Summer Edible Gardening Tips

Zinnias and basil in June garden

Monday, June 8, 2026

The summer loving edibles from the tropics love summer time.   Eggplant, cucumber and squash plants seem to grow inches every day in hot, humid weather!  The crops from temperate regions like peppers, tomatoes, beans, peppers and Mediterranean herbs are also growing quite well.  The humidity brings higher risk of disease and the lack of rain during peak summer heat can put a damper on garden production.  

 

To keep your plants thriving and your harvests at their peak, here are a few tips for summer edibles:

 

1.     Harvest frequently!  Plants are in the business of reproducing.  Their entire life is dedicated to giving the best possible chance of maintaining more plants for the future.  The more you harvest, the more babies the plant will produce.  I have noticed that my cucumber plant can only support one large cucumber on each vine.  As soon as I pick the big one, you can see one of the small ones jump in size by the very next day!  Harvest in the morning for peak juiciness of fruits and in the afternoon for peak concentration of flavor in summer loving herbs.

 

2.     Mulch your beds. The mulch keeps the moisture from evaporating, allowing more infrequent watering.  It also moderates the temperature of the soil so it doesn’t get baking hot.  I use natural wood mulch in both my garden beds and pots.   

 

3.     Water consistently.  The cause of cracked fruits is inconsistent water.   The plant gets used to very little water and when deluged the fruit’s skin can’t expand fast enough and the fruit cracks.  Inconsistent watering can also cause blossom end rot.  Over watering can be a problem, too.  Too much water will cause your fruits to be tasteless and mushy.  If in the ground, your plants need either a good soaking rain each week or a deep watering (1" total per week).  I use soaker hoses in my mulched garden beds.  It is best to water in the morning; you get maximum absorption (biggest bang for your water buck).  For pots, you will likely need to water 3 times per week during the height of summer heat.  I like pots with a water reservoir built in the bottom so I don’t have to water them as often.  

 

4.     Do not water the foliage of your nightshade plants (tomatoes, potatoes, squash, watermelon, and cucumbers)!  They are very susceptible to fungal diseases and water on their leaves encourages fungal growth.  It is recommended to spray every 7-14 days for natural fungicides on all nightshade plants when the risk for fungal disease starts.  In our Zone 7 garden, late May is not too early to start preventative spraying if you are growing varieties that are susceptible.  Natural fungicides include Copper, Serenade and Southern Ag.

 

5.     Fertilize monthly with side dressing of compost or slow-release fertilizer.  Fertilizer should be covered with soil to keep the nitrogen from off gassing.  It is also a good idea to add minerals to the soil annually.  You can purchase minerals just for gardening.  I like to rotate between Azomite and kelp meal.  If your plants have more minerals, their fruits will too!  

 

6.     Pick insects off daily.  Keep a close eye on your plants to you can stop an infestation before it gets started.  If I do get a really bad infestation, I will use diacotomus earth (DE) or insecticidal soap.  It is organic and not a chemical.  Some people even eat DE!  DE works by scratching the exoskeleton of the insects which leads to dehydration and death.  Be careful, though, as it will kill good bugs too.  I use it very sparingly and only if desperate.  A few bugs don’t eat much :  )  Another option is the use of light covers to keep the bugs from your plants.  

 

7.     Keep any diseased leaves groomed from your plants and do not compost them.  Diseases can be killed if your compost pile is hot enough but if not at high enough temperature and duration, disease will survive composting.  I haven’t progressed far enough yet in my composting skills to trust I am getting the pile hot enough and I don’t want to spread diseases to all my plants.  I put any diseased leaves and plants in the trash.

 

8.     Compost.  For all the trimmings from the garden and the kitchen, start a compost pile or get an indoor composter.  I have used both.  I had an indoor Naturemill electric composter in the garage and an outdoor tumbler for all the kitchen scraps.  Right now, I am using the outdoor insulated stainless tumbler.  

 

9.     Succession plant.  Summer veggies can get tired by the end of the season or overcome with disease.  A strategy to make sure you have an abundant harvest all the way through fall is to plant a second round of the heavy producers like summer squash, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  End of June is a great time to get a second round of summer lovers going.   

