It's mid-July and I've just finished harvesting my garlic. I put the freshly dug bulbs in a shady spot on the porch to dry out for a few weeks before storing them.
We also dug up the onion field.
As the lettuce flowered I removed that as well and fed it to the chickens, who don't mind the bitter tasting lettuce at all, and when I harvested the entire lettuce crop I ended up with some big holes in the garden.
The first frost won't arrive until October, so there's still time to plant a variety of vegetables in the open areas.
Gardeners are now sowing seeds in their gardens in hopes of getting a second harvest, and a second chance to salvage the remainder of the growing season if the main crop doesn't perform well.
The list of vegetables to sow in summer is longer than you might think. Here are a few to inspire you to get back in the garden and plant some.
The first crop that comes to mind is lettuce. The non-heading and leafy types mature earliest, around early September, about 50 days after planting. The fast-growing leafy varieties may be ready for harvest as early as mid-August. The problem with lettuce is that it is a cool-weather plant and doesn't germinate well in summer conditions. Gardeners I know get around this by growing lettuce indoors in the cool, as they would seedlings to plant in the spring. Also consider shading your lettuce beds to keep them cool.
Radishes sown directly in the soil can be harvested in about 20 days. The difference with radishes sown in the summer is that once they are ready to harvest, they must be harvested within a few days, otherwise they will have a deep pith and a harsh taste. Start harvesting your first radishes when they are about the size of a nickel in diameter. Then, as they get bigger, harvest a few more until they lose their flavor.
Another root vegetable you can plant now is turnips. Sow the seeds directly into the soil where the turnips will grow. The tiny turnips, about the size of a radish, will grow in about 30 days. They will reach normal size by mid-September.
Spinach is another leafy vegetable that is difficult to germinate in warm weather, so treat it the same way you would treat lettuce.
Beets can be planted safely in summer and will reach harvestable size in about 50 days if planted directly into the soil at this time of year.
Arugula is a fast-growing crop that can be harvested in just 35 days, so be sure to harvest it before the plant begins to flower for best flavor.
Kale is another fast-growing leafy vegetable that, if harvested at the “baby kale” stage when the leaves are small and tender, can be ready to harvest within a month.
Kohlrabi grows well in the summer and is ready to eat after 40 days.
Green beans pop up out of the soil at this time of year and do very well in the heat of summer. Green beans can be harvested around mid-September.
Zucchini and other summer squash also grow in the summer, and summer-grown zucchini should start to be harvested in mid-September.
Peas grow best in cool environments and are less likely to germinate if it's hot outside, but if you give the seeds plenty of water and keep them from drying out, you can greatly increase your chances of germination.
Cucumbers and pickles sprout quickly in the summer and grow well in warmer days. You can harvest your first cucumbers in about 50 days. One big advantage of planting cucumbers at this time of year is that you'll likely avoid many of the pest and disease problems that plague earlier crops.
There's probably a lot more, but this will give you a good start.
The biggest obstacle is finding seeds available this time of year, as many retailers have cleared their seed shelves. But if you have extra seeds, plant what you have. You may already have most of the seeds you want to plant.
