9 Vegetables to Plant in the July Garden
Planting vegetables in July allows you to enjoy a second flush of summer favorites and get ready for a fall harvest. Join farmer Briana Yablonski to learn a few veggies to plant during the heat of summer.
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By the time July hits, vegetable gardens are in full swing. Long days and weeks of work lead to harvests that cover kitchen countertops and bring fresh flavors to the dinner table. If you want to enjoy this homegrown produce throughout the end of summer and into fall, take time to plant vegetables in July.
Depending on where you live, July is a great time to plant summer staples and fall crops. You can sow most of these vegetable seeds directly in the soil, making planting easy. Starting other seeds indoors and transplanting them a few weeks later gives other crops their best start.
I’ll introduce a few vegetables you can plant in July, regardless of your location. I’ll also cover basic care tips and expected harvest time so you can keep your summer garden going strong.
Cucumbers
The heat of July brings cravings for cucumber salads, pickles, and cucumber-infused water. Even if you already have one of these plants growing in your garden, there’s a chance cucumber beetles or downy mildew will take the plants out by midsummer. Planting a new round of these cucurbits in July will provide you with fresh cukes later in the summer.
Cucumbers are excellent candidates for direct sowing, as they germinate quickly and dislike having their roots disturbed. The plants’ sprawling vines like having lots of room to spread, so plant them at least three feet away from other plants. If you’re working with a small garden, consider compact varieties like ‘Quick Snack’ or train them to climb up an arbor or trellis.
Most cucumbers take between 60 and 70 days to go from seed to fruit, so planting in early July allows you to enjoy fresh cucumbers by September. This early planting gives the cucumbers plenty of time to mature, unless you live in zone 4 or below.
Zucchini
If you missed planting your zucchini earlier in the season, July is a prime time to get this crop into the ground. The seeds grow into large plants within a month and begin producing their first ripe squash in another 30 days. Healthy plants will continue sending out a few squash a week for around a month.
Growers in zones four and above can safely sow zucchini in July without worrying that the plants will succumb to cold before they’re ready to harvest. Since late plantings of zucchini are prime targets for squash bugs and squash vine borers, keep a close eye out for these pests. Covering young plants will protect them from pests, but you’ll have to remove the coverings once the plants begin flowering.
Zucchini fruits grow quickly, so check your plants at least every other day when they start producing fruits. While some people like to grow large squash, I think the fruit tastes and stores best when it’s between six and ten inches long.
Summer Squash
Green zucchini is a classic staple in the summer garden, but you can also plant many different varieties of summer squash. Yellow crookneck is a well-known type, and pattypan and round varieties add interesting shapes to your plates.
Summer squash grows similarly to zucchini, so ensure the plants have at least three feet of space to expand. They grow well when direct sown and thrive in soil that’s high in organic matter. Mixing a few scoops of compost into the soil before planting will help improve drainage and water holding while providing a home for beneficial microbes.
Most types of summer squash begin producing fruits about two months after you plant the seeds. If you live in zones four or five, plant the seeds in early July to ensure you can harvest the fruits before cold weather arrives. Growers in zones six and above can plant these vegetables anytime in July.
Carrots
Most people think of carrots as cool-weather crops, and I’ll be the first to admit that these roots taste better after they receive a cool snap. But if you want to enjoy carrots in September or October, you must plant these vegetables in July. Carrots take anywhere from 60 to 90 days to mature, so refer to the seed packet for the specific days to maturity.
Carrots are notoriously tricky to germinate due to their long germination time and need for consistently moist soil. July heat can quickly dry the soil, but I’ve learned some tricks for keeping the ground moist without watering multiple times a day. Sow your carrots about a quarter inch under the soil, water well, then place a piece of row cover or landscape fabric over the ground to trap the moisture.
Check the seeds daily once five days have passed, and remove the covering as soon as you see the carrots’ tiny leaves emerge. Continue to keep the top inch of soil moist until the seedlings are a few inches tall.
Pay close attention to the days to maturity to know when the roots are ready to harvest. As you approach this date, pull a carrot or two to check the root size. Leaving the roots in the ground during cold weather will result in sweet roots, but you can also pull them and store them in a cool, dry area.
