What we're harvesting in the early August garden

 

Sunday, August 2, 2026

August sees the full swing of the summer, warm season garden harvests.  Late sweet corn (plant corn in succession and different varieties to lengthen the harvest), summer squashes (like zucchini), peppers of all types (sweet to hot, hot), tomatoes, Mediterranean herbs, cucumbers, okra, apples, pears, grapes, beans, melons, figs, eggplant, honey, artichokes, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, onion, and fennel are all in season in the Midwest.  

It has been crazy hot again this summer with a good deal of surprise thunderstorms.  Right now, I am harvesting cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, greens, lettuce, Egyptian walking onions, eggplant, goji berry, yard long beans, raspberries, husk cherries, annual huckleberries, and tamarillos.  

If you are not growing these in your own garden, your local farmers market is a great place to pick up these seasonal veggies to either eat or preserve.  The best buy on any fruit or vegetable is when it is in season.  You can get even better deals on any produce that has a few blemishes which have no effect on the flavor.  If you are going to can, freeze or dry them, just be sure to remove any blemishes first.

I pick what to have in our garden based on the harvest per foot of garden space needed.  Our garden is incorporated into the flower garden mulched bed and in pots so we have to be choiceful on what to grow.

In pots, we have had great luck with Egyptian walking onions (which can be harvested year round), peppers, eggplant, cucumber, greens, moringa, sweet bay, huckleberries, tamarillos and celery.

I have tried sweet and hot peppers in pots and the garden.  Overall, they seem to do the best in pots.  I am growing a few hot peppers-2 pequin types (red and orange), an ornamental small purple pepper with variegated foliage and Bakhoulti.  I’ll use the tiny peppers and the purple peppers in my season salt I make and the Bakhoulti for hot sauce and salsa.  

Preserving peppers

My sweet peppers are doing well.  I  have gotten many peppers off my Doe Hill and a few off my Tricked You Jalapeño and a maroon meaty sweet pepper from saved seed.

Peppers are for every taste and garden

The yellow crookneck summer squash in a pot died earlier.  It did well in the pot previously.  May have been vine borer.  It's best to wait until mid June to plant summer squash to avoid it.  I'm still waiting on the trombetta to start producing.  Eggplant is producing plenty to make up for it.

Growing zucchini and summer squash

What to do with all that zucchini?!

The tomatoes are really slow going, but we are getting all we want to eat fresh.  The Better Boy in a pot produced well for June and July but has slowed now.  Cherokee Purple, California Tulip and Chocolate Pear in the ground have all produced a few ripe tomatoes.  Mannon's Majesty is loaded but none close to ripe.  The Brandywines have a few small ones on it.

Choosing which tomatoes to grow

 

Okra just really kicked in this week.  I tried Heavy Hitter again and it is pumping out the fruits.

Everything you need to know to grow okra, in the garden or pot

I grow all of our herbs in the ground except sweet bay.  Sweet bay is a tender perennial and will not survive winters outside so I keep it in a pot to bring in each fall.    I had one last year that was supposed to be hardy in our zone and it didn’t make it.  I put my new ones in pots and will overwinter them in our unheated garage this winter.  Fall is a good time to plant perennial herbs.

Midwest Perennial Vegetable Garden

Rosemary is also tender.  I have tried the two varieties that are supposed to be able to survive a Midwest winter and finally had one survive this year.  I have tried to also keep in a pot and bring in each winter, but have not had good luck with this approach, but many do.  So, this is an herb I will buy each spring if overwintering does not work out, plant in the garden, then preserve for the winter by harvesting late in the season and drying.

Harvest and preserve your herbs

Make your own "Herbes de Provence"

Doing well on small fruits this year!  Will grow the same next year except for the annual huckleberries.  They are small and messy to pick but they do produce quite a bit in pots. 

Backyard fruit that can be grown organically

A quick reminder, save the seeds from your best performers to plant next year.  You can replant seeds from any heirlooms or open pollinated plants.  Not only does it save you money, but it also gives you the plants that do the best under your garden and zone conditions.

Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

August 2026 Edible Garden Planner

The large, frilly plant is asparagus

Saturday, August 1, 2026

August brings harvests of some of the favorites of the edible garden.  Sweet corn, tomatoes, summer squashes (like zucchini and yellow straight neck), peppers of all types (sweet and hot), Mediterranean herbs, cucumbers, okra, apples, pears, grapes, snap beans, melons, figs, eggplant, honey, artichokes, tomatillos are all in season this month.

At the same time, it is also the month to plant for fall and winter harvests.  It can be hard to make room for new seedlings, but your pantry will thank you in the cool days of fall that are coming.

