What Vegetables Can You Grow in Late Summer?
Many plants will grow well when planted in late summer and will continue growing well into the late fall and early winter. Others, still, will winter over and start growing first thing in the spring.
Another favorite tip for growing into the shoulder seasons (or even all year long in front of a sunny window) is to plant an instant garden using a vertical tower garden.
What vegetables can you still plant in late summer?
- Beets
- Carrots
- Radishes
- Rutabagas
- Turnips
- Peas
- Bush Beans
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Chard
- Kale
- Spinach
- Mustard Greens
- Lettuce
- Arugula
- Sorrel
- Bok Choy
- Mescalin Mix
- Cilantro
Succession Planting
By planting a little bit each week, this means we’re able to eat fresh all season long, and we’re also harvesting in stages so not ALL of one crop is ready at one time.
Use a Garden Planner
We love using Clyde’s Garden Planner. If you don’t have a garden planner, pick one up as they’re an invaluable resource that’s very inexpensive (use code: HOMESTEADINGFAMILY.COM for a discount!).
Root Vegetables to Plant Late Summer
If you plant beets in late summer, be sure to plant them densely and harvest the leafy greens as you thin the plants out.
Certain varieties of carrots actually get sweeter if they’re left in the ground once winter hits.
Other root vegetables like radishes are pretty fast growing and you’ll have plenty of time to harvest for fresh eating throughout the remainder of the growing season.
Always check your seed packets for the growing window as well as how well the variety handles cold. Even within a specific vegetable, there will be varieties that do better growing into the winter season.
Peas & Bush Beans to Grow in Late Summer
It’s also better if you plant a bush bean variety, not a pole bean.
Our kids love planting the dragon tongue beans and they’re a great variety to grow!
Brassicas You Can Plant in Late Summer
For cauliflower, there are some quicker varieties you can grow, so choose accordingly!
For broccoli, a sprouting broccoli will be best. They won’t grow those large crowns we’re used to seeing for broccoli, but you’ll get a lot more side sprouts. These are also wonderful because they’ll die back and winter over, then it will be one of the first things you’ll see come back in the garden come springtime.
Cabbages do great when planted in late summer as they can handle the winter cold much better than other vegetables. We specifically love the Chinese cabbages and they’ve done very well for us in the past.
As always, check the seed package or the catalog for a variety that does well with colder temperatures.
Leafy Greens
Some greens like kale and spinach can handle colder temperatures quite well.
But what we love about lettuces is that, when planted densely, they will grow upright and be very easy to harvest. We’ve found that leafy greens will continue to feed our family well into the winter, especially when we utilize our greenhouse to extend the growing season.
Do keep in mind that these are the vegetables we can grow here in the far north of Idaho. If your climate is more mild, you’ll likely have a larger list of vegetables that you’ll still have time to get in the ground and harvest before the weather turns too cold.
