Seeds to Sow in Summer

For many, particularly northern Europeans, the summer solstice means midsummer celebrations: feasting on early harvests, gathering around bonfires, dancing, singing and games. It’s a beautiful time of year with flowers blooming everywhere, fireflies lighting up the night and cute speckled fawns hiding in the brush. And for gardeners in the northern hemisphere, indeed, there is much to celebrate: the summer solstice marks the midway point between the main plantings and the last harvests of the growing season. These early harvests of greens, onions, peas and more free up space for succession plantings and sowings for fall harvest.

So, with the midpoint in mind, here’s a list of 10+ seeds to sow in summer:

Nasturtium
Nasturtium has it all: beautiful foliage and vibrant blooms; the leaves, flowers and young seeds are edible; and it thrives in full or part sun. Grow nasturtium along borders or allow it to cascade from planters. Other flowers to sow now include: Calendula, Borage, Linaria and Phacelia. Pollinators will forage for food for as long as they can, so keep sowing in order to have something flowering in fall.

Scallions
It’s easy to keep a permanent scallion patch going. Sow Evergreen Scallion every 3-4 weeks throughout the growing season and they’ll even overwinter! For a fall crop, sow some scallions in July.

Beets
Roasted, boiled, pickled or juiced, these nutritious and scrumptious roots have an earthy flavor profile that’s hard to match. Thin seedlings to give beets room to grow. Eat the baby leaves in salads, and pluck more mature leaves for sautés and soups. Direct-sow outdoors.

Carrots
In the Northeast, carrots can be sown in 3-4 successions during the growing season. Both Parisian and Danvers are superb choices for home gardens. Thin seedlings as they emerge so that carrots are spaced about a foot apart. Plant in full to partial sun.

Salad Savor Mix
This lettuce-free mix of greens is great for summer. Sow thickly and harvest the heat-tolerant greens for a pungent salad or stir fry. Thinned sowings of Salad Savor Mix will produce mature plants of Arugula, Bok Choy, Mizuna, Tokyo Bekana and Yukina Savoy.

Cucumber
Don’t get bitter when your cukes begin to fade; it’s pretty common for Cucumbers to succumb to bacterial wilt after they set a heavy amount of fruit. Cuke aficionados take heart: it’s all about multiple sowings. Sow a new crop some distance from your older crop and you’ll get plenty of cukes for the season. Try Boothby’s, Double Yield or Homemade Pickles Cucumber.

Broccoli
For fall harvest, now is the time to start broccoli indoors. Transplant when the plants have four true leaves. Make sure to baby them with plenty of water and nutrients to make up for the summer heat.

Basil
Don’t be without this essential summer herb. Sow in one month intervals to have basil all season. For versatility, try Basil Bouquet: it contains Lemon, Lime, Corsican and Genovese varieties. Or plant Sacred Basil for brewing an adaptogenic tea.

Kale
For a tender fall crop, sow Kale 3-4 months before the first fall frost. Low temps sweeten Kale and other brassicas–so, it’s even more delicious after a light frost (due to plant sugars that act as antifreeze).

Amaranth
Heat and drought tolerant Hopi Red Dye Amaranth produces nutty, toothsome leaves that add color to salads and other dishes. Plant in full to part sun.

We hope this list inspires you to celebrate the solstice with seeds!

After the summer solstice, daylight hours will begin to wane. Although the loss in sunlight is incremental, it does affect your plants. For fall crops to reach maturity, give them two extra weeks to mature.

Information courtesy of HudsonValleySeed.com