A secret to maximizing your fruiting vegetables like peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, snap beans, tomatillos, and summer squash is to harvest them continuously.  A plant’s driving force is to reproduce so by continuing to harvest, it causes the plant to put on more fruits.  There are many options to preserve the extras: Freezing the extras for winter, drying Dehydrate or sun dry your extra veggies, canning Easy, low tox canning of summer's bounty, and pickling Make your own pickles without a store bought seasoning mix

We have many deer, raccoons, birds and squirrels in our yard; deer bed down in our yard at night.  To keep the critters from snacking on ripe tomatoes on the vine, I harvest them as they are just turning red and let them finish ripening on the counter overnight.  Still taste great being picked a little early and gives the signal to the plant to produce more.

Quick tip-how I keep the deer away

Continue to fertilize with a natural, organic fertilizer every month for veggies in the ground and semiweekly for those in containers.  When fertilizing, scratch the fertilizer into the soil around the plant.  Nitrogen is the one component of fertilizing that is most used during the season.  If you leave the fertilizer on top of the ground, you will need twice as much as the nitrogen will off gas into the atmosphere if not covered.  Summer Edible Gardening Tips

Keeping consistent moisture to your plants is key.  Irregular watering causes tomatoes to crack and blossom end rot to occur.  Make sure your garden is getting 1 inch of water weekly either from rain or watering, being sure to water deeply at the base of the plant and not on the leaves.  Many warm weather lovers like squash, tomatoes and cucumbers are susceptible to fungal diseases.  If your garden is susceptible to fungal diseases, you can continue using a natural preventative fungicide spray weekly to keep it at bay and boost your garden's production.

Pots with large catch pans will need watering about every other day.  Self-watering pots can usually get away with weekly.

You can also start a second round of tomatoes and squash in July to have strong production from end of August through frost if you find your production typically drops in August and you are keeping up with watering and fertilizing.  I have been trying different summer squash too, looking for one that keeps right on producing for the entire season.  Trombetta has done great in my garden for the last 5 years.  The production is steady, too, so you don't have zucchinis over running your counter.  The only potential drawback is that the vine is a rambler.  It grows to around 20' long in my garden on the north side of the house.  You can have it grow between other plants.  Just be sure to get it moving in the direction you want it to grow while it is small as it roots all along its vine.

Summer peppers and tomatoes

If you had any lettuce from an earlier planting, they will have bolted by now.  Take the flower heads off and save the seed.  You can shake the seeds into your pots to get your fall lettuce growing.  Lettuce will not sprout if the soil temperature is above 75 degrees F.  You can start your seeds indoors or in a cool, shady spot in the garden (if you have any this time of year!) and then move to its permanent spot.  The first seeds I sow are ones that are four season types.  As I succession plant my lettuce every 2-3 weeks, I will switch over to winter hardy varieties next month.  I have lots of self-seeded seedlings growing in my self-watering pots and scattered about the garden bed. 

Never ending salad from one packet of seeds

Planting for fall and winter vegetables

I know it sounds crazy, but now is the time to start planting for fall and winter harvests.  You need to plant early enough for your veggies to be full size when frosts hit.  Add 14 days to the days to maturity listed on the seed packet and back it up from your last frost date for the time to plant your seeds.  It takes 2 weeks longer for fall grown plants to reach full size. 

What to plant in the August edible garden

A fall edible garden

Winter edible garden

Frost date look up

Daylight hours determine the growth rate of plants.  Since the days are getting shorter, it will take longer for the plants to come to full maturity in the waning daylight hours of fall than the lengthening hours of spring and with the cooling temperatures coming next month.  By the first of November, almost all growth has come to a full standstill until the beginning of January when daylight hours are back to 10+ hours per day.  

If you can't pick up transplants like broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, kale, and herbs at big box stores or a local nursery, you can get transplants from on-line nurseries if you want to go that route.  Farmers markets may also have them.  

I have started doing more from seed.  I re-use 6 pack containers, peat pots or a rectangular self-watering pots, put starting mix in them, water well, then add seeds, covering with soil per packet instructions.  I just leave them on our covered deck so that I can keep them moist.  Seeds sprout super fast this time of year.  The other advantage for outdoor seed starting is that they are already acclimated to the summer temps so do well when transplanted.  

Outdoor seed starting tips

Fall planting guide for cool season crops

August is the month for starting greens (arugula, corn salad, lettuce, miner’s lettuce, spinach, mustard, endive, chard, lettuce), kohlrabi, onions, scallions, cabbage plants, radishes, peas, fava beans and turnips. 

