Vegetable and Salad Seedlings for August High-Bed: 20 Options to Consider
As August approaches, it's essential to pay attention to planting distances in your raised bed, as the decreasing daylight hours make pests and fungal diseases more prevalent. To ensure a bountiful harvest, follow these tips for August gardening.
Choosing the Right Plants
The expanded Biohort raised bed Belvedere is an excellent choice for any garden, offering low-maintenance and easy assembly. This durable and stylish raised bed option is resistant to rust and weather, and its double-walled insulation promotes plant growth.
In August, focus on quick-growing or cool-weather tolerant crops to maximize productive harvests before colder weather. Some vegetables suitable for growing in a raised bed during August include:
- Scallions (green onions): Fast-growing and ready quickly for harvest.
- Bok Choy: Dwarf varieties like ‘Toy Choy’ and ‘Bok Choy Choko’ are heat-tolerant and perform well in late summer sowing.
- Turnips: Varieties such as ‘White Lady’ and ‘Purple Top White Globe’ mature in about 30-50 days.
- Cucumbers: Thrive in hot August weather, with fast sprouting and high productivity.
- Beets: Varieties like ‘Early Wonder’ and ‘Boltardy’ do well with heat tolerance.
- Radishes: Quick maturing, making them ideal for August sowing.
- Tomatoes: Particularly in regions with a long frost-free period, transplanting tomatoes in August can yield fruit before the first frost.
- Kale: Frost hardy and suitable for August planting to harvest before early frosts.
- Swiss chard: A heavy producer that can be direct seeded in August and harvested continuously.
- Mustard greens: Easy to grow and suitable for August sowing.
Planting and Maintenance
Before planting, fill or loosen the raised bed depending on the choice of plants and their nutrient requirements. To retain moisture in the bed, mulch around the plants with straw or vegetable leaves from tomatoes or kohlrabi.
To protect seedlings and seed from slugs, birds, and pests like the cabbage white butterfly, a plant protection fleece can be used. Planting is recommended during cloudy days or evening hours in hot weather, as a raised bed dries out faster in summer heat, and new plants should be planted quickly to provide shade to reduce water evaporation.
In August, harvest promptly as the raised bed can quickly become crowded during this main growth phase. When temperatures start to cool in October, a frost protection fleece is recommended.
Summary
Here's a summary of key fast-growing and heat-tolerant August crops for raised beds:
| Vegetable | Notes | Days to Harvest | |--------------|----------------------------------------|-----------------------| | Scallions | Very fast growing | ~30 days | | Bok Choy | Dwarf varieties heat and frost-tolerant | 30-55 days | | Turnips | Adaptable, edible greens and roots | 30-50 days | | Cucumbers | Loves heat, fast sprouting | ~6 weeks | | Beets | Heat tolerant varieties available | 8-12 weeks | | Radishes | Very fast maturing | 3-5 weeks | | Tomatoes | Transplants in warm zones | 6-8 weeks from transplant | | Kale | Frost hardy, late-season crop | Varies | | Swiss chard | Continuous harvest possible | Varies (start harvesting young leaves) | | Mustard greens| Easy, good for warm zones | Varies |
This list provides a good variety of leafy greens, root vegetables, and fruiting crops that do well when planted or transplanted in August in a raised bed environment. Happy gardening!
Maintain your home-and-garden lifestyle by utilizing the Biohort raised bed Belvedere for August gardening. Plant heat-tolerant and quick-growing crops such as scallions, bok choy, turnips, cucumbers, beets, radishes, tomatoes, kale, Swiss chard, and mustard greens to enjoy a bountiful harvest.
