Here's What to Plant in July in the Garden

You can start a vegetable garden in the middle of summer, but only if you plant the right plants.

I've gardened in three very different climates—from Houston,Texas, where it's so hot you never want to go outside, to Chicago, Illinois, where it's glorious in July and you want to live outside to enjoy all the sun while it lasts. Now, in Nashville, Tennessee, it's been a mix of both.

Keep on reading to find out which fruits, vegetables, herbs, and leafy greens you can plant this month in a hot, mild, or cooler climate.

At a Glance:

• The top 5 plants to plant this month in a HOT CLIMATE (temps in the 90s and 100s) are Armenian cucumbers, cosmos, mizuna, tomatoes (started indoors), and yard long beans.
• If you're in a MILD CLIMATE (temps in the 60s, 70s, and 80s), you can plant summer squash, bush beans, and marigolds. Start kale and Napa cabbage indoors or under shade in the garden.
• For those of you in a COOL CLIMATE, plant fast-growing plants like arugula, bush beans, cucumbers, zinnias, and zucchini so you can get a harvest before your first frost of the season.

Tip

You can learn more about your climate by googling the average high and low temperatures for your city or zip code for the months of July, August, and September. (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.)

In the Northern Hemisphere, you'll experience either a warm season, when the average high temperature is between 65°F and 85°F (18.3°C and 29.4°C), or a hot season, when the average high temperature is 85°F (29.4°C) or above.

What Can You Plant in Hotter Areas in July?

Let's cover all you hot climate gardeners first because you're the ones most likely doubting there's anything you can plant in the month of July, not when it's so hot. Your temps are regularly over 90°F (32.2°C), maybe even closer to 110°F (43.3°C). Maybe there's no sign of rain anytime soon.

I got you. I learned a thing or two about hot season plants when I was gardening in Houston, where the summers were so tough.

What's really important is keeping your garden full so that the soil won't be bare (bad news) in the extreme heat of August. Bare soil will just deplete your garden of valuable resources like water and nutrients.

My top 5 plants to start this month in a hot climate:

• Armenian cucumbers
• Cosmos
• Mizuna
• Tomatoes (indoors)
• Yard long beans

Now let's dive into the best leaves, roots, fruit, and flowers you can plant in July to push through the hottest summer months.

Herbs

The best herb to plant this month is basil, which tolerates the heat. You can grow all types of basil, including Thai basil and purple basil, which push through triple-digit temps a bit better than sweet basil. I love to throw some basil leaves into my summer salads.

If you'd like to grow perennial herbs (lavender, oregano, sage, thyme, mint, lemon balm, and rosemary) in your garden, hold off on planting them until the weather cools down a bit. If you plant them in the fall, they should still have time to get established before the winter.

Leafy Greens

I know you probably don't think you can grow greens in the summer, but trust me, you can. Mizuna is one of them. This heat-tolerant brassica (related to mustard greens and arugula) will do best if grown under the shade of taller plants. Mizuna has a bit of the peppery flavor of arugula, and it looks beautiful in the garden.

You can also sow seeds for arugula and mustard greens this month. Keep in mind you'll get the best flavor if you replant these greens every 45 days or so.

Roots

If you haven't already planted potatoes (tubers), wait for temps to drop a bit. Potatoes actually make a great fall crop in warmer climates. You could still do sweet potatoes, which are grown from slips and love the summer heat. Sweet potatoes are a wise choice if you have upcoming summer travel plans.

Fruit

You can still plant cucumbers in the month of July, as long as you grow the right type. Armenian cucumbers, also called yard long cucumbers, can handle hot temps. If you try to grow pickling cucumbers or English cucumbers, your plants are going to struggle in this heat. Armenian cucumbers are technically melons but taste just like cukes. Sow the seeds now, and you'll have fruit to pick in about 65 days. I know, too good to be true, right?

Another plant you may not have grown before is the yard long bean, aka asparagus bean. These handle heat much better than regular bush or pole beans. And they can really grow a yard long. Seriously, bring out your yardstick and prepare to be shocked! I had so much fun growing these up a teepee-type trellis with my kids over hot Houston summers. I'd chop the beans up into smaller pieces and make a yummy stir fry. If you don't have trellis space, consider cowpeas instead.

You can plant tomatoes this month, but it'll need to be indoors. If you start seeds now, you'll have plants to move out to the garden in August. You may have learned the hard way (like I did) that you can't really grow tomatoes in the middle of summer in a hot climate. But on the bright side, you get to grow tomatoes twice: once in the spring and again in the fall. If you don't want to start tomato seeds indoors, plan on buying some tomato starts from your local nursery next month.

Flowers

There are so many flowers that don't mind high temperatures, and cosmos are one of them. Sow seeds in your garden now, keep them watered for the first two weeks, and then these things will basically take care of themselves. They can keep growing even when it's hot and dry, and the bees and butterflies love them.

You can also plant zinnias, marigolds, strawflowers, and coreopsis at the same time.

What Can You Plant in Warm Areas in July?

If you're in a mild climate, like mine here in Nashville, Tennessee, then you can likely expect a long warm growing season, when your average high temp will be between 65°F (18.3°C) and 84°F (29.4°C), for most, if not all, of summer. You may get occasional heat waves that your garden can push through if it's kept well-watered.

July is a great time to start thinking about your fall garden.

My top 5 things to plant this month in a warm climate:

• Bush beans
• Kale
• Marigolds
• Napa cabbage
• Summer squash

Now let's dive into the best flowers and vegetables you can plant in July.

