What You Can Plant In August
August is an ideal time to plant seeds for a second gardening season that can be as productive as your major early spring plantings. Late summer is the time to plant these vegetables and herbs.
Beans:
Start planting both bush and pole beans now that the soil and air are warmed up. Try a continual 7-10 day sowing of different varieties. This will give you continual bean crops and not one large harvest with wasted crop. Early August is the last practical sowing date.
Suggested variety: Contender, Kentucky Wonder, Topcrop
Cover Crops:
A great way to add nutrients to your soil for the following year is by growing winter cover crops this fall. Start in August so they get some good growth before winter comes.
Suggest variety: Winter Cover Crops
Cucumbers
Fast growing vine or bush cucumber plants can produce an abundance of cucumber fruits. Be careful to pick a variety for the space you have in your garden. Vine cucumbers can be the best tasting but need far more space than bush varieties.
Suggest variety: Spacemaster 80, Muncher, Marketmore 76
Flower Bulbs
August is a great time to plant those fall flower bulbs. There are many varieties that can be planted this fall and start blooming early spring. Flower Bulbs
Kale
Planting kale mid-July through mid-August will yield an excellent harvest in the fall and winter.
Suggested variety: Dwarf Blue
Lettuce
Sow lettuce in August for a fall crop. Try growing early harvest varieties that will produce a harvest before cold weather rolls in.
Suggested Varieties: Buttercrunch, Salad Bowl
Peas
Green peas and sugar peas are good to plant in August, and will produce a moderate fall harvest.
Suggested variety: Sugar Ann
Radish
A quick and easy vegetable to grow. Plant now and you can have them ready in 30 days.
Suggested variety: Cherry Belle
Spinach
Spinach is more of a cool weather vegetable and is great to grow in August.
Suggested variety: Bloomsdale, Samish