Beets
Beets are another root crop that brightens up the sea of greens that arrives in the fall. If you want to enjoy warm roasted beets and pickled roots in autumn, plant these vegetables in July. Direct sowing the seeds is an easy and popular planting method, but you can also transplant young seedlings. Know that each beet seed is actually a capsule that contains multiple seeds, so you may need to thin your seedlings after germination occurs.
Although beets aren’t heavy feeders that require a large amount of nitrogen, they benefit from a balanced fertilizer and a good supply of micronutrients. Beets are especially prone to boron deficiencies, so it’s wise to apply azomite or another organic source of boron before planting.
You can harvest beets at any size, but most gardeners prefer to wait until the roots are at least golf-ball-size. The tops of the roots typically remain even with the soil surface, so watch them and harvest when they reach a desirable size. Separating the tops and roots after harvest will prevent the roots from becoming soft and help keep the greens looking fresh.
Beans
Even if you’ve already planted beans earlier in the season, July is a great time to make another sowing. And if you’re tired of picking what you’ve already planted, select another variety from the many types of beans. Purple pole beans, speckled dry beans, and supremely tender snap beans are just a few of the options you can grow.
Beans grow best when directly sown in the garden, and they germinate in a few days in warm July soil. Tuck the seeds about half an inch underground, spacing them two to four inches apart. Bush beans don’t require any support, but pole beans benefit from a trellis, sturdy fence, or another type of structure to climb up.
The time from planting to harvest varies depending on the type of bean. Fresh bush beans, such as ‘Jade’, are ready in as little as 55 days, making them a good option if you live in an area with early fall frosts. Dry beans take longer to mature, so plant them in early July to allow for sufficient time to mature.
Peppers
If you live in zones six and above, you can still plant peppers in July and enjoy a sizable harvest before autumn frosts kill the plants. Pepper seeds take a long time to germinate and grow into sizable seedlings, so it’s best to purchase seedlings from a garden center and transplant them into your garden.
Both sweet and hot peppers thrive in hot weather, so they won’t have any trouble adapting to the hot July weather. Just keep the soil moist for the week following planting to help the plants transition to the garden. Fertilizing with fish emulsion once a month will keep the foliage healthy and encourage the plants to produce lots of flowers and fruits.
As the plants grow, aim to keep the soil moist but not soaking wet. Consistent moisture will help the plants take up calcium and other essential nutrients, which will prevent blossom end rot and other environmental disorders.
Most peppers start small and green before growing to their mature size. Once they reach their final size, they’ll begin to change color. You can pick the peppers when they’re half-colored and allow them to ripen off the plants, or pick fully red or yellow peppers.
Swiss Chard
Most greens don’t tolerate heat well. High temperatures cause lettuce and spinach to bolt, and brassicas are susceptible to heat stress and summer pests. That’s why Swiss chard is one of the best vegetables to plant in July.
This green can withstand heat better than many other leafy greens, and it continues to produce new leaves as temperatures turn cold. Varieties like ‘Celebration’ produce a rainbow of colored stalks that make the veggies as beautiful as they are delicious.
Swiss chard grows best when it’s transplanted, so start the seeds indoors and plant them in your garden or raised bed a few weeks later. Spacing the plants a foot apart gives them plenty of room to expand.
Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts take a long time to mature, so it’s important to plant these vegetables in July if you want to harvest full stalks for your Thanksgiving table. Many gardeners wait until the weather cools down to get these brassicas in the ground, but planting in the fall means you’ll end up with plants covered with lackluster, tiny sprouts.
Like most brassicas, Brussels sprouts are heavy feeders that require a significant amount of nitrogen to grow well. Adding compost before planting establishes a nice home for beneficial microbes that convert organic nitrogen into a plant-available form, and applying a balanced fertilizer supplies the plants with the necessary nutrients.
Numerous pests, including cabbage worms, flea beetles, and harlequin bugs, love feeding on Brussels sprouts. Covering the plants with insect netting or a lightweight row cover will exclude the pests, but you can also pick them off by hand or control them with an appropriate organic pesticide like Bt or neem oil.
