Did you know that mid-summer is one of the very best times to replant your vegetable garden with seeds? Whether you grow in a traditional garden, raised beds, or containers, there’s still plenty of time to grow a fresh crop of delicious vegetables before the season comes to an end.
While most gardeners put all of their attention into spring planting, they often overlook the incredible opportunity that summer provides. As early crops finish producing, valuable garden space opens up just waiting to be planted again. Better yet, growing vegetables from seed is inexpensive, easy, and can reward you with an amazing late-season harvest.
So what makes summer such a great time to plant? For starters, the soil is already warm, allowing seeds to germinate faster than they do in the cool soils of spring. There is also no need to worry about late frosts damaging tender seedlings or spending money on costly transplants. Simply sow your seeds directly into the soil, keep them watered, and before long you’ll have a whole new crop growing and producing for a second harvest.
Even better, there is plenty of daily light from the sun during the summer months. That, of course, makes it easy for seeds to germinate and grow quickly. But perhaps best of all, many of the pest and disease issues that occur in early spring are long gone by summer – making it far easier to grow healthy plants and have a successful harvest!
How To Replant A Summer Vegetable Garden
The Best Summer Crops To Grow
It’s important to note that not all crops are ideal for replanting in the summer. Tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn and crops that have have a lengthy seed-to-maturity fruit times are not good candidates.
Unfortunately, these crops take so long to reach maturity they are unable to produce harvestable fruit before the chill of late fall and winter set in. Luckily, there is still a long list of vegetable plants that will work incredibly well for a summer replant. This is especially true when it comes to garden favorites like zucchini, cucumbers, peas, beans and a long list of salad greens and crops. All of these crops are perfect for summer replanting!
Even better, you can grow all of them quite easily and much less expensively with seeds. And with the cooler temperatures of fall around the corner, it also makes them easier to maintain and harvest as well.
With growing success in mind, here is a look at some of the best vegetable crops to replant with seeds in mid-summer – along with some key tips and tricks for growing success. We have included seed links along with each variety as well for those in need of seeds, which can sometimes be hard to find in the middle of summer.
How To Replant Cucumbers In Your Vegetable Garden This Summer
Of all summer crops to replant, cucumbers are one of the easiest and most productive. Cucumber seeds germinate fast in the warm summer soil. Even better, two of the biggest issues for cucumbers early in the season, cucumber beetles and mildew, are long gone by summer! Affiliate Link: Gardeners Basics Cucumber Seeds – Marketmore 76
By choosing a quick maturing variety, you can have a second crop of cucumbers producing big by early fall. See our article: How To Replant Cucumbers In Summer With Seeds – Replace Your Dying Plants!
Green Beans
Most spring planted bean crops are just about finished by mid-July. Simply pull out your bean plants and replant with new seeds for a great fall harvest. Beans grow fast, especially with the warmth of summer. In fact, varieties such as Bush Lake can be harvested in around 60 days. Affiliate Link: Blue Lake Bush Green Beans
Beans are a great choice for summer replanting because they require little additional nutrients from the soil. In fact, they usually improve the soil where they grow. This makes it great for whatever crop you grow in the same space next year!
Replanting Zucchini In The Summer
Although zucchini are prolific producers when they are growing, the plants often fail in mid summer. The summer heat and the age of the plants simply begin to take their toll. At this point, it’s best to simply plant new seeds and start the process all over again.
Zucchini seeds, like cucumbers, sprout quickly in the warm summer soil. Couple that with their fast seed to fruit time, and you can have plenty of zucchini back on the table from late summer to first frost. Affiliate Link: Black Beauty Zucchini Seeds
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Sugar Snap Peas
Summertime is the perfect time to plant a second round of sugar snap peas. Sugar snap peas love cool weather, and by planting in July and August, they will mature as the cool weather sets in. In fact, they are often far better to plant for a fall harvest because spring planted peas just don’t get enough cool weather to produce for long – where fall peas get all the way to the first frost!
Best of all, peas actually improve the soil for the next crop, so they only help to build soil strength for next year. If planting a climbing variety, be sure to put the supports in before planting. This will make maintaining your crop much easier! Affiliate Link: Sugar Snap Pea Seeds
How To Replant Lettuce, Kale & Spinach In Your Vegetable Garden This Summer
Lettuce and leaf crops often wilt and bolt in the hot summer sun. But by planting a new crop of seeds in mid to late summer, they can begin to come on as the temperatures cool off a bit.
Leaf lettuce crops are among the fastest growers of all in a garden. Many varieties of lettuce can go from seed to harvest in just three to four weeks. Sow a row of seeds every few weeks through the summer weeks to keep a fresh crop coming on into late fall.
Both spinach and kale prefer growing in the cooler fall weather. In fact, the cooler weather actually improves their flavor. Sow a row every few weeks from late summer until the first week or two of September to enjoy fresh eating right up until October
Here’s to replanting your vegetable garden this summer with seeds – and to getting a great harvest this fall!
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This Is My Garden is a garden website created by gardeners, for gardeners. Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books and speaking for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. They publish three articles every week, 52 weeks a year. Sign up today to follow via email, or follow along!