What to Plant in August for a Fall Garden

Summer is in full swing and it’s time to talk about what to plant in August for a fall garden! Because we all want to see some greenery as the leaves start to turn orange. Here in zone 8b/9a we have a nice long growing season that allows for some trial and error, so let’s get growing! 

Is it too late to plant in the garden? 

No way! Here are some seeds I’m planting in August. 

Brassicas – Cauliflower, Broccoli & Cabbage

Now is the perfect time to sow your brassicas! Get those babies started so that they can have lush leaves before the heads start growing. I see a lot about planting brassicas 18 inches apart, and that can be a turn off for small space gardening, that’s so much real estate! But, I had great luck planting my cauliflower a foot apart from each other in my raised beds. The close proximity provided natural blanching before I tied the leaves up until they were ready to harvest.  

Carrots

Get those carrots in the ground! Carrots are a great fall crop to plant in August because you can just leave them in the ground until you’re ready to use them. Even if the green foliage dies the carrots will still be delicious. Make sure to water carrots deeply, especially while the weather is still hot. If you pull them and they look hairy with roots that means they need more water. One trick I like to use with carrots is planting them around my tomatoes. They both need similar watering and the tomato plant provides shade to the carrots while the weather is still hot. Mulch them heavily once the weather turns, and make sure that the tops are completely covered if you do decide to leave them in the ground to harvest throughout the winter.

Beets

We love beets around here! Okay, well two of us do. But we love growing them and pulling them out of the ground. I like to grow my beets within the traditional square foot bounds. I make 9 shallow holes, about 1/4 inch deep, four inches apart and let my four year old drop in two to three little beet seeds. We cover them up and water them deeply, and then we thin out the weakest link once the starts get going. Mulch heavily, especially if you are going to be leaving them in the ground through the cold, and leave until after the first frost for the best flavor! 

Po-ta-toes

Boil ’em, mash ’em, you know the rest. And if you don’t … educate yourself. Anyways! Potatoes prefer cool weather so now is the time to plant some for your fall garden. I typically have them growing throughout the year and honestly I haven’t had issues with them in the summer. Potatoes are one of my favorite things to grow. In my experience they are so easy to grow and I typically get a large harvest. I grow them in a box and in empty feed bags (I will show you this method soon, stay tuned!). With both methods you start with about 6 inches of dirt on the bottom, set the seed or sprouted potatoes and then cover with another six inches of dirt. Once they start growing you will cover the foliage and wait for them to grow above the dirt again and repeat until the dirt is level with the top of the container. Potatoes are perfect to plant in August for a great fall / winter harvest because again you can leave them until you need them! Just let the foliage die back and then harvest to your heart’s content.

Be sure to check back later for what I’m going to be planting in September! There’s still plenty of things to get in the ground before the end of the year.

 

Hope to see you again in the garden!