Growing your own greens is even more sustainable than buying organic vegetables. If you want to plant in August, lettuce is an especially good choice. IMAGE: Pixabay

Plant quick-growing vegetables to plant in August

By August, you’ve probably harvested many vegetables, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers, and there’s room for new varieties. Vegetables with short growing seasons are the best to plant now. These include

• Lettuce
• Lamb’s lettuce
• Spinach
• Radish
• Green Kale
• Kohlrabi
• Swiss chard
• Cauliflower is best left out of the bed in August, but you can start the seeds indoors (which can take 30 days).

Tip: Follow crop rotation

When planting new vegetables, remember what was growing there before. Rhubarb is one of the few exceptions, that you can grow for years in the same corner, but other vegetables are better rotated depending on the categories of “strong,” “medium,” or “weak” crop.

For example, if you have just harvested beans, it’s smart to plant spinach in the same spot in August.

Here you can find a useful crop rotation chart.

Tip: If you plant in August, Water the soil the day before

It’s best to plant new vegetables after a rainy day. If it has not rained and the soil is dry, it is best to water and loosen the soil the day before you start planting.