August is an fascinating and busy time in a vegetable yard, as many readers will little question be appropriately acutely conscious. Most of your consideration is weak to be on harvesting and tending the summer time season crops.
For lots of temperate native local weather growers, the first seed-sowing time is the spring. However it is important, in case you occur to need to develop year-round, to proceed sowing all by the remainder of the rising season.
Whereas there may be normally a lull spherical midsummer, I sow further crops for autumn, winter, and the next spring whereas the present summer time season might very properly be very fairly a bit nonetheless in full stream. I’m in Scotland and should proceed to sow right up into September contained in the polytunnel and normally even earlier.
Numerous the crops that can overwinter out of doors in my yard have already been sown in July—resembling some brassicas, as an illustration. And a few overwintering crops, like peas and beans, winter onions, and garlic, won’t be sown till autumn arrives, in September or October. However that’s what I’ve or will sow in my vegetable yard this August—largely in my polytunnel yard:
Lettuce & Completely totally different Leafy Greens
Lower-and-Come As quickly as additional Lettues, Land Cress, Chards, Endives, Radicchio
The great thing about many lettuce varieties, considerably cut-and-come-again varieties, is that they may present a really fast crop. Some sown in August shall be able to reap in solely a month or so, making them obtainable for autumn and winter consuming. This month, I normally fill gaps throughout the summertime yard with fast crops of lettuce or fully totally different fast leafy greens.
Longer-term lettuces may be sown this month for winter or early spring harvesting. And land cress, chards/perpetual spinach, and endives/radicchio, are fully totally different hardier winter greens that I sow by means of later summer time season and into fall for harvests by means of the colder months in my polytunnel.
Brassicas
Kale, Broccoli, Tatsoi, Pak Choi, Mizuna, and Further
Not talked about above are many alternative leafy greens belonging to the cabbage or brassica plant household. However brassicas are, the place I hold, staples of the winter yard. And they also’re in quite a few fully totally different areas too. This group of vegetation affords a variety of choices for cool season/winter rising.
I sowed kale exterior final month. Kale shall be eaten whereas they’re small over the autumn or overwintered for a staple and hardy winter crop. Purple sprouting broccoli is one totally different favourite of mine, already in place in my yard for a crop subsequent spring.
Now, my consideration turns to numerous Asian brassica varieties. I’ll proceed to sow a spread this month and subsequent in my polytunnel, together with tatsoi, pak choi, mizuna, mibuna, assorted mustard greens, and extra.
Alliums
Bunching Onions, Scallions, Spring Onions
Many gardeners will sow onion objects and garlic objects in autumn for overwintering. However prior to that, I like to point my consideration to sowing salad onions for a winter or spring harvest. Onions grown for his or her greens are simpler to develop from seed than bulb-forming ones.
These onions should not merely grown for his or her edible yield. One in every of many alternative essential causes that I want to substantiate I sow some this month is that they make an unbelievable companion crop for varied winter crops or overwintering species. They’re useful with their pungent aroma in pure pest administration.
Radishes
French Breakfast, Crimson Globe, Black Spanish, Daikon
Radishes are sown little and sometimes all by the rising season, and so long as they get sufficient water, they work very appropriately in my polytunnel yard. Completely totally different root crop sowing season is achieved the place I hold. I usually succession sow the final word of the carrots and beets in July in my polytunnel. I furthermore are inclined to sow turnips prior to the tip of July. However radishes of assorted varieties can nonetheless be sown this month.
I sow French breakfast and pink globe radishes all by the summer time season, nonetheless in August, my attentions flip to black Spanish radishes, and daikon radishes, each of which I sow someday between July and September in my polytunnel.
Shield sowing in August, and this will likely support you to transition from summer time season into the next seasons and develop a yard that will not merely feed you and your loved ones members in summer time season nonetheless all 12 months spherical.