What to plant in the August edible garden

In September, plant more greens, carrots, and radishes.  For our Zone 7a garden, the first 2 weeks of September are prime for planting lettuce.  Try sowing different cold hardy varieties at the same time.  Different varieties mature at different times, giving you an on-going harvest. 

 Grow lettuce through fall and winter

What to plant in the September edible garden

October is the month to plant garlic for next year’s harvest.  Be sure to order now before they sell out!  Time to plant garlic! With growing tips......

What to plant in the October edible garden

For more details on varieties to plant, Cold season crops for your edible garden

Caring for your new seeds and transplants

Like in the spring, newly sown seeds need moisture to sprout.  Keep seeds and transplants moist but not wet until they get their first real set of leaves and are well established.  Then water as needed.  

Many crops can be harvested into December and beyond without any cover, depending on how cold fall is.  Some get sweeter with frost, like carrots, chard, and lettuce.  With cover, you can harvest all the way through winter and get a jump start on spring!

Below is the portable greenhouse I use.  I can get 10 large pots under its cover.  Portable greenhouse covers like this could also be placed directly in the garden as well.  I use it to extend the fall and winter harvest for potted greens, broccoli and cabbage.   Prepare for hard freeze 

My portable greenhouse

A quick reminder, save the seeds from your best performers to plant next year!  You can replant seeds from any heirlooms or open pollinated plants.  Not only does it save you money, but it also gives you the plants that do the best under your garden and zone conditions.  

Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver 

Preserving your extra tomatoes

Sunday, July 26, 2026

In July, we go from famine to feast in the tomato department.  At the beginning of the month, we are searching for our first ripe tomato.  Two weeks later, we have a bounty of them!  The tomato plants are producing faster than we can eat them right now.  There are so many recipes that fresh tomatoes can be used in-salsa, salads, bruschetta, cucumber/tomato/onion salad, on burgers, on sandwiches, on pasta, the list goes on.  So, what to do when you are eating tomatoes at every meal and still have them coming?  It is time to preserve them!

 

I freeze, dry and can my excess tomatoes.  Mainly freeze and can.  This year, I may get extra productive and dry some in the oven.  They do take a while to dry but the intensification of flavor really makes a dish.  

 

Be sure to put the date and description on each freezer bag and jar that you put up.  You may think you will remember the date they were frozen or canned, but to be on the safe side write the type and date you processed them.  For frozen and dried, use the oldest first and all within a year for optimal flavor.

Tomatoes sliced and in quart freezer bag

During peak season for any produce, you can get the lowest prices at your neighborhood farm or farmers market for fresh tomatoes, too.  In many cases you can get a huge discount for any bruised or blemished tomatoes.  These are great to use for preserving, just be sure to remove any soft spots.

Right now, I prefer to freeze because it is so hot that I don’t want to turn on any heat generators inside the house.  For cherry type tomatoes, I just half them and throw them in a quart freezer bag and put in the freezer.  For larger tomatoes, I slice then put them in freezer bags.  They thaw much quicker this way.  They will have a fresh taste when thawed and used for salsa, sauces, soups or chili.  Freezing the extras for winter

When it cools, I start drying and canning.  I take all the tomatoes still left from last year and can those in the fall.  I dry fresh ones on the patio when it gets cool, too.

I just love “sun dried” tomatoes right out of my own dehydrator.  You can dry them in the oven too if your oven temp goes down low enough. 150-200 degrees F is recommended and the lower the temp, the redder the dried tomato.  The higher temps will cause the dried fruit to darken.  It will take 6-10 hours for the tomato to dry.  You want to make sure they are completely dry or they will mold in the jar.  Store your dried tomatoes in a quart jar or ziplock to use until next year.  Dehydrate or sun dry your extra veggies

Chocolate and black tomatoes oven dried

Only a water bath is needed for canning tomatoes because they are acidic.  Make sure you follow a sauce recipe exactly as it is critical for keeping to the right acid level.  I use Weck's canning jars and antique canning jars with glass lids.  They are all glass, including the lid, so no worries about what is in the lining of the lids.  Weck's are a really pretty shape and stack wonderfully if you want to store the most in your space.  They are made in Germany.  I haven't found any all glass canning jars made in the USA, unless you purchase antique jars.  

