Don’t Plant These 13 Garden Plants in July
Timing is key to growing lots of lovely, healthy fruits and veggies. Planting at the wrong time can make or break a plant’s lifespan, and there are certainly plenty to avoid sowing in July. When it comes to these 13 plants, don’t plant in July. Wait for the right time.
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If you live somewhere with defined seasons, you have to be careful about when you plant certain crops. Even in temperate regions, light shifts throughout the year, affecting the growth of sun-loving plants like tomatoes and peppers.
I’ve tried to plant outside recommended timings before when I knew my fall would be a milder one. Instead of waiting for spring, I planted my patty pan squash at the end of summer, thinking the mild temperatures would allow me to trick the plant into producing out-of-season. And the lesson I learned was there will be no squash.
This year, I’m sticking to the usual timings and rules. Although there are some rules I can break, the seasonal timing isn’t really something we can get around. And summer heat usually means we can’t grow some of our favorite cool season veg.
Wait for the period on your seed packet that dictates when to plant ahead of the first frost. Most zones are still in the swing of summer, and planting now can force many cool-season lovers into an accelerated production cycle. In that vein, here is a list of 13 plants you don’t plant in July.
Spinach
The leafy, rich flavor of spinach is something I adore in mid-winter. Here in Texas, I can get away with sowing my spinach in fall and letting it mature through spring. All I need is a little protection through the coldest parts of winter.
Growers in zones where the ground readily freezes need to sow later, waiting until four to six weeks before their average last frost date. People in hotter zones may not have the best of luck, as spinach tends to bolt quickly in warm weather.
For this very reason, spinach should not be a plant that you sow in July in most parts of North America. If you do, yours might flower before you get a good harvest, and those lovely supple leaves lose that rich flavor when bolting begins.
Radishes
The bulbs of radishes have an affinity for cool weather and don’t make good summer starts. Just like spinach, radishes sown in heat tend to bolt before roots develop, making it basically useless to sow them in July. Instead, it’s best to wait for cooler seasons.
In milder regions, fall sowings are possible, especially when we’re talking about smaller varieties that mature quickly, like ‘French Breakfast’ or ‘Cherry Belle.’ If you live somewhere that cold comes on quickly, wait for at least a month before your last frost.
To grow larger varieties, sow them two months before your last frost date – ahead of spring. Most regions don’t have a cool season long enough to accommodate the long maturation period of ‘Mantanghong Watermelon,’ which takes roughly 65 days.
Broccoli
When you grow cruciferous vegetables, you’re growing them for their dense heads that are either tightly packed leaves or (in the instance of broccoli) unopened flowers. If it’s too warm out, these buds break open, and flowers bloom. The resulting flavor is not a desirable one.
That’s why most growers should wait until shortly before the last frost date of winter (about one to one and a half months) to sow broccoli seeds. If you have a short spring and you want to grow, then look for a bolt-resistant variety like ‘Belstar.‘ In mild climates, sow a month before your first frost and protect developing crowns through winter.
It would be acceptable in areas with cooler summers to sow heat-resistant broccoli-like plants, including ‘Kailaan’ and ‘Ryokuho.‘ These are adapted to heat and don’t bolt when temperatures rise. In this case, you get those supple stems with leaves instead of pronounced crowns.
Cauliflower
Similar to broccoli, cauliflower does best in cool weather, preferring the mild temperatures of spring in most regions. In areas where the cold doesn’t come on quickly, fall sowing works too. As they grow, they take over two months to mature, so you need that period of cool weather to ensure you get those tightly clustered florets.
Keep your sowings in the mild seasons, and you’ll have delicious cauliflower in winter or in late spring. A bit of frost is no problem for most varieties, and many have been bred specifically to handle quick shifts in temperature that would give other varieties sunscald.
‘Snowball Y’ is one such cultivar. ‘Twister‘ has leaves that wrap around the heads naturally, blanching them without effort on your part. And there’s always the weird and wonderful ‘Romanesco‘ – which takes up to 100 days and is best suited for spring plantings across all regions.
Lettuce
We love the crunch and the flavor of lettuce of all kinds, but it’s one of those plants that most people harvest before the heat of summer sets in. Here in Texas, my lettuce is long gone, with heat in the triple digits wiping out whatever I couldn’t harvest this spring. Even heat-resistant varieties like ‘Rouge d’Hiver’ can’t handle it.
In most regions, leaf lettuces and quick-maturing varieties can be grown in the cool periods of fall and spring. In areas where it gets cold quickly, protect your lettuce as it matures. Most are ready within a couple of months. Even in the coldest regions, a cold frame is a good shield from freezes.
If you try to grow lettuce in the heat, it will likely germinate but will also quickly bolt in hot weather. Don’t plant in July and waste those seeds! Instead, save them for the season when you have a couple of months of temperate weather, and directly sow them in the garden or start them indoors for transplant. They only take a couple of weeks to be ready for transplant.
Shelling Peas
Nothing compares to spring peas growing on a trellis! I always look forward to enjoying fresh peas from the garden as the weather begins to warm. This is right around the time I’m sowing many of my summer veggies. With that in mind, most peas are not great candidates for summer sowing unless you live somewhere with a very short season.
In most areas, now would be the time to sow a succession of cowpeas, which can handle the heat of summer. The only exception to the rule when it comes to shelling peas is the ‘Wando‘ pea. This pea is best sown now in areas with mild summers but can handle more heat than other shelling peas.
