August sowings that feed you through winter
Short answer
August is for winter and spring crops. Sow spring cabbage, oriental leaves, turnips, chard and radishes all month, then spinach, rocket, lamb's lettuce and winter spring onions from late August. Plant out kale and Chinese cabbage, and new strawberry runners.
By August the summer crops are cropping hard, but it’s also the month to sow for winter and next spring. Many leafy crops actually do better from a late summer sowing, because shortening days stop them running to seed.
These timings are for a typical lowland garden in England or Wales, with the first frost around the end of October. In Scotland and the north, do everything in the first half of the month.
Sow outside
| Crop | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| French beans | First days of August | A last gamble for September pods |
| Beetroot | Early August | Small beets for autumn |
| Kale | Early August | Smaller plants, still worth it |
| Spring cabbage | All month | In a seedbed, plant out in September |
| Chard | All month | Picked through winter |
| Turnips | All month | Ready in six to eight weeks |
| Radishes | All month | Quick and easy |
| Pak choi, mizuna and other oriental leaves | All month | Far less bolting now |
| Chinese cabbage | Until late August | Keep it watered |
| Spinach | From late August | Overwinters for spring picking |
| Rocket | From late August | Better flavour in cool weather |
| Lamb’s lettuce | From late August | Winter salad that stands for months |
| Spring onions | From late August | Choose a winter-hardy variety |
| Phacelia | All month | Green manure for empty beds |
Sow under cover
- Pak choi and Chinese cabbage in modules, to plant out in late August and September.
Plant out
- Kale and purple sprouting broccoli sown earlier in the summer.
- Chinese cabbage, endive and Florence fennel raised in modules.
- Strawberry runners rooted in July, into a new bed.
Jobs for August
- Water beans, courgettes, tomatoes and anything in pots, ideally in the evening.
- Stop tomato plants by pinching out the growing tip once they’ve set four or five trusses outdoors.
- Pick beans and courgettes every couple of days.
- Lift onions and garlic that are still in the ground and dry them off.
- Cut back summer raspberries that have finished fruiting.
- Sow green manure wherever a crop comes out and nothing is going in.
What to harvest
Tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, French and runner beans, sweetcorn, potatoes, onions, beetroot, carrots, lettuce, peppers and chillies under cover, the first apples and plums, and autumn raspberries.
For more on green manure, see phacelia for empty winter beds, and succession sowing explained for keeping leaves coming.
Questions people also ask
Is August too late to sow vegetables?
Not at all. Summer crops are over, but spring cabbage, spinach, oriental leaves, turnips, rocket and lamb's lettuce all do better from an August sowing than a spring one, as they're less likely to bolt.
Can I sow carrots in August?
It's a gamble. Carrots sown in August rarely size up before the cold. Turnips, radishes and beetroot sown in the first days of the month are safer.
What can I plant in an empty bed in August?
Sow a green manure like phacelia, or plant out kale and Chinese cabbage you've raised in modules. Either way, don't leave soil bare over winter.
Dates set to your own frost dates
VegLog works out sowing and planting times for your town, then reminds you when each job is due.
