What to Plant in August
Find out what to plant this August to make sure you can grow an abundance of food in your own back yard.
Anne Gibson is The Micro Gardener and each month she shares her top tips, especially suited to our Sunshine Coast climate, helping you succeed in the garden.
If you’re not sure when each of our five seasons starts and ends, or what to plant each month, refer to the perpetual Subtropical Planting Guide on Anne's website.
What to sow in August
Right now it's the perfect time for sowing these veggies, fruits, herbs and flowers. Find out what you should be planting this month
Vegetables
Asian greens, dwarf/bush beans, beetroot, capsicum, carrots, celery, chard, chia, Chinese cabbage, comfrey, cool-season cucumber, green manures, eggplant, fennel, kale, leek, lettuce, mizuna, mustard, peas (as seedlings unless dwarf), potato, perpetual spinach, pumpkin, radish, rocket, silverbeet, spring onions, squash, cherry tomatoes and zucchini.
🫛Peas and Beans
If you are impatient for peas and beans, sow dwarf/bush varieties first, then climbers 👇
- Bush varieties will produce flowers and pods earlier than climbing varieties because they need to put on more leaf growth before flowering.
- Dwarf varieties will give you a quick crop and 3-4 harvests.
- Climbing varieties - if you've followed steps 1 and 2, by now your climbers will be producing plenty of peas and beans and they will last much longer, so you can extend the harvest. A simple strategy for enjoying these vegetables for longer.
🍓Fruits
Try planting Avocado, Blueberry, Carambola, Citrus, Coffee, Feijoa, Grape, Guava, Kiwifruit, Mulberry (easy from cuttings taken in the new moon phase), Nectarine, Olive, Papaya, Passionfruit, Peach (try tropical and dwarf varieties), Pomegranate, Tropical Apples and Strawberry runners.
🙋 Remember to remove any buds from young fruit trees so they can put energy into growing roots, not fruit in their first year.
🙋♀️ Feed your ‘mother’ strawberry plants well with compost and liquid seaweed to boost new root, shoot and flower growth. Time to sow new strawberry plants now too!
🌿Herbs and flowers
🌱 Sow American Upland or Land cress, Angelica, Basil, Borage, Calendula, Celosia, Chervil, Chicory, Chives, Coriander (slow bolt), Comfrey, Dill, Herb Robert, Hyssop, Lavender, Lemon balm, Lovage, Marjoram, Mint, Nasturtium, Oregano, Parsley, Perennial 'Sawtooth' or Mexican coriander, Rocket, Rosemary, Sage, Salad Burnett, Sorrel, Thyme, Watercress, and Tarragon.
🌼 Flowers to sow include Calendula, Cornflower, Dianthus, Marigold, Lobelia, Nemesia, Pansy, Petunia, Sweet Alyssum, Phlox, Snapdragon, Statice, Strawflower, Sweet Pea and Viola.
🙋 Interplant your herbs and flowers between vegetables (particularly brassicas) to attract beneficial predator insects to keep caterpillars and other insects in balance 🥦➕💮➕🥦
ℹ️ More info
For more gardening info and to dive deeper into her advice, follow Anne Gibson, The Micro Gardener
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