As gardens reach their lush peak in July, it can be tempting to sit back and enjoy the abundance, assuming the main planting season is over. However, this is a deceptive moment. While everything looks vibrant, the first wave of summer crops is often beginning its slow decline. Rather than an endpoint, July is a crucial transition month that presents a golden opportunity for succession planting. By sowing a new round of carefully selected, heat-loving, and fast-growing varieties now, savvy gardeners can bridge the gap between summer and fall, ensuring a continuous and productive harvest for months to come.
Revitalize the Garden with Fresh Starts
One of the smartest July strategies is to replace struggling plants. It's far more effective to start with a vigorous new seedling than to try and save a plant already succumbing to pests, disease, or heat stress.
-
Cucumbers: Early-planted cucumber vines are often showing signs of powdery mildew or pest damage by mid-summer. Instead of fighting a losing battle, plant a new round. Fast-maturing varieties like the Armenian cucumber or the self-pollinating ‘Diva’ cucumber are excellent choices. They thrive in the heat and will produce a fresh crop just as the old ones give out.
-
Squash: To avoid harvest fatigue from the same old zucchini, introduce some variety. Scallop squash, particularly beautiful striped varieties like ‘Partial Eclipse’, is a fantastic option. These compact plants are highly productive and add a delightful, nutty flavor and unique shape to your late-summer meals.
Power-Up with Quick-Growing Legumes
Beans are the superstars of the mid-summer garden. They love the heat and mature quickly, making them a perfect candidate for July sowing.
-
Edamame: A delightful and nutritious alternative to standard bush beans, edamame is a fun crop to grow for snacking.
-
Yard Long Beans: These impressive beans live up to their name and are incredibly productive climbers.
-
Scarlet Runner Beans: A true garden multi-tasker, this variety produces beautiful red flowers that are a magnet for hummingbirds and other pollinators, all while providing a delicious bean harvest.
Get a Second Act from Your Tomatoes and Herbs
While it may be too late to start large, indeterminate tomatoes from seed, there are still clever ways to get a late-season harvest.
-
Determinate (Bush) Tomatoes: Varieties like ‘Tiny Tim’ or the cold-tolerant ‘Oregon Spring’ are perfect for July planting. Their compact size and quick, concentrated fruiting cycle mean you'll be harvesting fresh tomatoes in the fall.
-
Free Tomato Plants: For your favorite indeterminate varieties, you can simply clone them. Snip off a healthy side-shoot (a "sucker"), place it in a jar of water on a windowsill, and it will sprout roots in a week or two, giving you a brand-new plant to pot up or place in the garden.
-
Herbs like Basil: As early basil plants begin to flower and go to seed, sow a new batch. Fast-growing varieties like Prospera Compact Basil will provide a lush, fresh supply for late summer pesto and Caprese salads.
Embrace Heat-Tolerant Greens and Flowers
Salad greens aren't just for cool weather. Several varieties thrive in the summer heat and can be planted now.
-
Purslane: Often considered a weed, this succulent-like green is a nutritional powerhouse, tasting of lemon and crunch. It's incredibly drought-tolerant and can be planted as an edible ground cover or "living mulch."
-
Dazzling Blue Kale & Red Amaranth: These stunningly beautiful greens add color and nutty flavor to salads. They perform well in the heat and can be harvested as baby greens in just 40-50 days.
To keep the whole ecosystem thriving, don't forget the pollinators. Flowers like compact Zinnias and dwarf Teddy Bear Sunflowers can be direct-sown in empty garden pockets. A particularly strategic choice is Calendula, which not only attracts pollinators but also acts as a "trap crop," luring aphids away from your precious vegetables.
The Secret Weapon: Starting Your Fall Garden Now
Perhaps the most forward-thinking task for July is to begin starting seeds for the fall garden. For crops that require a longer growing season, like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts, starting them indoors or in a protected, shady spot now is key. By the time the intense summer heat breaks in late August or September, you'll have strong, healthy transplants ready to go into the garden, giving you a significant head start on your autumn harvest.
July is a month of action and opportunity. By thinking ahead and making these smart planting choices, a gardener can seamlessly transition from a summer to a fall harvest, ensuring the garden remains a place of life, beauty, and abundance for months to come.
