What Seeds Can You Plant in August?

Some gardeners think of August as being the last hurrah in the garden before it's time to shut it down for the winter, but the opposite could not be more true. There is still some of the best growing time ahead of us, no matter where you live.

But here's the thing: We won't all be planting the same veggies to get ready for our fall gardens. It all comes down to when we can expect our first frost of the season.

So if you haven't already, look up the average first frost date in your town. We'll use this information to figure out what you can plant in your garden this month. (If you’re in the United States, U.S. Climate Data is a helpful website that’s easy to use. Otherwise, you can search RSS Weather.)

When Is Your First Frost Date?

September or early October

You're in colder climate if you can see frost in your near future. That means you've got just a little bit of time left in your warm season (when your temps are in the 60s, 70s, and 80s) before you head into your cool season (when your temps are in the 30s, 40s, and 50s).

Mid to Late October

You're in a mild climate if your first frost isn't until spooky season. You've still got a good period ahead of you to grow warm season crops, but you can start planting things that like cooler weather this month.

November or Beyond

Lastly, you're in a warmer climate if you're not expecting frost until November or December—maybe you don't even have frost in a typical winter. You are leaving your hot season (when your temps are in the 90s and above) behind soon and can begin planting your garden for your second warm season of the year. You won't be planting anything that likes cool weather anytime soon.

All right, now that you know a little more about your climate, let's look at what you can plant this month. We'll focus on the herbs, leafy greens, root crops, and fruiting plants that you can grow from seed in your kitchen garden to get harvests all fall long.

Herbs 

Most people try to grow cilantro over the summer, when it's too hot for this cool season herb. This is your opportunity to grow cilantro under its optimal growing conditions. If you sow cilantro seeds right now, you'll be harvesting leaves for tacos well before you hit October.

Other herbs that grow really well in the fall as your temps drop are parsley and dill.

Leafy Greens 

You're entering the best season to grow leafy greens. Arugula is one of the fastest greens to grow from seed and doesn't mind frost. When I lived in Chicago, I filled my garden with arugula in August and was harvesting salads every single day for weeks on end, even after my first frost hit.

The closer and closer you get to your frost date is when another leafy green, spinach, really shines. Spinach is not as fast growing as arugula, but it's even more frost resistant. Your spinach leaves will actually taste a little sweeter after a light freeze. You'll have greens well into fall if you sow arugula and spinach seeds this month.

If you plant kale and Swiss chard by seed or starter plant now, they'll be ready to cut in 45 to 60 days and continue growing past your first frost. You can also plant lettuces like spring mix and butterhead lettuce.

Roots

Radishes are one of the fastest crops to produce in the kitchen garden. We're talking just 30 to 40 days after planting. If you sow radish seeds now, you can get your first harvest by mid-September. And then you can probably grow another round before snow covers your beds.

Other root crops that do great in the cool season include carrots, bunching onions, and beets.

Fruit

If you're looking for a productive fruiting plant to grow up a trellis as you head into your cool season, I recommend sugar snap peas. They'll be ready to pick in about 60 to 75 days. Other great options are Fava beans and snow peas.

Flowers

Calendula is the perfect flower to plant for fall blooms. It grows quickly from seed, tolerates frost, and helps protect your fall garden from common pests like aphids and cabbage worms. In just about 60 days, you can harvest the blooms and then dry them to make your own calendula tea during winter.

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Herbs 

You can sow cilantro, parsley, dill, and even basil by seed. Your basil will be done once you have your first freeze, but the other herbs can keep growing. Your cilantro and dill plants will be happiest if you give them some shade during these last days of summer. This is also a great time to add any of the hardier perennial herbs to your garden so they can get established before winter.

Leafy Greens 

This is your chance to grow tender, delicious lettuce greens before the temps really drop. I'm planting a bunch of butterhead lettuce this month because the leaves at the grocery store just can't compare. Buy a couple packets of lettuce seeds (or a mix) and fill your beds with lettuce for tasty fall salads.

Another green that you can grow right now is arugula. You may have to replant if the weather stays warm, but you'll be able to enjoy arugula well past your first frost.

Kale and Swiss chard are two more great greens to start right now. They're both biennials, which means they can last for two years in your climate before they go to seed. You can go ahead and plant these larger leafy greens even if your weather's not showing any signs of cooling down just yet.

Roots

Toward the end of the month, you can begin sowing seeds for carrots, radishes, and beets. I recommend planting these underneath taller plants like peppers, kale, or eggplant. That way, these root crops will have some shade as they start to grow. Root crops generally like the soil to be a little cooler, so shade is your secret weapon to planting earlier.

You don't need to worry about frost; carrots are especially cold-hardy. I've planted carrot seeds in fall and harvested delicious roots in spring before.

Fruit

You've got just enough time before your first frost to grow bush beans, which take about 60 days to produce. These are the perfect plants to fill in any empty spots in your garden as you transition from your summer garden to your fall garden.

To prepare for your upcoming cool season, you could plant sugar snap peas. Direct sow pea seeds today, and you'll have your first harvest in about 60 to 75 days. Make sure to grow these plants along a sturdy trellis so they have plenty of support as they grow.

Flowers 

Last but not least, hurry and plant yourself some nasturtiums. Nasturtiums like cool weather but don't tolerate heavy frost; if you plant them now, you'll enjoy many beautiful blooms in the perfect fall colors before winter hits. Bonus: Nasturtiums act as a trap crop to keep pests off your lettuce, carrots, and peas.

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Herbs 

You've got plenty of time to grow basil, basil, and more basil. It's still a little too warm for cilantro, parsley, and dill.

Wait until your temperatures drop into the 80s to plant perennial herbs (lavender, oregano, sage, thyme, mint, lemon balm, and rosemary) in your garden. They'll still have plenty of time to get established before the winter.

Leafy Greens

You can go ahead and plant arugula, Swiss chard, and kale. These greens can hang in there even when it's hot outside. Another good leafy green for warmer weather is mizuna. It has a similar flavor profile to arugula, but it's a little less peppery. I love to grow purple mizuna; it looks gorgeous in the garden with its frilled leaves.

Roots

You actually have the opportunity to do a second set of potatoes (I know, they're tubers, not roots). Fall is a great time to grow potatoes in warmer gardening zones.

Fruit

You finally get to plant all the quintessential "summer crops" this month: cucumbers, pole beans, squash, zucchini. If you sow seeds for these veggies in August, you'll get to harvest them throughout the fall. These plants grow quickly for fruiting plants and produce in just about 50 to 60 days.

You can grow tomatoes from seedlings that you started yourself indoors or bought from the store. It's a little late to grow tomatoes from seed if you do get frost in November or December.

Flowers 

You've got plenty of time to get blooms if you plant flowers like zinnias from seed this month. Other great flower options include marigolds, strawflowers, cosmos, and coreopsis. 

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