15 of the Best Vegetables to Plant in Late Summer

Late summer gardens are usually the ones hitting their stride. The summer squashes and cucumbers have been overwhelming gardeners for a while at this point. Tomatoes, peppers, and green beans are taking the show over and thrilling audiences. Sweet corn is coming on. It’s the classic garden fodder we look forward to for all the winter months.

But, late summer is actually a great time to start planting vegetables all over again. All that’s left by the potatoes and other root vegetables, the spots where greens were growing in the spring, it’s time to fill them again. A late summer sowing can mean fresh vegetables through the fall and even into the winter, through the winter for some.

While it’s not the time for planting those tomatoes and squashes again, this is the right moment for getting those cool-weather plants going. With any luck, by the time frost is chilling the soil this fall, these crops will be all the sweeter for it.

Source: The Gardening Channel With James Prigioni/YouTube

Leafy Greens

Leafy greens are a crucial part of a plant-based diet, providing significant sources of vitamins and minerals. In the same way, they are the backbone of the cool-weather garden. It’s leafy greens that a gardener can go out and pick fresh day after day.

1. Loose-leaf Lettuce: Lettuce will bolt when the weather is hot, but late summer sowings—especially in the shade of those tall tomato or pepper plants—will be getting mature at just the right time. They’ll provide fresh salads for months to come.
2. Kale: Kale is tasty both raw and cooked. It’s hardy enough to stand up to stews, but the young leaves are tender enough to fit right into salad mixes. It’s very cold-tolerant, so when started in late summer, it’ll provide good greens into winter.
3. Chard: Chard comes in a lovely array of colors. The leaves are good for both salads and cooked dishes. The stalks are also great additions to stews and stir-fries. It’s a beautiful plant to have in late fall when the colorful leaves have all fallen.
4. Collards: As with many cool-weather vegetables, collards only reach their full potential once they’ve experienced a frost. That’s when the eating is best. But, they’ll need to be planted in late summer to be large enough for a good harvest by the first frost.
5. Arugula: A notoriously quick bolting plant, arugula much prefers the cool of spring and autumn to the summer heat. Getting planted in late summer means it’ll be really coming into its own by fall.

Roots

Another common component of the garden is root vegetables. Not all will work as late summer sowings, but many will grow very well by the time the cold weather comes. Then, they can be harvested into the winter months.

6. Radishes: Radishes are one of the best quick vegetables to grow. They only take about a month or slightly more to grow. Plant them in late summer, and there’ll likely be time for another round of them before all is said and done.
7. Beets: Beets and chard are the same species of plant, they are just different varieties of it. Chard specializes in leaves while beets (also has delicious leaves) is a root specialist. Those roots are fantastic for getting nutrients in the wintertime.
8. Carrots: Carrots can be a bit finicky with germinating, so it’s best to wait for typical temperatures to be less than 85 degrees. They sweeten with a frost, and they can often be harvested throughout the winter.
9. Turnips: Too often overlooked, turnips are fantastic root veggies. They are marvelous roasted, and they have delicious greens, too. It’s another southern favorite. They reach maturity in only a couple of months.
10. Kohlrabi: Kohlrabi is not especially cold-tolerant, but it will survive through mild freezes. It’s a great veggie (that isn’t a leaf) for eating raw and getting a good crunch in those salads.

Source: BABO Home & Garden/YouTube

Herbs

While many fresh herbs do their best work in the summertime, there are equally as many that prefer cooler temperatures. These are perfect for adding flavor to dishes and providing those hearty meals with a touch of brightness.

11. Parsley: Parsley is good in salads, great for making dips, and zips up soups into something memorable.
12. Cilantro; Tragically, by the time tomatoes and jalapeños peak in the summer, cilantro has long since bolted in the heat. It can be planted in late summer though, and the last of those tomatoes and peppers can be part of the salsa they deserve.
13. Dill: Dill is ducking out right about the time cucumbers are coming in. But, dill pickles are the only way to use it. A late summer planting will help to prove dill is awesome with lentils, potatoes, carrots, beets, and more.
14. Chervil: A mainstay in French cooking, chervil is a relative of parsley and cilantro, but it tastes similar to tarragon, with an anise/licorice flavor. It’s incredible in salad dressings, including potato salad.
15. Chives: Chives are actually perennial herbs, so they don’t need to be sown in the summertime, they do start their comeback here, and they can be divided in late summer to make more bunches in the garden.

Eat Well All Year

Late summer gardens are the equivalent of early spring gardens at the beginning of the year. We won’t get those cool-weather vegetables in the ground so that they have time to grow before the cold makes everything dormant. That’s how we can eat well all year.

Related Content:

• How To Rejuvenate Tomato Plants For a Late Summer Harvest
• 7 Reasons You Should Plant a Mulberry Tree
• How to Keep Plants Cool in the Heat of Summer
• 7 Things to Do with Your Overabundance of Homegrown Cucumbers and Summer Squash
• What You Should Plant This Summer for an Autumn Harvest

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