August 3rd, 2022 by
While prime planting time is spring, there are several varieties of edibles that you can still put in now that will see you harvesting well into autumn. In fact, summer planting removes some of the pitfalls, such as late frosts so you can usually plant straight into the ground rather than having to start off in containers, and is a great activity to get the little ones involved with this summer!
Tips for summer planting
If you do intend to start planting in summer, there are just a couple of things to bear in mind. The first is that you may need to protect plants from direct sunlight. While plants rely on sunlight to grow, too much direct heat on young plants can be detrimental so perhaps choose a shaded spot or rig up some temporary shelter to shield them.
Related to that is the issue of dry weather. Rainfall is often not lacking in the UK, but we do tend to experience increasingly greater extremes of weather, which can include heat waves and droughts. Something as simple as protecting the roots with a layer of mulch will help the soil to retain moisture and prevent plants from drying out.
Here are 10 fruit and vegetable varieties you can plant in July and August:
1. Carrots
Carrots are a great beginner vegetable to grow and are fairly universally liked due to their sweetness. They like sandy soil, and some well-rotted manure or compost will help. Protect from carrot flies with row covers or fleece or try planting alternate rows with a companion plant, such as onion, that will mask the scent.
2. Lettuce
While traditionally a summer vegetable, lettuce can be used for much more than salads. Sow now and you’ll be harvesting into the autumn when it’s good for crunch in sandwiches and garnishes or combines with warm elements for a winter salad. Protect from sparrows with some chicken wire.
3. Peas
Eating fresh peas straight from the pod, especially home-grown ones, is a great way to get children to enjoy vegetables. Try a maincrop pea, such as the Hurst Green Shaft pea and place it in a sunny location but watch that they don’t dry out.
4. Radishes
The small, pink radishes we commonly have in salads are most familiar to us but winter varieties, that are suitable to grow now, are milder in flavour and robust enough to cook with so make for a fantastic autumn vegetable. Try less-familiar varieties such as mild Japanese Mooli, sweet Watermelon Radish, or hot Spanish Black Radish. You can sow these through until September.
5. Cabbage
If you are looking for a hardy vegetable that will forgive most growing conditions then cabbage is your best friend. Spring cabbage is the most appropriate variety for this time of year and packs plenty of flavours. Add some liquid seaweed to the soil for extra nutrients and just keep an eye out for cabbage white butterfly eggs and remove any you find.
6. Strawberries
The only fruit to make the list as spring really is the best time for fruit but strawberries can be planted in late summer. Just ensure that you plant to the base of the crown so that it neither rots in the soil (if too deep) nor dries out (too high). Harvest when bright red after around 4-6 weeks.
7. Kale
Not just for clean living shakes, kale is delicious in stir-fries, stews, or roasted in the oven until crisp. Support the stems as it grows by pushing soil up around them and harvest when the leaves are young as they will grow increasingly bitter as it matures.
8. French Beans
Dwarf beans (as opposed to climbing beans that won’t have the time that grows high enough to flower if planted this late into the season) can be sown until late July/early
August. They will be ready after around 6-8 weeks, and you will know when they’re ripe when they snap cleanly. Eat them cooked or raw.
9. Beetroot
Beetroot is not just good for pickling. Roast in the oven or boil for salads or as a side dish. Delicious in soups and stews or even grated raw into coleslaw. Stagger your harvest by picking alternate plants when they reach golf ball size and allowing the remaining plants to continue growing. Don’t allow it to grow bigger than cricket ball size to retain the best flavour.
10. Spring Onions
Spring onions can be grown from seed from March, right through until September, in fact, it’s common to sow at 3-week intervals to provide a continual harvest. Draw shallow channels in the soil and drop the seeds into these drills (to use their proper term). Cover over with soil and then with fleece to protect the seedlings from birds. Harvest after around 8 weeks.
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