Hello all. I’m in garden zone 8 I think. We had a couple 40 degree nights hit and kill of most of my seedlings. Very sad, especially because I had some gorgeous flowers I was excited about. Anyway, now I have garden space available. I also think I want to expand to a different area, but I don’t know if I can get anything from that this year. What can I plant at this late and still get a harvest? My family will eat a wide variety of veggies and fruits, so I’m just looking for any food I can grow. Thanks in advance.
What can I plant this late?
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Ridgerunner
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I can't remember where you are in zone 8, Those zones are more for trees than veggies. With vegetables you can grow them in a lot of different zones but planting time varies.
My first thought is purple hulled peas or some other type of black eyed peas, should be plenty of time for a good harvest. It's not too late for sweet corn. You have time to transplant peppers or eggplant. If you could get sweet potato slips you would get a good harvest. Squash should do OK if the squash vine borer or squash bugs don't get you.
You can always contact your county extension office and see what they think. They should have a planting calendar that could give you all kinds of ideas.
My first thought is purple hulled peas or some other type of black eyed peas, should be plenty of time for a good harvest. It's not too late for sweet corn. You have time to transplant peppers or eggplant. If you could get sweet potato slips you would get a good harvest. Squash should do OK if the squash vine borer or squash bugs don't get you.
You can always contact your county extension office and see what they think. They should have a planting calendar that could give you all kinds of ideas.
digitS'
Garden Master
Three vegetables are on my planting list for early summer and to follow the harvests of the earliest crops:
Steve
2 frosts last week in veggie garden and still having morning temperatures in the 30's.
- Green beans
- Cucumbers
- Summer squash
Steve
2 frosts last week in veggie garden and still having morning temperatures in the 30's.
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Pulsegleaner
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It kind of depends on the type. Common (English) peas are a cool loving crop which is why you plant them early. If you plant them late, they'll grow like crazy, but never actually flower or make pods. Alaskan is probably very early season, so not a great idea, Sugar Sprint I am not familiar with.
Artichoke Lover
Deeply Rooted
What is your summer weather like? Do you get many days over 100F? And how long is your growing season from last from in spring to first frost in fall?
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I already have 2 or 3 sugar sprints, they’re one of the few things that are still growing. I don’t know that much about them to be honest.
I’m in the south, so it’s warm. We usually get mostly 80 and 90 degrees, but occasionally over a hundred. 15 days or less? Our last frost is early March and first frost is usually around mid October. The dates get a bit confusing because we’ve had an 80 degree Christmas before and an April dip. Our weather likes its random waves lol.
Super humid, frequent rain.
I’m in the south, so it’s warm. We usually get mostly 80 and 90 degrees, but occasionally over a hundred. 15 days or less? Our last frost is early March and first frost is usually around mid October. The dates get a bit confusing because we’ve had an 80 degree Christmas before and an April dip. Our weather likes its random waves lol.
Super humid, frequent rain.
flowerbug
Garden Master
green onions, okra, eggplant, peppers, cowpeas of any kind, some beans may work, but i would go for the quickest DTM you can find. as for cover crops, buckwheat, oats, any of the grains may work - just turn them under enough time before you need the space for something else.
peas may not go well or perhaps you get enough strange weather and they do ok anyways. there are some that are shorter DTM and perhaps those can squeeze a quick crop. either way they work as a good cover crop and soil conditioner and you can supposedly eat the tips/sprouts of them, but i've failed to ever try them.
radishes, beets, turnips, etc all have good sprouts if you like greens, same as many other greens even if it might be too hot for them shortly it might still work that you can get some quickly, i happen to like dill enough that i'll hunt down sprouts of it early in the season if they're available.
peas may not go well or perhaps you get enough strange weather and they do ok anyways. there are some that are shorter DTM and perhaps those can squeeze a quick crop. either way they work as a good cover crop and soil conditioner and you can supposedly eat the tips/sprouts of them, but i've failed to ever try them.
radishes, beets, turnips, etc all have good sprouts if you like greens, same as many other greens even if it might be too hot for them shortly it might still work that you can get some quickly, i happen to like dill enough that i'll hunt down sprouts of it early in the season if they're available.
Artichoke Lover
Deeply Rooted
Your climate sounds similar to mine. You should be able to plant just about anything still. Transplants may need a bit of extra babying if it’s especially hot but you should be able to get harvests of peppers, tomatoes, black eye or purplehull peas, squash, cucumbers, watermelon. Just about any warm season plant. It’s probably to late for cool season crops like lettuce or English peas though. Those you can try planting in a few months for a fall crop instead.
baymule
Garden Master
You can plant winter squash also.