 

10.  Provide shade.  If you live an area with scorching heat and sun, even the summer lovers would benefit from some afternoon shade.  Tomato and pepper fruits can get sunburned, called sun scald.  Many eggplant varieties can get thick skins and a more bitter taste in intense heat and sun.  Even in our Zone 7 garden, I have experienced all these.  You can move potted plants or plant on the southeast side to get your veggies some afternoon shade.  I did try shade cloth one year for my lettuce, but the plants did not seem to thrive in our Zone 7 garden under shade cloth cover.  I plant all my eggplant and pepper plants in pots that get afternoon shade.

What to plant in the June edible garden

Potted eggplant with petunia
Sunday, June 7, 2026

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 than normal and a warmer April.  Bee swarms were 17 days earlier than normal.  Now is prime time to plant the tropical edibles.  No worries, these heat lovers will grow quickly in the summer sun.

I started all my large seed summer lovers in peat pots this spring.   Since pots will be warmer than the garden soil, this helps keep the seeds warmer.  I have transplanted them all into pots or the garden beds.

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 into the garden bed 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 moisture 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

Growing melons 101

Burpee "Bush Sugar Baby" watermelon

Saturday, June 6, 2026

Watermelons and cantaloupes are tropical fruits.  Watermelons likely originated in the southern African Kalahari Desert.  Watermelons were being cultivated in Egypt by 2000 BCE and wild seeds were found at an archeological site in Libya that were 5000 years old.  Egyptian depictions of melons(cantaloupes) date to 3000 years ago.  Wild melons are found in Africa, Asia, and Australia.  Watermelons came to the New World by Spanish and Portugese sailors at an early date.  They were used abundantly by Native Americans by the time colonists arrived.   

Watermelons, muskmelons and cantaloupes prefer the same growing conditions-the warmth and sun of summer.  They were a rarity in England, but grow well in the sunnier parts of Europe and flourished in the New World.

Both watermelons and cantaloupes prefer days in the 80's and 90's with lows in the 60's and 70's, full sun, a soil pH of 6-6.8, and fertile, well drained soil.  Melons are like Goldilocks, they don't like the soil too wet or too dry.  Too wet and they can rot or not be flavorful, too dry and their growth will be stunted. 

For cantaloupes, you can start seed indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost, buy transplants or start directly in the garden.  For planting directly in the garden, plant seeds in late spring/early summer when soil temperature has reached 65 degrees F on hills, 4-5' apart.   

For watermelons, you can sow indoors 3-4 weeks before the last frost, sow seeds directly in the garden when all danger of frost has passed or buy transplants.  Watermelons like a light soil so if you have heavy clay, amend soil with organic material to loosen and make hills 4-6" high.  Harvest after first tendril nearest the fruit turns brown and the underside of the melon turns from light green to a butter yellow.  Some can tell by thumping on the melon if it is ripe.  A hollow sound means it is ready to pick and eat!  Watermelon seed is viable for 6 years.  

Melons will cross with one another so if you want to keep pure seed, either plant only one variety or separate varieties by a half mile.

I have grown compact watermelons that can even be grown in a pot!  It is called "Bush Sugar Baby".  Being a bush type, it will stay compact and not have a vine that runs long.  It gets up to 2' tall and 2-3' wide and is ready to harvest in 80 days.  Each plant bears 2, 12 pound melons.  In my garden, a fun little melon called Tigger grows very well.  

Melons love the hot weather so I wait until it is summer like before starting seed or transplanting.  Melons prefer soil temperatures of 70-95F.  If you want to sow directly in the garden, now would be a good time in our area.  I started my melons outdoors in a peat pot about a month ago.  We have gotten so much rain I couldn't get into the garden spot where they go until a few days ago.  I had to put out straw and wear rain boots to get them planted!  They should do well now as our temperatures are pretty consistently in the 80's now.

June 2026 Edible Garden Planner

Potted edibles and flowers in the June garden

Sunday, May 31, 2026

June is a productive time in the garden.  Cool season crops are peaking while summer vegetable crops are just starting to produce with herbs in full swing.  Everything is a lush green at the beginning of the month.  As your fruit producing veggies flower, they will need a boost of fertilizer.  As the rain slows down, consistent soil moisture is key.  There are many edibles that you can start this month, too.

