Summer Planting for Fall Harvest (6216)

Gardeners can plant several vegetables in midsummer for fall harvest. You can seed the short-season, cool-weather vegetables such as leaf lettuce, beets for greens, chard, spinach, radishes, kale, collards, and turnips up to mid-July. You can seed bush beans up to July 10 for harvest in early September.

July is a good time to start parsley in a pot outdoors for growing inside during the winter. The lack of soil moisture is likely to be a problem. If the soil is too dry, open the seed trench, fill it with water and allow the water to soak in before sowing seeds on the wet soil.

Cover the seeds with fine soil and firm lightly. Planted this way, seeds should be up in good time. Early thinning is especially important when you sow seeds in midsummer. Plenty of space will permit rapid, uniform growth, and ensure early harvest.

Except for beans, all of these crops prefer cool, moist growing conditions and will withstand severe chilling. Other vegetables, such as kale, collards and turnips, will even withstand very light frost.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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