Paul James, host of HGTV's Gardening by the Yard, discusses the transition between cool-season and warm-season vegetable crops. One of the most dramatic seasonal transitions in a vegetable garden takes place in early summer as cool-season crops begin to fade and their warm-season counterparts begin to take off. Lettuce is a perfect example (figure A). A cool-season crop, it prefers temperatures between 50 degrees and 70 degrees. As temperatures rise, the lettuce starts to bolt, and the leaves begin to lose flavor. It's best to remove the entire plant rather than continue to harvest individual leaves. Pull the head, roots and all, out of the ground, or cut the plant at ground level and leave the roots, which will decompose and add organic matter to the soil.
Cantaloupe, a true warm-season crop, can be planted where the lettuce grew. It thrives in heat and will eventually spread its vines from the bed it's planted in to another. Cantaloupe needs a sunny spot and a nutrient-rich soil to develop properly. Because lettuce takes a lot of nutrients from the garden, the soil should be amended with generous amounts of compost and manure before cantaloupe is planted. Work the amendments gently into the top few inches of soil, then create a mound in which five or six seeds can be planted about 1" deep. As the seedlings emerge, thin out all but the two strongest ones, and mulch the bed with straw to conserve moisture and prevent weeds. Another example is snow peas. Remove the dwarf vines, but leave the roots in the ground because, as legumes, peas and beans add nitrogen to the soil by converting atmospheric nitrogen into a form that can be used by plants. The nitrogen is stored in the plant's roots. Leave the roots in the ground, where they'll slowly decompose. In place of peas, sow a block of corn, a heavy feeder that needs a good deal of nitrogen. Sowing corn in blocks rather than conventional rows is a great way to grow it in a small garden. Simply create a shallow, square furrow, and sow the seeds roughly 1" deep and 4" apart (figure B). As the seedlings emerge, thin them to about 12", and in the space of 1 square foot, you'll have four plants. The same four plants in a straight row would require 4 linear feet.
Because corn takes up a lot of room and each stalk produces only two ears in most cases, it isn't an ideal crop for a small garden. But because it's a vertical crop, there's plenty of space at its base for a crop such as watermelon, which grows horizontally (figure C).
After potatoes are harvested, make another transition planting. But first work the straw mulch into the soil to boost its organic content. If the potatoes were affected by a fungal disease, avoid planting a related crop, such as tomatoes, eggplant or peppers, as it might also succumb to the disease. Don't compost the diseased vines: toss them in the trash to avoid reintroducing the disease.
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