Vegetable Garden August Planting

You say you now have empty spaces in your veggie garden? Maybe you pulled your garlic in July, the peas declined and were yanked out, or your first lettuce plantings have all been eaten. For these reasons and more, many people find that there are open areas in the vegetable beds in early August. Don’t let those areas go to waste!  There are many crops you can start from seed at this time of year and harvest in the fall and even into the winter.

Here are some tips for growing late-summer crops

• When planting seeds in August pay particular attention to the watering when those seeds are germinating. Check the soil in the morning and evening and keep the area moist; the tiny roots of newly germinated seedlings can dry up quickly!
• Since you’re keeping the area moist, those new seedlings may be attracting slugs.  Apply Sluggo Plus to help control earwigs and slugs when you plant for organic control of these potential pests.
• Space seeds out according to the label so that you won’t have to thin plants as much once they are up. Vegetables don’t grow or produce well when they are crowded. Root crops such as beets and carrots won’t form large roots unless they are spaced at least four inches apart. Rather than pull many young plants out, space your seeds three to four inches apart when you plant so that the fall crops can get growing without disturbance.
• Here are some veggies that will produce in the fall on Cape Cod: carrots, beets, kale, lettuce, chard, radish, and broccoli. All of these will go through light frosts and normally can be harvested through November on Cape Cod. Kale can usually be harvested through New Year’s!
• Fall is also the time to plant garlic, but you’ll do that later in September or early October. Garlic can be planted where your tomatoes, beans, or other heat-loving vegetables are currently growing.