Summer Vegetable Gardening
Summer vegetable gardening involve harvesting and enjoying your fresh veggies, making time to sow more vegetables if you want to be harvesting into the fall and winter, and taking care of your existing garden with weeding, watering and fertilizing your plants to keep them happy and producing.
Summer Vegetable Gardening in June
- Harvesting and enjoying your veggies. June is the month you are harvesting and enjoying spinach, lettuce, salad greens, oriental greens, beet greens, radishes, green onions, peas, early savoy cabbages, and swiss chard as some examples.
- Sowing outdoors. Now is the time to plant snap beans, carrots, beets, lettuce, rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, sweet corn. Early June is still a great time to get those heat loving transplants such as tomatoes, squash, eggplants and peppers into the ground. You will be enjoying harvesting these in late summer and into the early fall months.
- Keep your plants happy. Weeding, watering,and fertilizing are all important for regular maintenance of your vegetable garden. Now is a great time to be adding mulch to your garden beds. Pull soil up and around your potatoes plants to keep the tubers covered. Stake your tomatoes to keep the fruit from touching the ground. Keep a watch out for pests like aphids, cabbage worms.
Summer Vegetable Gardening in July
- Harvest: This month you will be starting to harvest cucumbers, zucchini, beans, and broccoli. Continue to harvest your lettuce, salad greens, cabbage, and green onions.
- Sow: For harvesting in late fall and winter months now is the time to start sowing beets, carrots, lettuce, kale, turnips, and parsnips directly into your garden. Replant the areas where these have been already harvested.
- Keep your garden clean: Make sure you remove the plant debris after harvesting so as not to attract pest and disease. If you have to remove diseased plants, make sure you immediately place the plant in a plastic bag so you do not spread the problem. Mature vegetable plants usually do not need as much water as when they are first growing, but regular watering especially for your containers is still very important for producing fruit and pods.
Summer Vegetable Gardening in August
- Harvest: Most crops you have planted in the last few months will probably be ready to harvest this month. Some examples are beans, cucumbers, cabbage, broccoli, onion, tomatoes, early potatoes, summer squash, carrots, lettuce, corn and Swiss chard. Take time to can or freeze the surplus for eating later in the year. Save seeds from your most productive and tasty veggies so you can plant them again next year.
- Sow: This month you can succession plant more lettuce, parsley, and salad greens.
- Keep your vegetable plants happy. Fertilize early in the month so the plants get what they need to keep producing vegetables for the next couple of months. Water regularly especially in hot, dry weather. Give shade for emerging seedlings in hot sunny weather. Keep your garden clean of debris.
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