It’s that bizarre a part of the summer season the place you recognize there’s nonetheless loads of heat climate left, however that little voice begins to whisper behind your mind – fall is coming. There are back-to-school provides within the shops, and plenty of keen retailers even have Halloween merchandise out.
However that whispering voice is correct.
Fall, it appears, is correct across the nook, and with it, the top of the rising season.
No worries, although. Simply as you’ve nonetheless acquired loads of time to take in the solar, hit the seashore, or sip lemonade on the entrance porch, there may be additionally time to get one other crop in. A number of, the truth is.
Although the children can be heading again to high school in a matter of weeks, there are a selection of greens you’ll be able to nonetheless plant in August and harvest earlier than the top of the season.
Radishes
Actually, try to be planting radishes each week throughout all however the hottest intervals of the summer season. They develop loopy quick, they usually’re completely bite-sized, which suggests they disappear rapidly.
So, it’s good to go out to the backyard every week, realizing there’s a brand new crop of crunchy, bitey radishes prepared. You may take pleasure in them as my household has at all times performed: served entire in a bowl of ice water, plucked straight from the bowl, after which dipped calmly in your individual private salt dish. Mmm!
Radishes develop so rapidly that there’s at all times time to plant “only one extra row,” and it is best to. Weekly. All by means of August.
Beans
Beans are one other nice succession planting crop, and even in August, you’ve nonetheless acquired time to get one other row or two in. Whether or not you’re hoping to can extra dilly beans, have contemporary beans available for consuming, otherwise you’re planning on preserving them to take pleasure in within the low season, it’s at all times a good suggestion to plant a number of crops of beans per week or two aside.
As soon as a plant begins to decelerate and is now not placing out beans, I yank it up, compost it and plant a brand new bean seed as a substitute.
Lettuce
As everyone knows, lettuce is nearly not possible to develop within the warmth of summer season. It bolts or will get bitter. However begin planting lettuce in August within the shade of bigger crops, equivalent to tomatoes and peppers and in a number of weeks, you’ll have contemporary lettuce for salads.
The times are rising shorter once more, which suggests longer shadows in your backyard. Sheltered beneath a bigger plant, this often offers sufficient shade to maintain lettuce blissful this late in the summertime.
Carrots
Should you’re harvesting your first spherical of carrots proper about now, go forward and plant one other crop. You’ve acquired sufficient time left within the season to get a second spherical of carrots going earlier than the season is over. Select a range that matures in 60-80 days, equivalent to Danvers, Little Fingers, and Chantenay.
In direction of the top of the month, as night temperatures proceed to drop, you can even plant my favourite carrot, the Kyoto Pink. This explicit selection has extremely good taste however will solely develop in cooler climate. It doesn’t do nicely within the spring however produces amazingly candy carrots in the event you plant it on the again finish of the season.
Zucchini & Summer time Squash
Okay, this one comes with a slight caveat. Get the seeds within the floor as early within the month as doable. Be sure you preserve them well-watered and fertilized. When female and male flowers seem, you would possibly wish to hand-pollinate them to make sure you get each squash doable.
I wouldn’t suggest this method on your foremost supply of summer season squash. What we’re rising right here is backup squash.
If it’s mid-summer and your present crops are inundated with pests (I’m taking a look at you squash borers) or a illness, the most effective plan of action is to yank up the plant and be performed with it. However you don’t need to name it quits and wait till subsequent 12 months for extra zucchini or patty pans. Poke a brand new seed or two within the floor proper then and there.
You’ve probably acquired sufficient rising season left to take pleasure in a small harvest of latest summer season squash.
Will you find yourself with a bumper crop? In all probability not. Will you continue to get a number of extra loaves of zucchini bread and zucchini boats for dinner earlier than the primary frost? You betcha.
Belief me, while you’re watching your summer season squash crops peter out and die in the course of the summer season, a number of further squash are higher than none.
Beets
Beets are a terrific root vegetable that offers you double the bang on your buck. The leaves are unimaginable in salads. They’re a bit extra substantial than lettuce with out the overwhelming taste of different greens like kale.
Should you plant beets in August, you get the good thing about the greens when you anticipate the roots to develop. When the spherical bulbs are prepared to reap, it often coincides with the arrival of cooler climate. Not fairly fall, however not the canine days of summer season, which makes the considered turning the oven on for roasted beets a lot nicer.
To actually reap the benefits of this tasty root veggie, plant a brand new crop each month proper up till a number of weeks earlier than the primary frost.
Spinach
Spinach is sort of heat-sensitive, so it is going to rapidly bolt if it’s too scorching out, which guidelines it out for a lot of the summer season. However someday in August, the evenings begin cooling off once more, and the times trace of cooler climate to come back. That is the proper time to plant spinach.
Because it first emerges, you get to benefit from the tender child leaves. However go away sufficient behind for a foremost crop afterward. Plan on successive weekly plantings beginning in August, and also you’ll have good salads for the remainder of the summer season and durable greens to hold you into the altering of the seasons as soon as chilly climate arrives in earnest.
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Together with Sunday ramblings from our editor, Tracey, in addition to “What’s Up Wednesday” our roundup of what’s in season and new article updates and alerts.