What to plant in the June edible garden

What’s growing in the garden right now

The lettuce I planted in March and April as well as the sprouting broccoli and lettuce that overwintered are in stages of "bolting".  You need to start heat tolerant lettuce seeds in peat pots and resow about every 3 weeks for the summer lettuce harvesting.  Keep them in a cool spot or with a shade cover to extend the harvest as lettuce doesn't like it hot!  Growing fabulous lettuce and greens

I also have heat loving greens going that are volunteers from last year's plants and some that I started in April indoors.  Red Malabar spinach is just coming up because it has been so cool this May from last year's seeds.  Purple orach, New Zealand spinach and Chinese Multi Colored Spinach amaranth also have a volunteer here and there.  I will move them to new pots or a spot in the garden.  They do great in a pot and are quite pretty together.  Red Malabar has pretty purple vines and flowers that just keep on growing.  New Zealand spinach is a pale green that really fills out a pot and the amaranth has pale green and purple leaves that grows upward.  All thrive in our hot summers.

Don't worry about insect damage to the leaves on the cabbage and broccoli as long as the heads are forming nicely.  A little insect damage will not affect the quality of the head produced.  If you are getting over run with worms, you can use an organic Bt spray that only affects worms and not bees or other pollinating insects.  Natural, organic pest strategies and how to make your own bug sprays   Broccoli and cauliflower growing tips  

I have sprouting broccoli volunteers in the garden and pots.  The overwintered ones have gone to seed.  Sprouting broccoli is great for salad greens during the summer months, but cabbage worms do love them.  The leaves taste just like broccoli. I will treat with Bt when they show up.   Sprouting broccoli- a year round fav  

Arugula, sorrels, plantain greens, chard and cultivated dandelions are all harvestable.  As it gets hotter, these greens become stronger.  Since they are perennials, they are the first up in the spring for fresh salads.  Harvest the new leaves in summer mornings for the mildest taste.  You can cut them back, too, to get fresh new leaves.  It doesn't hurt them at all.

This year I am also growing new varieties of mustard and other types of greens along with Hilton Chinese cabbage.  A listing of what I am growing is in this blog.   My 2026 Decorative and Edible Garden Plan

Dragon's Tail or Rat's Tail radish is fun to grow and the seed pods are tasty in salads.  I am growing Dragon's Tail radish again this year in the garden bed.  It has purple stems and the pods have a mild radish flavor.  I planted snow peas in pots in March.  I used the type that the vines don't get too long.  The pods, flowers and leaves are great in salads and stay sweet tasting into summer.  

Growing summer salads

The sage, chives, oregano, tarragon, dill, Egyptian walking onions and thyme are filling out nicely.  The flowers from herbs are edible, too.  They are fun to use in salads or as a garnish in cooked meals.  Very pretty to add in baked potatoes and grill.  We slice our potatoes, add some diced onion or chive flowers, butter, seasoning, wrap in foil and throw on the grill.  Yum.

Start a kitchen herb garden!

Another great thing about herbs is they are a good deterrent to deer.  Deer do not like strong smells so avoid fragrant herbs.  I plant them and marigolds all around the garden to keep the pesky critters away.  We now live out in the country and deer will even bed down in the yard.  What has worked to keep them out of the garden is a combination of herbs throughout the garden, thyme that edges all my beds, a pod deer deterrent, WD40 on socks, and marigolds around the perimeter of the garden bed.  I added daffodils last year to repel voles.  

Flowering chives

Tomatoes have started flowering and we have lots of baby tomatoes so it won't be long before we will be able to eat fresh tomatoes!  We have baby tomatoes on the Cherokee Purple and Chocolate Pear plants so far.  The large Better Boy tomato we got from a greenhouse has already given us ripe tomatoes.  

