What to plant now in the June edible garden

Potted eggplant with petunia
Sunday, June 15, 2025

In our Zone 7 garden, June is usually summer with highs consistently in the 80's.  The cold crops planted in April like lettuce, mustard, kale and spinach have bolted (gone to seed).  The tomato transplants are blooming and almost all of them have baby tomatoes growing.  We have had a cool, cloudy and rainier May and June than normal.  Now is prime time to plant the tropical edibles.  No worries, these heat lovers will grow quickly in the summer sun.

For the true heat lovers like melons, beans and cucumbers, most of the seeds I planted in May did not come up as they typically would.  I resowed all my melon seeds, most of the yard long bean seeds, the winged bean seeds and my 1500 Year Old Cave bean seeds last week in pots.  Since pots will be warmer than the garden soil, this helps keep the seeds warmer.  Most of them have sprouted.  I'll transplant them out when they have at least one set of true leaves and there is rain in the forecast for a few days to give them the best start growing.

My peppers and eggplants that I transplanted last month, some of the peppers have baby peppers and some are still quite small.  None of the eggplants are flowering yet.  Eggplants are native to India so they really like the hot, humid weather so they should jump up next week when it is supposed to get to the 90's.  Think the peppers just need more sun and less cloudy weather.

I should resow some lettuce seed.  I did find volunteers in the lawn that I transplanted in pots a couple of weeks ago.  They are big enough now to harvest off of but they will bolt quickly with the warmer temperatures.  This time of year it is best o sow lettuce seeds every 2-3 weeks to keep yourself in sweet lettuce leaves if you enjoy salads during the summer.  Go for the bolt resistant types in late spring and early summer.  Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces 

Below is a list of plants and seeds you can put in the June edible garden.  Transplants give you a jump on harvests and are still available at big box stores and nurseries, but seeds are inexpensive and you can get unusual varieties to try that you can't get as transplants.

 

June-transplants or seeds

Basil

Bee balm (monarda)

Beans-bush and pole

Beets

Borage

Broccoli

Catnip

Celery

Cucumber

Eggplant

Horseradish

Lavender

Lemon balm

Lettuce (heat tolerant)

Lovage
Mustard
Onions
Parsley
Parsnips

Peppers

Pumpkins

Radicchio

Radishes

Rosemary

Sage

Strawberries

Summer and winter squash

Tarragon

Thyme

Tomatoes

Turnips

Valerian

June-start from seeds directly in the garden

Beans (snap-bush & pole)

Beets

Carrots

Corn

Cucumber

Melons
Peas, Southern

Radishes

Squash

Turnips

For lettuce substitute, I am growing sprouting broccoli and a sweet Chinese cabbage, Hilton, along with orach, multi colored amaranth, cultivated dandelion greens, arugula and chard.  All can be sown now.

For spinach substitute, I am growing Perpetual Spinach, Red Malabar spinach, Japanese Mountain Spinach chard, and New Zealand spinach.  They all thrive in hot weather.  Malabar spinach is a vine so give it a trellis to climb.  It is quite pretty with its maroon stems and flowers.

Give your greens the coolest spot in the garden and moist to keep them sweet and succulent.  You can use taller plants to give them shade as well.  Growing summer salads

For tips on starting your seeds in the garden:  Outdoor seed starting tips  I also like to put a pot or two on our covered deck and start seeds there.  Once they are to a good size, transplant them into their permanent pot or into the garden bed.  Be sure your seedlings are hardened off as the heat and sun can be intense this time of year. "Hardening off" seedlings   I like to plant on a cloudy day when rain is being called for the next day.

In June, the days are getting hot and the rains usually don't come as often.  Be sure to water your new plants when it gets dry or they start to wilt.  Summer garden tips