If you love a standard shelling pea, look for ‘Progress #9‘ or for a snap pea like ‘Sugar Sweet Magnolia’. Both of these are better for mild climate sowing and produce up until the heat arrives. Then, they tend to dry and become seed peas rather than edible ones.
Strawberries
The season for strawberries depends on the type. Some are ready to harvest all at once in late May to June. These are June-bearing varieties. Some are ready throughout the seasons and are known as everbearing. Then, there are day-neutral types that are best harvested in summer.
Because you’re harvesting in the summer for all types, it’s really not a great time to plant. Don’t plant in July. Instead, plant strawberries ahead of the season in spring, as soon as the soil is workable. This gives them the root development they need to make it through winter.
You can even try growing strawberries from seed. The ‘Red and Yellow Wonder’ blend is an alpine type, that grows easily from seed. The only trick to growing them is to get them started 14 to 16 weeks before your average last frost date.
Bare Root Plants
The summer heat brings warm soil, and warm soil is hard for plants that need to establish roots. Bare-root plants are not ideal candidates for summer planting. They need mild temperatures and warm but not too hot soil to get going. That makes spring the best time for getting them in the ground.
Fall is a good second option if you acquired your plant or tree then. Both allow the roots to settle in before more extreme conditions arrive. When planting your bare-root specimen, remember to soak the roots ahead of time. Fruit trees require a longer soaking period than strawberries.
Another thing to note: if there is a graft, do some research to determine where to plant the graft in relation to the soil line. Bare-root roses are often grafted, and planting the graft above the soil can result in a reversion to the rootstock, rather than the rose you bought.
Beets
If you plant beet seeds in the heat of summer, they will grow. However, just like the leafy greens on this list, they will bolt before the roots can develop into those luscious, nutritious beets you love. It’s totally ok to have beets developing in summer, but for them, it’s harvest time instead of planting time.
Don’t plant in July. Instead, wait for fall in mild areas and spring in areas with significant cold in winter. Get them in the ground a couple of weeks before your last frost for spring plantings. Fall plantings are best done six to eight weeks before the frost arrives.
Most beets take about a month and a half to fully mature, with baby beets available a couple of weeks before then. If you want a beet that really stuns on the dinner plate, look for the variety ‘Chioggia,’ which has white and pink alternating rings.
Arugula
Here in Texas, if I don’t get my arugula sown in spring, I’m waiting until next year. This is another plant that is sensitive to heat and prefers growing in cool to slightly warm weather. If you plant yours in July, it will sprout, but it will quickly bolt. And arugula’s flavor changes significantly after bolting.
I usually sow my arugula with my lettuce and sometimes mix their seeds together and throw them all in one bed. By the time June arrives, both are pretty much done, and I’ve made my way through multiple harvests. I could sow again in fall, but sometimes the cold comes on too quickly.
You need at least two weeks before your last frost for spring sowings and at least one month for fall. ‘Astro’ arugula is a great variety with wide leaves, and you can’t go wrong with ‘Rocky,’ which has deeply lobed, serrated leaves.
Potatoes
The fun of harvesting potatoes occurs in fall, which means planting them in summer is much too late. Most people harvest theirs in September and October. In super mild climates with no freezes, potatoes can be grown through winter, though the light will not be as pronounced.
When it comes to growing these guys, it’s good to stick to canon. Wait until two to four weeks before the last frost of winter or for the time when the soil is at least 55°F (13°C) during the day. Then, pop them in the ground. New potatoes are generally ready in about two months.
For gardeners in areas with short growing seasons, ‘Mercury Russet‘ is a great option. These tubers only take a few months to mature completely. Even growers in zone 2 can get a good harvest of new potatoes when they plant these.
Garlic
You may be hard-pressed to find viable garlic seed in summer, and there’s a reason for that. Garlic is exclusively planted in fall, no matter where you are. People in zones 0 to 3 should plant in late September, and the timing is adjusted from there based on when the first frost arrives. Whatever you do with your garlic, don’t plant in July.
You need at least nine months to grow a good bulb, and there needs to be some freeze-thaw action in the mix for the separate cloves to develop. Garlic season is my favorite, probably because there’s nothing like scooping the bulbs and weaving them for curing in summer.
So that’s what you should be doing in summer with garlic: harvesting and curing. Keep an eye out for the next round of garlic seed to be released at BI. I know it’s something I’m looking forward to every year.
Cabbage
The last entry on this do-not-sow list is cabbage. While people in areas with short seasons can get theirs in the ground now, it’s too early in most regions. Unless you’re in zones 4 or 5, it’s either too early or too late. In zones 0 to 3, it’s better to wait until your spring seed starting commences. In zones 6 and above, wait until midsummer. Just don’t plant in July.
If you’re like me, and you sow your cabbage on time, but it doesn’t have time to mature before the cold comes on, try a tiny baby cabbage like ‘Caraflex.’ These only take 75 days to mature, and they form the cutest conical heads at one to two pounds max.
Cabbage is a great plant for spring harvests. It loves frost, so you don’t want to pop it in the ground too early and have it bolt or get eaten by pests in the height of their season. Instead, be patient. Wait for the right time, and you’ll have lovely cabbages for your late winter to spring soups.