All you need to can tomato sauce is a large pot, canning jars, a metal funnel, and tongs.  A pressure canner is not needed for acidic foods like tomatoes.  Always follow the recipe as written to insure food safety.  For more on canning, see  Water bath canning versus pressure canning

I throw the entire tomato (without the stem) into the food processor.  Most recipes say to remove the peel and seeds because they can impart a bitter taste.  I have not had any bitterness in my sauces and there are lots of nutrition in the seeds and peels so I make use of the entire fruit.  I also use all types of tomatoes and not just the paste tomatoes.  You will likely have more juice in non-paste tomatoes so cooking them down will take a bit longer to get a thick sauce.

 

Paste tomatoes are meatier and make a silkier sauce which is nice for soups.  I always have a paste tomato in my garden and try to have one per bag when I freeze them.  My favorite paste is the heirloom Italian Pear Paste.  It provides lots of huge, red tomatoes.

This is a good time to save the seeds from the best, biggest, tastiest tomatoes for your garden next year.  Only save seeds from plants that do not have a disease.  I take the seeds and put them in water to let them ferment.  Those that float are not viable.  I remove these, lay the good seeds on a paper towel to dry thoroughly, then place in a zip lock bag with the date and variety to use in next year's garden.  Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

Sauce in Weck canning jars

Here is the recipe from Ball’s “Complete Book of Home Preserving” for tomato paste:

9 cups of pureed tomatoes, 1½ cups of chopped sweet bell peppers, 2 bay leaves, 1 teas salt, 1 clove of garlic.  I'll also toss in some of my dried mixed herbs for flavor.  About a tablespoon or two per batch.

 

I put it all into a large pot and let simmer until it is the consistency and taste I like, about 2.5 hours.  Remove the bay leaves and garlic.  Boil the jars, lids, and seals as the sauce is close to done.

 

Add 3 teas of lemon juice to each hot pint jar, fill with the hot tomato sauce to within ½ inch of the top, and seal the lid, following the instructions for the type of jar you are using.  Place all the filled jars in a large pot, insuring they are fully covered with water.  Bring to a boil and process for 45 minutes.  Remove from canner.  Let cool.  Follow the instructions for the type of jar and lid you are using on how to test the seal without breaking the seal.  For any that the seal did not hold, you can put in the fridge and use in the next week or so.  That’s it!  

I will can any frozen tomatoes I have left over from last season in the fall when it is cooler.  It takes about 12 quarts of frozen tomatoes yesterday to make 1 gallon (4 liters) of sauce.  I use the half liter Weck's tulip jars which is almost the exact size of a pint jar and are pretty to boot.

 

Other high acid foods you can use a water bath for canning are jams, jellies, condiments, salsas (Quick, homemade salsa), pickles (Make your own pickles without a store bought seasoning mix), and relishes.  Consult with a canning book for more tips and always be sure to follow the recipe exactly to ensure they safely keep.

Make your own pickles without a store bought seasoning mix

Home made pickles

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Summer is prime cucumber season!  Cucumbers love heat.  If you have more than you can or want to eat fresh, there is always homemade pickles.  Homemade pickles are sooooooo easy!  My husband loves those “Stacker” type pickles, the big slices you lay across the bun for a juicy hamburger.

I enjoy making pickles.  I slice up my extra cucumbers to just the length and width my husband likes for his burgers and use my homemade pickling herbs and spices with organic apple cider vinegar.  The trick is to make sure you do not put less salt or vinegar in them.  Salt and vinegar are preservatives.  They keep the dilly solution acidic enough so your pickles do not spoil.

You can make either pickler or slicer cucumbers into pickles.  Picklers have been bred to be smaller and have smaller seeds, but both have the same fresh cucumber taste.  Don’t let the cucumber get too big, this results in big seeds and slows down cucumber production.

I can one jar at a time.  You want your cucumbers fresh for preserving.  I harvest the cucumbers before they get too large.  This does two things, it keeps the size of the seeds in the cucumber down and it keeps the vine producing.  All vegetables are in the business of insuring survival so they give everything they have to producing their seed, the vegetables we harvest.  If you keep removing their seeds, they keep trying to make more!

I typically use 2-3 cucumbers at a time for a jar of pickles.  These will fit nicely into a quart canning jar.  Make sure the jar and lid have been sterilized.  I slice them lengthwise to the size that will fit on a bun; make sure you remove the ends of the cucumber as some ends are bitter.  I add 2-3 flowering dill heads, 4-5 sprigs of salad burnet or tarragon, 2 cloves, 4-5 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1/4 teas of caraway seeds, 1/4 teas of peppercorns, one cardamon seed pod, 3 tablespoons of salt, a bay leave, fill the rest of the jar with water (about 2 cups is all that is needed).  If you like 'em spicy, throw in a pepper or two with stem removed.  Slice the pepper in half to get the spicy from the seeds.  

