan to in the summer months to come. Okra, sweet potatoes and peppers became a staple in my Florida summer vegetable gardens because of their hardiness in high temperatures. Peppers and tomatoes have made it into my Kentucky gardens, and I’m hoping to grow eggplant and luffas in the years to come.
What vegetables to you grow in the heat of the summer?
