Can You Still Plant Your Garden in July?

It's July, which means it's pretty much too late to plant anything in the garden, right?

Hold it right there. That’s not the case. In fact, that could not be further from the truth. You can plant in your garden every single day in the month of July to take full advantage of the long, sunny days of summer. 

While I’d love to give you a hard and fast rule for what you can still plant in your raised bed kitchen garden in the middle of summer, it will vary depending on where you live. There are, however, two factors to consider before you plant anything to steer your decisions no matter where you garden.

Around how many days do you have left before the season shifts?

Consider your climate, check your local forecasted temperatures, and determine how long you have before the current season changes. Here in Chicago, we’re in the warm season, and I don’t expect the temperature to drastically change much until late September, when we typically have a big shift to cooler weather. That gives me the rest of July, all of August, and most of September, so just under 70 days or so.  

For my clients back in Houston, they’re in the hot season and have about the same amount of time before they shift into their warm season. So you just have to do the math for where you live.

Which plants only need that amount of time to grow and produce?

Since July 1st, I have been planting those varieties and types of plants that not only love the warmer weather but that also only require about 75 days to finish their growth cycle. 

Butternut squash and loofah gourds, for instance, need 90 to 120 days of warm weather before they can be harvested, so I don’t have enough time to see them through their full growth cycles. Purple dove beans, on the other hand, sprout in less than a week and only need 55 to 65 days to grow to their full maturity. I’ve got plenty of time to harvest them before the weather shifts. The same goes for zinnias, which love warm weather and only take 50 to 65 days to bloom.  

Some of the other things I’ve planted in July are bush beans (70 days max), some short-season cucumbers (65 days), and some short-season squash (70 days). In Houston, I would plant Armenian cucumbers, suyo long cucumbers, and jalapeño peppers (from plants, not seeds).

Planting in July

No matter what you plant, give your seeds a really good watering in and keep them moist in the first seven to ten days after sowing to prevent them from drying out. If you're seeing temps over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, consider covering your garden with shade cloth or planting your seedlings where they'll get afternoon shade from taller plants to help them out a bit.  

So there you have it: July is not the time to stop planting. In fact, it is the perfect time to keep planting. Never stop planting, never stop growing, my friends!