Herbs

You can plant basil and any perennial herbs (chives, oregano, sage, thyme, mint, lemon balm, rosemary, and lavender) you want to add to your vegetable garden. I recommend buying these herbs as healthy plants from your local nursery. That way, you can take your first harvests ASAP.

Leafy Greens

If your temps are mostly going to be around 84°F (29.4°C), you can grow romaine lettuce and red leaf lettuce, which tend to tolerate warm weather better than other lettuce varieties. Other great summer greens include arugula, mizuna, and mustard greens.

For delicious fall greens, start now. Start kale seeds indoors or direct sow them under the shade of taller plants in the garden. Your plants will really take off as soon as fall weather arrives. Another great green to start now is Napa cabbage. You can cut the outer leaves while it's growing for salads. Once you have a whole head, it's stir fry and fried rice time. If you start seeds indoors now, you'll have seedlings to move out once it's cooler.

Other greens to consider starting indoors include Swiss chard and collard greens.

Roots

You can plant potatoes (tubers) this month, though I recommend sticking with early varieties so you'll get your harvest sooner. Order seed potatoes online or buy organic potatoes from your farmers' market, and chit them so they're ready to plant ASAP.

Fruit

Summer squash and zucchini are ready to harvest in about 60 days, so July is the perfect time to plant them to get a second flush of summer fruit. I like to plant squash right along the edge of my raised bed. You can either train it over the side or tie it to a small trellis so it doesn't take up too much space.

My personal rule is no bare soil in the garden over the summer months, and bush beans help me maintain that rule. If you've got empty space in your garden (I know you have some!), plant some bush beans right now. These plants take up so little space, but in about 60 days, you'll be harvesting bushels of beans that taste so much better than the ones at the grocery store. And they're so good for you.

Flowers

Marigolds pop up and bloom in just 50 to 60 days, so if you plant them now, you'll have the most gorgeous flowers all fall long. When I moved to Nashville, I didn't get my garden started till the weekend of July 4th. I sprinkled marigold seeds leftover from the year before, and I had beautiful blooms in fall colors for months. Plant marigold seeds now, and you'll thank me in October.

I should also mention that the smell of marigolds repels some pests, while still attracting lots of beneficial insects. Grow these flowers alongside your tomatoes, beans, and summer squash for a healthy and productive garden.

You can also plant zinnias, cosmos, salvia, and more. 

What Can You Plant in Cooler Areas in July?

All right, my cool season gardeners, it is finally your time. You're enjoying super long days and (hopefully) tons of sunshine. Even so, you might already be thinking about the approach of wintry weather and worrying you missed your planting window. Don't worry! You're not too late. I've got 5 plants you can grow from seed to harvest in just 60 days.

My top 5 plants to plant this month in a cooler climate:

• Arugula
• Bush beans
• Cucumbers
• Zinnias
• Zucchini

Here are the best veggies for you to put in your garden this month.

Herbs

You can plant perennial herbs (chives, oregano, sage, thyme, mint, lemon balm, rosemary, and lavender) this month. I recommend buying these herbs as healthy plants from your local nursery so you can begin harvesting immediately. Once they're established, take double harvests: half to enjoy now and half to dry for winter.

Leafy Greens

Arugula is a great green for this month. It can handle hotter temps if you're experiencing a heat wave, especially if you grow it underneath some taller plants or give it shade. You'll have greens for late July, August, and September, all the way into the fall.

Fruit

As you pull radishes and lettuce from your garden, stick in some soaked bush bean seeds. Plant beans anywhere you have empty spots in your garden, and you'll have a ton of beans in about 60 to 65 days.

If you have trellis space, plant some cucumbers. You can grow pickling or slicing cucumbers, which only need about 60 days to give you a delicious harvest.

Squash and zucchini are also great options. Plant these on the edge of your raised beds or in an in-ground garden space. These plants grow really fast, so you'll have a harvest in 60 to 70 days. You know how they say, "Teach a woman to garden and you feed the whole neighborhood zucchini"? Yeah, you're gonna be that girl if you sow seeds at the beginning of July.

Flowers

If you plant zinnias by seed now, you'll still get a gorgeous flower harvest before fall. Bees and butterflies love zinnias, and it's a great cut flower to get started with. They're great to put on the outside of your raised-bed garden for beauty and pest control. You could also plant some marigolds.

What are the best flowers to plant in July?

You can plant zinnias, calendula, strawflowers, nasturtiums, and marigolds over the summer.

If you're in a hotter climate, cosmos, petunias, and begonias planted now will continue to thrive through your hot season.

Find Resources for Your July Garden

No matter what you plant, give your seeds and seedlings a really good watering in and keep them moist in the first 7 to 10 days after sowing to prevent them from drying out.

Here are some of our many wonderful resources to help you grow a productive and beautiful garden this summer:

• Learn how to plant your garden the Gardenary way to keep your soil covered in high temps.
• Grab 10 packets of free seeds.
• Grab our garden planners to help you make the most of every season in the garden.
• Get started setting up your garden with my book, Kitchen Garden Revival.

Another great resource to help you know what to plant when in your area is the nearest garden consultant to you. Find a Gardenary-trained consultant near you in our Directory. Follow them on social media or sign up for their newsletter for an easy way to know what's possible to grow in your area each month.

Whatever you grow in your garden, don't grow alone! We're here to help you have confidence and find success in the garden every step of the way, rain or shine.

Here's to the continuation of a wonderful summer in the garden!

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