Sliced cucumber with herbs from the garden for seasoning

You can get a good jar seal by heating the water and seasonings on the stove to a boil, let cool, add the vinegar, then pour over the sliced cucumbers in the jar, and put the lid on.  Or you can do it the old fashioned way and not heat the liquid, letting the pickles naturally ferment.  It is critical that you have at least the amount of salt and vinegar recommended or the pickles will go bad.  I shake the jar a couple of times a day until the salt is completely dissolved. You let them ferment at room temperature in a cool, dark place 1-4 weeks and they are ready to eat!

For more on fermentation for food preservation, a good book is "Wild Fermentation" by Sandor Ellix Katz.

Some swear that adding a grape leaf will keep the pickles crisp.  You can also add a pickle crunch powder to keep them crisp.

Unopened pickle jars will keep for a year or longer.  Once opened, keep refrigerated and eat within a couple of months.

Cucumber ready to harvest

To keep your cucumbers in peak production, harvest when the cukes are 6-7 inches in length.  I use scissors to cut the cuke from the vine.  If you are not going to use them immediately, store in a freezer bag in the crisper.  You can perk up the cuke by soaking in cool water.

Cucumbers love heat, organic matter and moisture.  They are easiest to harvest when given a trellis to climb.  Keep the fruits harvested for best production.  I use a liquid fertilizer like fish emulsion or bat guano and seaweed to add other needed nutrients.  Monthly side dressings of compost works well, too.  For minerals, I also use Azomite to get the minerals plants need when I plant my cucumbers in the spring.  This also means the fruits you eat will be rich in minerals.  Your plants are what you feed them.  
Cucumber info and tips for growing

Do not let the plant get dry.  This is what causes bitter fruits.  When I grow cucumbers in pots or in the ground, I use mulch to help retain moisture for the plant.  If growing in a pot, you may need to water daily during heat waves or use a self watering pot with a built in water reservoir.

Summer garden tips

Backyard fruit that can be grown organically

Lemon tree on the left, fig in the center, kumquat on right

Sunday, July 19, 2026

There are many options for growing your own fruit in small spaces today and more come on the market every year.  You grow them in pots, as part of the landscape or garden bed.  I wanted fruit that can be grown organically that produce enough to preserve to eat year round.

We are growing apples, goji berries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, tamarillos, huckleberries, blueberries, mulberries, husk cherries and lemons.  The lemon trees are growing in the house during the winter and taken outside each spring.  Tamarillo trees can either be overwintered indoors or started each spring.  I have also grown fig trees.  You either have to bring in every winter or be sure to get one hardy for your zone.

I don't grow plums, peaches, apricots, cherries or big apple trees because of the spraying required to keep pests and disease at bay.  However, there are other options.

Apples You have 3 options with apple trees.  You can grow columnar apple trees which do great in pots or in the ground (this is the kind we have), you can purchase a dwarf apple tree that you can espalier against a wall, or you can put an apple tree in your landscape.  Apple trees require full sun and either a second apple tree or crabapple tree in the neighborhood to pollinate with to get fruit.  Apples are ready to harvest in summer, fall or winter, depending on the variety.  Our “Scarlet Sentinel” columnar apple tree ripens in late September.  Since I don't use chemicals, my apples doe get worms here and there.  You can spray for fireblight which is just an antibiotic in spring and not a chemical per se.  I don't grow typical apple trees because of the spraying required.

Figs  A fig tree is cool looking and very easy to grow either in the landscape or in a pot.  I never had any pest or disease problems with it.  We had ours in a pot for 5 years and then put it in the ground.  It did well in the bed for 3 years.  We got great fruit from it throughout the summer.  Last year, we have a record breaking warm spell in January and then a deep freeze in February which the fig tree did not survive.  

Ripe figs

If you decide to put your fig in a pot that you want to leave outside year round, this will lower the zone it can survive the winter in by at least one zone.  You can always bring the fig in for the winter, either into your home or a garage.  We had a “Chicago Hardy” fig that is hardy to Zone 6.  It can grow to a height of 25 feet if planted in the ground.  You can eat your figs fresh, dry them or make them into preserves.  Growing “exotic” figs

Passionflower vine  “Maypop” is a hardy passion flower vine that survives down to Zone 5.   It is a very hardy vine so either grow it in a pot or make sure it is blocked off from being able to expand into other areas.  They taste a lot like guavas and their flowers are beautiful.  I keep trying to grow from seed but have not had good luck.  I discovered they are growing wild in our field so I'll dig one this fall to transplant.

