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Use Summertime Plantings to Fill Garden Gaps!
By this time of year, the spring crop of radishes has likely all been picked; it’s too hot for snap peas, and the cilantro is blooming. Here are a few speedy vegetables to plant in the summer!
As you harvest any spring crops, do not let those gaps in the garden sit empty; they’ll only fill up with weeds! To get the most from your garden, break out the seeds and pop in a few wherever you find an open spot.
Here are some summer vegetables that don’t take too long to mature. In late summer, as your spring-planted veggies are winding down, these new recruits will still be going strong.
Vegetables to Plant in Summer
- Bush beans are perfect for early- to midsummer planting. Many varieties mature in 50 to 60 days and will supply you with tender new beans until frost takes them out in the fall.
- Cucumbers and summer squash don’t take long to produce fruits when planted in the warm soil of early to midsummer. Planting later into the summer can also help you avoid the worst of pests, such as squash bugs and squash vine borers.
- Greens that can stand up to heat, like chard or kale, can grow in place of heat-sensitive lettuce and spinach.
- Radishes add pep to any meal. Many red radishes are ready to eat in as little as 25 days. For something different, try white daikon, watermelon radish, or black Spanish.
- Root crops, including beets, carrots, turnips, and rutabaga, can be directly seeded in the heat of summer and will be ready in time for a fall crop. Maturing in the cooler days of fall improves their flavor. (Learn more about planting fall crops!)
- Herbs like basil, dill, and cilantro don’t take long to grow enough leaves to pick for garnishing summer meals and can be planted at 2-week intervals throughout the summer. Nothing beats the flavor of dill on new potatoes, a chiffonade of basil on pasta salad, or fresh cilantro in your favorite salsa.
- Flowers are food for the soul—and the pollinators! If you have spots in the garden that need a dash of color, try planting edible flowers like calendula or nasturtiums. Their large seeds germinate fast.
Fill in all those spring gaps for a summer refresh!
Learn More
- See the Almanac’s Library of Vegetable Growing Guides for an abundance of planting and harvesting information.
- Here’s a helpful video showing some fast-growing vegetables.
- See our Top 10 Vegetables to Start from Seed.
I am a new gardener this year. My location is zone 8a and we are having a heat wave. Temps are consistently in the high 90s to 100s. We haven't had rain here in a month. My bush beans are really struggling, the lettuce has to be in the shade and all the plants are really struggling. I am watering at least twice a day. Looking forward to fall and planting more fall veggies!
It has indeed been a hot one! Field peas (blackeye and crowder for example) do great in the heat, and there is still time to plant, depending on where you live.
Got my spring garden started too late, so itching to get some more plants in. This is the article I needed.
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