Usually, when we plan a gardening season we mostly think about the first part of the season. We carefully plan where we’ll place which vegetables and buy seeds to fill the garden. But what when we start to empty the garden? By the middle of July garden will already be 1/3 empty with all of the short growth vegetables already harvested. With the gardening season coming to an end in a short time there’s no point in sowing some of the long growing vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers, but there are still plenty of vegetables that can be sown and ripe in time before the first frosts and the winter.

In the middle of July and early August, the Northern hemisphere has roughly 3 to 4 months of the gardening season left. Depending on the year we could be gardening even in November, but mostly the end of October is also the end of harvests. Nights get colder, morning dew in combination with rain cools down the soil so there are not many chances of growing vegetables during this period. Some vegetables won’t mind this kind of weather like brassicas and they will grow fine until first stronger frost, but most will suffer. That’s why we need to choose vegetables that will have their production peak in late September and early October. 

The vegetables for short time second crops are of course lettuces. Many of the varieties are all-year-round varieties and can be sown throughout the year. Also, summer lettuces are a great choice for late July and early August since the temperatures in these months are still high and cold-loving lettuces could bolt too soon. In September we can already start with winter varieties, the temperatures won’t be too high and if we don’t harvest all of the heads in time they won’t mind the colder October and November. September is also a good time for corn salad since it doesn’t like the heat.  We can also sow endive and chicory, they don’t mind the heat and most of them can be sown from March till October.

Lettuce started for September harvest

An excellent second crop is also beans, bush snap beans to be exact. They will grow very quickly and will have the time to make pods. They don’t like too much heat and can start dropping flowers in high temperatures, but until they start flowering the heat shouldn’t be so intense anymore and they will give fruits throughout September and October until the first frost. They are an excellent second crop after the peas. 

It might not sound like it but carrots can also be a second crop, especially in early to middle July. The carrots won’t be as big as the ones sown in March, but they will grow quicker than during March. My carrots germinated in less than 10 days this July due to the heat. Also if they are not big enough they can be left in the garden during winter. They will not freeze in mild frost temperatures. The only problem could be excessive moisture which could make them rot, but if the garden has good drainage it will be perfectly healthy in spring. So why shouldn’t we try to sow them in July?

Carrots sown in early July

Onions and leeks can be a good second crop also, especially if we use sets and leek seedlings. They will grow nicely, the bulbs probably won’t be as big as the spring planted ones, but still, they could grow without any issues.

Onions planted in July

Zucchinis can be also sown in July providing we use the ones with a short growing period. The ones that need a long time to start flowing won’t be an option since they won’t have the time to flower before the frost, but the ones that flower in 30-45 days will be a great option.

Zucchinis sown in late June and mid July

Cucumbers can be a second crop also. Yes, you read right, cucumbers. They mostly do need a long time to grow, but many cornichons have a short growth period. They love high germination temperatures and with proper watering, there are big chances that the cornichons started in July will catch up with the ones started in May, and even give more fruits than the May ones. 

Cucumbers sown 10 days ago

We can also grow beets, but only for beet greens since they won’t have time to make big roots. Elongated beets in perfect conditions could even have time to grow, but the round ones most likely won’t have time to grow until October. 

Chard is an excellent second crop, but it could be a problem to grow from seed in the garden heat. If grown in containers and transplanted to the garden in late July and early August it will grow like crazy. Also, it can survive mild frost so it can be harvested even in December.   

Chard started a 10 days ago

Radishes are a quick crop but in a shaded part of the garden, they don’t like the heat and will turn woody before growing big if they are planted in full sun. They are a better option for beds that are emptied in late August. They will fill the bed until the winter rest. 

There’s also a selection of microgreens and edible flowers that will have time to grow before the winter, but we mostly sow them indoors so we don’t really need to pay attention to weather conditions.

Earlier I said that there’s no time to grow tomatoes, there is time for cherry tomatoes, but not quite all the way. Cherry tomatoes can be grown as a second crop if started earlier in July to pots. Also, they will be a big problem with blight if the September rain starts causing problems but if the summer prolongs its heat they will have time to grow. Also, they can be collected green and left to ripe inside the house but they won’t taste the same as the ones that are ripe in the sun. Cherry tomatoes are a big gamble when sown in late July. They could be used as a second crop for early harvested vegetables, but as a second crop in the garden maybe not. The only place I’d say they will most definitely have time to grow is growing them in pots, you can always take them indoors during the cold nights. 

Tomatoes harvested in November 2017

With all of these choices, there’s really no reason to have any empty beds during August and September and not to prolong the gardening season. We all know that it’s always too short no matter how long it lasts.