Fast-Growing Vegetables to Plant in Summer

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Use Summertime Plantings to Fill Garden Gaps!

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By this time of year, the spring crop of radishes has likely all been picked; it’s too hot for snap peas, and the cilantro is blooming. Here are a few speedy vegetables to plant in the summer!

As you harvest any spring crops, do not let those gaps in the garden sit empty; they’ll only fill up with weeds! To get the most from your garden, break out the seeds and pop in a few wherever you find an open spot.

Here are some summer vegetables that don’t take too long to mature. In late summer, as your spring-planted veggies are winding down, these new recruits will still be going strong.

Vegetables to Plant in Summer

  • Bush beans are perfect for early- to mid-summer planting. Many varieties mature in 50 to 60 days and will supply you with tender new beans until frost takes them out in the fall.
bush beans with a hand holding them
Bush beans 
summer squash on the vine
Summer squash
  • Greens that can stand up to heat, like chard or kale, can grow in place of heat-sensitive lettuce and spinach.
radishes in the ground
Radishes
  • Radishes add pep to any meal. Many red radishes are ready to eat in as little as 25 days. For something different, try white daikon, watermelon radish, or black Spanish.
  • Root crops, including beets, carrots, turnips, and rutabaga, can be directly seeded in the heat of summer and will be ready in time for a fall crop. Maturing in the cooler days of fall improves their flavor. (Learn more about planting fall crops!)
  • Herbs like basil, dill, and cilantro don’t take long to grow enough leaves to pick for garnishing summer meals and can be planted at 2-week intervals throughout the summer. Nothing beats the flavor of dill on new potatoes, a chiffonade of basil on pasta salad, or fresh cilantro in your favorite salsa.
calendulas with bees on them
Bees and other beneficial insects will enjoy the calendula  flowers too!
  • Flowers are food for the soul—and the pollinators! If you have spots in the garden that need a dash of color, try planting edible flowers like calendula or nasturtiums. Their large seeds germinate fast.

Fill in all those spring gaps for a summer refresh!

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About The Author

Robin Sweetser

Robin has been a contributor to The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the All-Seasons Garden Guide for many years. Read More from Robin Sweetser