Goji berry  I grew the goji berry bush from seed.  Goji berries are high in antioxidants and easy to grow.  They are self fertile so only one is needed to produce fruit.  They are a shrub that can grow 8-10 feet at maturity.  If you keep them in a pot, they will remain smaller.  They are hardy down to Zone 5.  I brought mine in for several years and planted it in the ground a couple of years ago and it is doing great.  One watchout for goji bushes as they do get "thorns" so don't plant them where you would brush up against them frequently.

Strawberry  Strawberries are another easy to grow perennial fruit.  They prefer full sun and should be planted in the spring.  There are two types of strawberries, June bearing or Everbearing.  June bearing have one large harvest in early summer whereas the everbearing types produce berries from spring through fall.  They enjoy a rich soil so plant with lots of compost and bone meal.  If they begin to decline in production after 4 years, plant new plants in a different area of the garden.  We have ours in a raised bed.  This was their second year and we put up about 10 quarts of berries.
Back yard strawberries  

I also like to grow Alpine strawberries.  They produce spring through fall but their berries are small, but intensely flavored.

Blueberries  There are a couple of blueberries that are compact and acceptable for small landscapes and pots, “Draper” and “Tophat.”  Draper is a bush that grows to 3-4 feet.  Tophat is a nice little bush that can easily be grown in a pot.  It grows to a mere 16-24” high.  Blueberries require an acidic soil, a pH of 4-4.5.  Blueberries are self pollinating, but you will get a lot more fruit if you plant two bushes.  You get fruit in early tp mid summer.  If you have an extra, you can easily freeze or dry.  I am growing a few in pots.  They don't produce enough in pots to have extras for freezing.  In our area, southern high bush are large and prolific.  To have enough for freezing, they need to be planted in the ground and a few years to get established.

Strawberry

Raspberry and Blackberry  For raspberry lovers, the “Shortcake” variety is a thornless dwarf that grows to a 2-3 foot mound.  It can easily be grown in a pot and is self fertile so only one plant is needed to bear fruit.  It is hardy in Zones 5-9 and fruits in mid-summer.  Both raspberries and blackberries prefer full sun.  My raspberry and blackberry bushes are on their second summer in the ground.  The blackberries produced enough to put away a few quarts.  The raspberry canes have only produced a few handfuls so far.

“Doyle’s” thornless blackberry plant can be grown in a pot and can produces enormous harvests of fruit.  In the ground it can reach heights of 7 feet.  It is hardy in Zones 3-10 and bears fruit in the spring to early summer.  Another option is the dwarf red blackberry which grows to 1.5 feet in height. 

Huckleberries  I grew huckleberries for the first time this year in pots.  They produced lots of small black berries.  I probably won't grow them again.  The taste is okay but you have to make sure they are fully ripe or they can cause an upset stomach.  Plus the berries are small and break at the attachment point when picked so are messy and time consuming to harvest.

Dwarf tamarillo tree  I started one of these last year in a pot and overwintered it indoors.  You can also start it each year.  It produces small orange fuzzy fruits.  The taste was better on the one grown in the garden bed than the pot.

 

Husk cherry  I've been growing these for a few years.  They are a prolific self seeder.  The fruits have a pineapple banana flavor when fully ripe.  I grow mine in medium size pots so I don't get a ton of fruit from them but they are fun and tasty so I keep growing them.

Mulberry tree  Another native fruit tree is the red mulberry tree, Morus rubra.  Don't confuse it with a white mulberry tree which is invasive and non-native.  Mulberries are similar to blackberries but sweeter and more fragile.  This is why we don't see the fruit in grocery stores.  Mulberry trees are great for wildlife and produce prolifically.  I bought one this year.  You can get dwarfs so you can reach all the fruit so it doesn't become messy.  You can also cut the central leader to make a regular tree stay small.  I probably only need one to have enough fruit for year round eating.

Kiwi vines  Another fruit for small spaces is kiwi and they are hardy for Zones 3-9.  These are vines that can grow to 10-20 feet.  You can use these over an harbor or on a fence.  A male and female are required.  They prefer a part sun location.  The foliage of the Artic Beauty is beautifully variegated with pink, white and green leaves.  These vines fruit in September.  I keep thinking about growing these.

