What to plant in the August edible garden

Fall garden

Saturday, August 10, 2024 

August is a great time to begin planting for fall and winter harvests.  Get the most out of your edible garden by using all the seasons for fresh, homegrown goodness!

You can garden year round in small space
A fall edible garden
The winter edible garden

Here are the crops you can start in the August Midwest edible garden:

Beets

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts
Bush beans

Cabbage

Carrots

Cauliflower
Celery

Collards
Corn salad
Endive

Fava beans (broad beans)

Kale

Kohlrabi
Lettuce
Mustard

Onions

Peas

Radish

Scallions

Snow peas
Spinach
Strawberry runners

Swiss chard

Turnips

Early August is last call for zucchini and summer squash planting!

November edible garden

Look for cold hardy varieties when planting for fall and winter harvests.  You may be surprised that you can harvest all through the winter months things like greens, onions, Austrian peas, carrots, herbs and cabbage.  You can also extend the fall and winter harvest by looking for the same crop with different days to harvest timing so that they mature at different times.  Finally, you can use cover to possibly extend the harvest all the way to next spring.  Extend the season with protection for plants

When planting in the hot months, be sure to keep the soil moist until the plants are well established.  Summer and fall planted crops take longer to come to harvest than they do in the spring.  Rule of thumb is to add 2 weeks.  It's because the days are getting shorter rather than longer.  

A great and easy way to start your fall garden is to sow the seeds in a pot on a covered deck or patio.  This makes it easy to keep an eye on the seedlings and protects them from the harsh hot summer sun.  After they have a couple of sets of their true leaves, you can transplant into the garden bed.  Harden them off first by moving the pot to full sun before transplanting.  "Hardening off" seedlings  After transplanting into the garden, keep them watered regularly during hot, dry weather until well established.

You can get fall vegetable transplants on line and at some local nurseries so you don't even have to start seeds to get a fall garden and harvest.  I let my spring greens go to seed.  This time of year there are many volunteers sprouting.  I dig and move them to where I want them for the fall and winter.  For lettuces, I put in the pots that I will cover with a portable greenhouse so I get salads until next spring.  Winter hardy greens like kale, herbs like thyme and onions will survive without cover.  Winter edible garden

For more summer seed starting tips Outdoor seed starting tips