What I Sow in My Vegetable Backyard in August

August is an fascinating and busy time in a vegetable backyard, as many readers will little doubt be nicely conscious. Most of your consideration is more likely to be on harvesting and tending the summer season crops.

For many temperate local weather growers, the first seed-sowing time is the spring. However it is necessary, if you wish to develop year-round, to proceed sowing all through the remainder of the rising season.

Whereas there may be often a lull round midsummer, I sow extra crops for autumn, winter, and the next spring whereas the present summer season may be very a lot nonetheless in full stream. I’m in Scotland and might proceed to sow proper up into September within the polytunnel and typically even past.

Most of the crops that can overwinter outdoors in my backyard have already been sown in July—reminiscent of some brassicas, for instance. And a few overwintering crops, like peas and beans, winter onions, and garlic, is not going to be sown till autumn arrives, in September or October. However this is what I’ve or will sow in my vegetable backyard this August—largely in my polytunnel backyard:

Lettuce & Different Leafy Greens

Reduce-and-Come Once more Lettues, Land Cress, Chards, Endives, Radicchio

The beauty of many lettuce varieties, particularly cut-and-come-again varieties, is that they’ll present a really fast crop. Some sown in August may be prepared to reap in solely a month or so, making them out there for autumn and winter consuming. This month, I typically fill gaps in the summertime backyard with fast crops of lettuce or different fast leafy greens.

Longer-term lettuces can be sown this month for winter or early spring harvesting. And land cress, chards/perpetual spinach, and endives/radicchio, are different hardier winter greens that I sow by way of later summer season and into fall for harvests by way of the colder months in my polytunnel.

Brassicas

Kale, Broccoli, Tatsoi, Pak Choi, Mizuna, and Extra

Not talked about above are many different leafy greens belonging to the cabbage or brassica plant household. However brassicas are, the place I dwell, staples of the winter backyard. And they’re in lots of different places too. This group of crops provides a variety of choices for cool season/winter rising.

I sowed kale open air final month. Kale may be eaten whereas they’re small over the autumn or overwintered for a staple and hardy winter crop. Purple sprouting broccoli is one other favourite of mine, already in place in my backyard for a crop subsequent spring.

Now, my consideration turns to numerous Asian brassica varieties. I’ll proceed to sow a variety this month and subsequent in my polytunnel, together with tatsoi, pak choi, mizuna, mibuna, numerous mustard greens, and extra.

Alliums

Bunching Onions, Scallions, Spring Onions

Many gardeners will sow onion units and garlic units in autumn for overwintering. However earlier than that, I like to show my consideration to sowing salad onions for a winter or spring harvest. Onions grown for his or her greens are simpler to develop from seed than bulb-forming ones.

These onions should not simply grown for his or her edible yield. One of many different important causes that I like to ensure I sow some this month is that they make a terrific companion crop for different winter crops or overwintering species. They’re useful with their pungent aroma in natural pest management.

Radishes

French Breakfast, Crimson Globe, Black Spanish, Daikon

Radishes are sown little and infrequently all through the rising season, and so long as they get sufficient water, they work very nicely in my polytunnel backyard. Different root crop sowing season is finished the place I dwell. I usually succession sow the final of the carrots and beets in July in my polytunnel. I additionally are inclined to sow turnips earlier than the tip of July. However radishes of varied sorts can nonetheless be sown this month.

I sow French breakfast and crimson globe radishes all through the summer season, however in August, my attentions flip to black Spanish radishes, and daikon radishes, each of which I sow someday between July and September in my polytunnel.

Hold sowing in August, and this will help you to transition from summer season into the next seasons and develop a backyard that will not simply feed you and your loved ones in summer season however all yr spherical.