Pawpaw tree  A slow growing fruit tree that reaches a height of 12-15 feet is a native to North America is the pawpaw.  It tastes tropical with a banana/mango like flavor.  It is also high in protein, vitamins and minerals and hardy to Zone 5.  The fruits weigh around a pound each and are ready to pick in late summer/early fall.  Two plants are required for the tree to bear fruit.  Foraging for wild edibles

Honeyberry is another fruiting bush and they bear in late spring/early summer, as early as two weeks prior to strawberries.  They are a blue oval type berry and is hardy in Zones 2-8.  The “Smokey Blue” reach 3-4 feet in height, making them a good candidate for a pot as well.  They are high in antioxidants and taste similar to blueberries.  Two are needed for pollination for fruiting.  No special soil type is needed, but prefer partial shade.  I have not tried growing these.

Pear trees   Our neighbor has a couple pear trees that he does not spray and they produce very well without pest or disease issues.  They are a Bartlett and a Keiffer pear tree.  He always has lots to give away so I don't need to grow my own but if I do, these will be the two I plant.

What we're harvesting in the July garden

July garden at sunset

Saturday, July 18, 2026

This July's garden is a bit behind for some summer vegetables.  I started my squash, cucumbers, okra and beans in May instead of April so they are behind.  Peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and fruits are about normal.

We are harvesting eggplant, cucumbers, hot peppers, sweet peppers, Giant Blue Feather lettuce, dill, summer greens, herbs, garlic, onions, blackberries, raspberries, goji berries, Tamarillo fruits, husk cherries and tomatoes.  The flowers are very happy, too!  

We are getting rain a few times a week even into July.  The grass is green and growing like crazy.  If I don't get at least 1" of rain during the week, I do a deep watering with a drip hose.  I have only had to water the garden beds once this season.  The pots on the other hand need watering a couple times a week even with the rain.  Summer Edible Gardening Tips

I dug my garlic this week.  The bulbs were small.  Garlic harvest is here!  I'll pickle the smallest cloves and save the larger cloves for fall planting.  Have garlic any time you need it, just pickle some!  I've found this is the best way to preserve garlic for using year round.  I tried keeping the whole cloves, but most would disintegrate by early winter.

I started getting ripe tomatoes in June from my potted Better Boy that I got from a local nursery.  Most in the garden look good and have many baby tomatoes.  So far, have gotten a few Cherokee Purple and Chocolate Pear and 1 from Tropic, Rebel Starfighter, and California Tulip.  The production slowed down with the temps into the 90's.  Tomatoes will drop flowers when it gets too hot.  For what we can't eat, I freeze to save for making soups, sauces, roasts, and salsa all winter.  Preserving your extra tomatoes

Cucumbers started producing at the beginning of this month.  If you have more cucumbers than you can eat, make pickles!  Make your own pickles without a store bought seasoning mix  I had 2 summer squash plants die.  I have one with a couple of baby squash and the Trombetta is flowering but no babies yet.  Everything you need to know to grow squash 

All my eggplant are grown in pots.  We don't typically have many extra eggplant to preserve.  I have tried the freezing route in the past, but have not been impressed with the taste.  The best preservation method I have found is to make baba ganoush. Everything you need to know to grow eggplant, in a pot or garden bed

  I freeze the extra strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, blanching is not needed for these fruits to preserve the flavor.  I dry the goji berries.   The large strawberries were done early last month.  The Alpine strawberries will produce into fall.  Blackberries are almost done.  Goji should keep producing into fall.  No flowers yet on the Aronia.  Huckleberries were strong last month but have slowed to almost nothing now.  Tamarillo and husk cherry have many fruits.  They also produce into fall.  

I am using purple and green orach, New Zealand spinach, Giant Blue Feather lettuce, herbs, chijimisai, Barese chard, lemon balm and cultivated dandelions and plantain for salads and sandwiches.  The sprouting broccoli has gone to seed.  Should be getting new volunteers soon.   For extras of kale, sprouting broccoli, mustard and other summer greens, blanch and freeze them.  Freezing the extras for winter

For hot peppers, I am harvesting Jigsaw, Chiltepin, and Tunisian Baklouti.  For sweet peppers, so far on the Tricked You Jalapeño, the chocolate and yellow Doe has ripened.  Everything you need to know to grow peppers, in a pot or garden  

For all my herbs, there is plenty to use fresh with extras to harvest.  I like to dry them and make spice blends.  I have thyme, basil, oregano, winter savory, tarragon, rosemary, sage, and lavender to preserve.   Harvest and preserve your herbs  This year, I don't need to preserve basil as I have lots of pesto left from the last couple of years in the freezer.  Pesto is my favorite way of preserving basil.  Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil  

Oregano, basil, thyme, Russian sage and lavender is in full bloom.  It looks like the garden sage may bloom again.  The bees love the herb flowers!  All can be cut and dried now, but I love the flowers and will wait until fall.