I started peppers and eggplant indoors and transplanted outside at the beginning of May.  It's been cool this month so they haven't grown as much as past years.  They should start growing next week with the warmer temperatures.  Tomatoes 101, How to Grow Great Tomatoes  Growing peppers 101  Growing eggplant 101

I started beans, squash, cucumbers and melons in peat pots at the end of April.  I transplanted all except the winter squash and Prescott Fond Blanc melons into the garden bed.  I am putting the Ayote squash and Prescott melons in the garden bed that my husband tilled up for his tomatoes.  It's been too wet to get in there and plant them.   Growing squash 101  Growing cucumbers 101  Everything you need to know to grow melons, in a pot or the garden bed

I went with Purple Yard Long pole beans with a couple new varieties and 1500 Year Old bean for fresh snap beans this year.  The Purple Yard Long are crazy productive and I just like growing a bean that was here 1500 years ago.  I am also growing the Lima bean Christmas Speckles.  I prefer pole beans because you get so much from one plant and they produce over the entire summer.  I grow them on a trellis so they are easy to harvest.  The advantage of bush beans is that the harvest duration is short so you don't have to worry about picking fresh beans all summer. Everything you need to know to grow green (or yellow or purple) beans

For summer squash, I am growing 2 kinds, Trombetta and Zapallito del Tronco.  Trombetta can be used as a summer squash or left on the vine to ripen as a winter squash.  It was impervious to pest and disease in my garden.  The Zapallito is also supposed to be disease resistant so I am trying it this year.  What to do with all that zucchini?!   

Overwintered carrots are flowering.  Egyptian walking onions Egyptian walking onions.  are filling out well.  I am harvesting the walking onion any time I need onions for cooking.  The green stalk is great as a fresh chive, too, for salads or potatoes.  I started some garlic seed last fall and it looks like all of them came up!  They will be too small to harvest this year.  I'll leave them in the ground until next year.

The strawberry and blueberry harvests are winding down.  Strawberries came early this year.  Both seem to be pest free in our garden.  You just have to get to the berries before the birds do!  Back yard strawberries

Ripe Alpine strawberries

 The wild blackberries are flowering and there are many berries forming.  

I am growing blackberries, raspberries, goji berry bushes, aronia bush and strawberries in the garden bed.  I have several blueberries in pots.  Fruit for small spaces and pots

Now is the time to provide shade for your lettuce and sow bolt resistant varieties like Summer Crisp Magenta, Green Towers, Butter King, Jericho Romaine, Simpson Elite leaf and Giant Blue Feather.  The Butter King and Red Sails stay sweet even after it has bolted.  You can move your lettuces if in pots to a shadier part of your patio or porch.  Shade cloths can be used for those in the garden.  You can also plant taller veggies on the south and west side of your lettuces so as they grow, they provide shade to the lettuces.  I move most of my greens around to the northeast, shady side of the house this time of the year to keep them sweet as long as possible.  Be sure to keep them moist as this helps prolong the harvest.

Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces

I always have to have lots of flowers interspersed in the garden for color, fragrance and to attract beneficial insects.  In addition to the perennial jasmine, daylilies, hollyhocks, gardenia, gladiolus, mums, irises, and lilies, I am growing Cardinal basil, petunias, sunflowers, morning glory, zinnias, cockscomb and wildflowers.

Best time to harvest

The best time to harvest almost any vegetable is mornings or right after a rain; this is when they are the crunchiest, fullest and sweetest.  Harvest greens in the morning before you go to work and store with the stems in water for the day.

The best time to harvest aromatic herbs like rosemary, thyme and oregano is in the afternoon when the oils are most concentrated.  Harvest herbs like parsley, cilantro and dill in the cooler part of the day.

For more tips on preserving the extra, see Preservation garden

Watering & fertilizing tips

With the heat coming, it is time to start watering.  In general, garden plants like about 1" of water each week.  Pots require more.  Keep consistent moisture to your lettuces to keep taste sweet and your lettuce from bolting as long as possible.  When your lettuce does bolt, let it go to flower and seed.  The bees and beneficial insects enjoy the flowers and the seeds can easily be saved for fall and next spring planting or allowed to self sow.  

Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

Fertilize all your fruit bearing veggies when the first flowers appear (right now we have flowers and small fruits on our peppers and tomatoes).  Provide only compost tea the rest of the season.  Too much nitrogen will cause your plants to grow lush foliage with no fruits.  Nitrogen stimulates green growth so is great for greens but should be used in moderation for fruiting plants.  I like to add Azomite or kelp to each plant once a year.  Both have a variety of trace minerals that can really boost a plant's health and harvest.  Kelp has hormones which stimulate growth.  I learned to not use kelp on my tropicals I have in pots because the kelp caused them to shoot up in height.

For more on summer garden care, Summer garden tips

Summer greens and herbs

Can I still plant a garden in June-Yes!

There are many vegetables and herbs that you can still plant right now.   Any of the summer vegetables love these temperatures and sun.  As a matter of fact, this is the best time to plant cucumbers and squash to avoid the vine borer.  Even if you have planted zucchini and tomatoes already, late June is a good time to plant a second crop.  If your seeds don't come up within a week, it is likely that they were either bad or they rotted.  Seeds can rot when the ground is really wet and chilly.  It is still a great time to start seeds.  You can also buy transplants to get a jump on the harvest.  

It is not too late to start a garden in June!

A list of all veggies that can be planted in June:

Arugula

Beans  Legumes-peas for spring, beans for summer

Beets  All about beautiful beets

Broccoli  How to grow broccoli and cauliflower

Broccoli raab  

Brussels sprouts  Growing Brussel sprouts

Cabbage  Cabbage is nutritious and easy to grow

Carrots  All you need to know about growing carrots

Cauliflower  How to grow broccoli and cauliflower

Chard  For year round steamed greens, grow chard!

Collards  Grow a southern favorite-collards

Corn  Growing corn

Cucumbers  How to grow cucumbers-in pots or in the garden

Eggplant  Eggplant-add this native from India to your garden

Bulbing fennel  Growing fennel

Leeks  Everything to know about growing onions

Lettuce (heat tolerant varieties)  Everything you need to know about growing lettuce

Mediterranean herbs (basil, thyme, sage, oregano, rosemary, chives)  Start a kitchen herb garden!

Parsnips

Pumpkins   Everything you need to know to grow squash

Peppers  Peppers are for every taste and garden

Radishes  Easy to grow crispy, peppery radishes

Salsify

Summer squash  Everything you need to know to grow squash

Sweet potatoes  Growing sweet potatoes

Tomatoes  Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes

Turnips  All about turnips

Watermelons  Everything you need to know to grow melons, in a pot or the garden bed

Savory, thyme, lettuce, onions with day lilies in the background

Here are a couple of garden ideas

If you have a picky eater, try the kid’s pizza/spaghetti garden.  If they grow it, they want to eat it!

Tomatoes-any you can’t eat, you can easily freeze for winter pizzas, salsa, or sauce

Basil, oregano, chives, garlic for seasoning

Onions-you can grow Egyptian walking onions in a pot or ground and they are perennials to boot

Kale, arugula, broccoli and peas for spring and fall pizza toppings (also easy to freeze for later)

Green peppers, eggplant, zucchini for summer pizzas (maybe some hot peppers for the adults)

For those that are real adventuresome, you can get mushroom kits to grow mushrooms.

Pizza garden for the kids

Or if you want a culinary garden, here is an Italian/Sicilian garden that you can grow in as little as a 6’ x 6’ space:

Herbs (1 each)-thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, and flat leaf parsley

3 basil plants (for pesto and seasoning)

2 tomatoes-1 Roma type for sauces and 1 slicer type for salads

2 sweet pepper plants

1 zucchini

1 eggplant

8 red onions (you can substitute Egyptian walking onions)

8 garlic plants

Arugula, spinach and lettuce scatter sown

Heirloom Sicilian kitchen garden

For other garden themes and ideas:
Small space French kitchen garden

How to decide what to plant for small spaces?
Decorative container gardening for edibles
Get the most from your space-plant intensively!
You can garden year round in small space
Start a kitchen herb garden!

Colonial Vegetable Garden

Preservation garden  

Grow your own smoothie and juice garden

The First Victory Gardens

Mediterranean diet-yummy, healthy and easy to grow anywhere

Edible shade gardens shine in summer

Easy kitchen garden

Fruit for small spaces

It is great fun, a time saver, nutritious and cost effective to grow your own food in your yard or patio!