What to plant in July's edible garden

Onion, oregano, catnip and zinnia in July garden

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

You can still plant for summer harvests, but 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 it 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.  

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. 

Summer seedlings

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

You can also 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.  Summer lovers with quick harvest times include basil, beans, corn, tomatoes, and zucchini.

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

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

Parsnips

Rutabagas

Salsify

Scallions

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, 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.