There are lots of flowers that can be cut or just admired in the garden right now.  Zinnias, celosias, roses, Sweet William, honeydew, marigolds, borage, dianthus, petunias, lantana and borage are going to town right now.  The bees and hummingbirds are in heaven!

We are harvesting the vegetables and fruits that are synonymous with a backyard garden.  Soon it will be time to plant for continuing the harvest into fall and winter.  The garden keeps me busy year round.  It is so nice to be able to watch things grow and have fresh produce all year.

What to start in the July edible garden

Onion, oregano, lemon balm and zinnia in July garden

Sunday, July 12, 2026

You can still plant for summer harvests and July is also the month to start planting for fall harvests.  It may seem crazy to be sowing seeds in July for your fall and winter garden, but late in the month is the time to do so.  Everything you can grow for spring, you can grow for fall.  For winter harvests, look for cold hardy varieties.  

You can plant a second crop of summer veggies and herbs early in the month to keep the harvests strong through October.  Look for varieties that have short "days to harvest" or purchase transplants.  I noticed lots of plants are still available at the big box stores this year.  Summer lovers with quick harvest times include basil, beans, corn, tomatoes, and zucchini. 

Summer seedlings

You can also continue succession planting of lettuce.  You may get better germination indoors for lettuce as the temps are a little on the hot side for them this time of year.  

The trick to harvesting all fall and winter is to have your veggies to full size by mid-October.  With the shorter days of late fall and winter, your plants will not grow much after mid-October through mid-February.  This means you start sowing seeds July-August for fall and winter harvests.

The change I make from spring to fall plantings is for spring, I plant those varieties that are heat tolerant.  In the fall, I plant those varieties that are cold tolerant to extend the harvest as long as possible into winter.  Depending on the severity of the winter, many cold tolerant varieties revive in the spring and provide a really early, nice harvest surprise.

Because daylight hours are getting shorter in the fall, you will need to add about 2 weeks to the “Days to Harvest” your seed packet gives as the seed packet dates are based on spring planting.  Plants grow slower in fall because the days are getting shorter instead of longer and steadily cooler.  Frost date look up

Just like in spring, seeds have to be kept moist to sprout.  You can also plant the seeds in peat pots or you can reuse the plastic annual trays you got in the spring.  You can put the plastic trays in a water catch pan, find a shady spot convenient for watering, fill with seed starting mix, sow your seeds and keep moist until sprouted.  When the seedlings get their true leaves on them (second set), they are ready to transplant into the garden or a larger pot.  In hot temperatures, I transplant to a larger pot and let them get to a good size and transplant into the garden bed when it is calling for rain.  I will keep an eye on them after transplanting and water as they need it.  Peat pots require daily watering in summer months because the pots are so porous. 

There are some veggies that the temps are too high outdoors to germinate in our Zone 7, like lettuce.  These you will have to start inside or on the cool side of the house in the shade.  Lettuce has a hard time with germination with soil temps above 70.  

Indoor seed starting tips

Ideal soil temperatures for seed starting

July-Seeds or Transplants

Asian greens (pak choi, tat-soi) Fall and winter greens

Basil  Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil

Beets All about beautiful beets

Broccoli  Broccoli and cauliflower growing tips

Brussel sprouts  Growing Brussel sprouts

Bush beans  Growing beans

Cabbage Cabbage is nutritious and easy to grow

Carrots All you need to know about growing carrots

Cauliflower

Celery  Give celery a try, an easy to grow garden staple

Chinese cabbage

Cilantro  Growing cilantro (coriander)

Collard greens Grow a southern favorite-collards 

Corn  Growing corn

Cucumber

Dill

Endive

Escarole

Fava beans Grow a European favorite-the fava or broad bean 

Frisee

Fennel Growing fennel

Kale  Grow one of the super greens this year-kale

Kohlrabi  Another spring veggie-kohlrabi

Leeks
Lettuce, heat tolerant varieties  Everything you need to know about growing lettuce

Mustard  Mustard greens

Onions  Everything to know about growing onions

Oregano

Parsley

Parsnips

Peas

Rutabagas

Salsify

Scallions

Summer squash

Swiss chard  For year round steamed greens, grow chard!

Spinach  Grow spinach-a super nutritious, easy green

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

Turnips  All about turnips

Zucchini  Growing zucchini and summer squash

If you don’t want to start seeds for fall harvests, some big box stores and local nurseries have begun to have fall planting veggies.   These typically come into stores in late September.  If none in your area do, there are many mail order seed companies that carry fall bedding plants.