Double Your Harvests: Sow These 5 Crops in July

Summary

This gardening guide offers tips for maximizing summer harvests by sowing seeds of vegetables like kale, peas, beans, endive, carrots, and pak choi. The video demonstrates techniques such as succession sowing, plug tray cultivation, and container gardening, ensuring a continuous supply of fresh produce from late summer into winter. It also addresses common gardening challenges like pests and hot weather, providing practical solutions for a bountiful garden.

Takeaways

• 🌱 Midsummer is an ideal time to start new plants for continuous harvests throughout the year.
• 🥬 Kale, especially the cavalo nero variety, is a great choice for sowing in summer as it prefers cooler autumn weather and has fewer pests.
• 🌿 Succession sowing is a smart gardening technique to maximize space and ensure a continuous supply of crops.
• 🌼 Kale and other brassicas are beneficial for pollinators when allowed to flower in early spring.
• 🌱 Sowing peas and beans in early summer ensures a harvest before the first frosts.
• 🥒 Endive, with its bitter leaves, is a quick-growing salad green that complements softer leaves and is ready to harvest within two months.
• 🥕 Carrots are a must-grow vegetable, and quick-maturing varieties can be sown in summer for a late harvest.
• 🌱 Sowing carrots in containers is a space-saving option, utilizing recycled potting mix from previous crops.
• 🥬 Pak choi, or bok choy, is a delicacy with crisp leaves that can be enjoyed young in salads or cooked when mature.
• 🐌 Slugs are a common pest for pak choi, so sowing in raised beds or plug trays can help protect the seedlings.
• 🌡 Asian greens like pak choi prefer cooler temperatures and may need to be sown later in the season if summers are hot.

Q & A

What is the importance of sowing seeds during midsummer for a gardener?

Sowing seeds during midsummer ensures that the garden continues to produce crops throughout the year, even after the initial harvests, by allowing for second or third crop cycles.

Why is kale a good choice for sowing in the summer?

Kale is a good choice for summer sowing because it prefers cooler temperatures, which will be present in the coming autumn, and it will have fewer pests during that time, also it can grow well into the winter.

What is the gardening technique of succession sowing and how does it benefit the garden?

Succession sowing is a technique where seeds are sown in intervals so that as one crop finishes, another is ready to be planted. This maximizes the use of space and ensures a continuous harvest throughout the season.

What are the two types of kale mentioned in the script and how can they be used in cooking?

The two types of kale mentioned are Red Russian, which has pink/purple stems, and a curly, crinkled type of kale. They can both be used for their young leaves in salads and their mature leaves for cooking.

What is the recommended planting distance for kale in the garden?

Kale should be planted about 16 inches (40 cm) apart in both directions to allow for proper growth and space.

Why is it crucial to sow peas and beans early in the summer season?

Sowing peas and beans early in the summer is important because if sown too late, the pods may not form before the first frosts, which would end the growing season prematurely.

What is the ideal planting depth and spacing for pea seeds?

Pea seeds should be planted about 2 inches (5 cm) apart in rows that are just over a foot (approximately 30 cm) apart, at a similar depth to ensure proper germination and growth.

What are the characteristics of endive leaves and how do they complement other salad greens?

Endive leaves have a slightly bitter taste, which serves as a good counterpoint to the milder flavors of other salad greens like lettuce and spinach.

How soon can endive be harvested after sowing?

Endive can be harvested within about two months after sowing, making it a fast-growing crop for salads.

What is the best way to sow carrots when the summer season is already well underway?

For late summer carrot sowings, it's best to use a quick-growing variety and to sow seeds about a cm or half an inch apart, ensuring a moist and cool environment for germination.

Why is it beneficial to sow carrots in containers?

Sowing carrots in containers is beneficial for those with limited ground space, and it allows for the reuse of old potting mix, as carrots do not require very rich compost.

How can one protect newly sown pak choi from slugs and other pests?

To protect pak choi from slugs, sow the seeds in plug trays to keep them off the ground, and ensure to water them well and provide cool conditions, possibly in a dappled, shady spot.

What is the recommended planting distance for pak choi in the garden?

Pak choi should be planted about 8 inches (20 cm) apart to ensure they have enough space to grow properly.

Outlines

00:00

🌱 Midsummer Gardening: Sowing for Continuous Harvest

This paragraph discusses the importance of continuing to sow seeds during midsummer to ensure a continuous harvest throughout the year. The speaker emphasizes the value of starting new plants even amidst the busy season of weeding, watering, and harvesting. They introduce their selection of vegetables that are ideal for sowing in the summer and promise to share tips for perfect growth. Kale is highlighted as a favorite leafy green, with a focus on the benefits of sowing it in summer for pest-free growth into autumn and winter. The concept of succession sowing is introduced, where new seeds are started while the previous crop is finishing, maximizing the use of space. Specific varieties of kale, such as 'Red Russian' and a curly type, are mentioned, along with the method of sowing in plug trays and the potential for transplanting to larger containers if needed.

05:04

🥦 Late Summer Sowing: Peas, Endive, and Carrots

The focus shifts to sowing peas and beans in late summer, noting the urgency before the first frosts. The speaker shares their strategy for sowing peas early in the month to avoid mice and ensure quick germination due to warm soil. They describe the process of sowing, including row spacing and seed depth, and the importance of watering to encourage growth. Endive is introduced as a valuable leafy vegetable with a bitter taste, perfect for sowing in midsummer. The speaker differentiates between frisée and escaroles, choosing to sow the latter. The method involves using a potting mix, sowing a pinch of seeds, and maintaining moisture. Carrots are also highlighted as a must-grow vegetable, with a mention of quick maturing varieties suitable for late summer sowing. The process includes row marking, watering, sowing, and potential shading to aid germination. The potential for container sowing of carrots is also discussed, along with the benefits of using recycled potting mix.

10:09

🥬 Sowing Pak Choi and Asian Greens in Summer

The final paragraph centers on sowing pak choi, a crisp and delicately flavored Asian green, and the enjoyment of consuming it in various dishes. The speaker addresses the challenges of slugs and the strategy of sowing in plug trays to protect the seeds. They mention the preference for sowing Asian greens in the second half of summer and the importance of choosing varieties slow to bolt. The process of sowing pak choi seeds in plugs is described, including the selection of a purple-leafed variety. The care required for pak choi, including watering and providing cool conditions, is emphasized, along with the need to protect the plants from slugs and butterflies. The speaker also touches on the timing of sowing and the possibility of waiting for cooler weather if necessary.

Keywords

💡Midsummer

Midsummer refers to the middle of the summer season, typically around the time of the summer solstice. In the context of the video, it signifies the peak of the growing season for plants, a critical time for gardeners to manage their gardens effectively. The script mentions that midsummer is busy with tasks like weeding, watering, and harvesting, but also emphasizes the importance of sowing seeds during this period for continuous harvests.

💡Sowing seeds

Sowing seeds is the process of planting seeds in the soil to initiate the growth of new plants. It is a fundamental gardening activity that ensures the continuity of crops. In the video, sowing seeds in midsummer is highlighted as a smart practice to prepare for second or third harvests later in the year, with specific examples given for various vegetables like kale and peas.

💡Kale

Kale is a leafy green vegetable known for its health benefits and adaptability to various cooking methods. It is one of the favorite vegetables mentioned in the script for starting new growth during midsummer. The video discusses two types of kale: 'cavalo nero' and 'Red Russian', emphasizing their growth into autumn and winter, and their use in salads and cooking.

💡Succession sowing

Succession sowing is a gardening technique where seeds are sown at intervals to ensure a continuous supply of crops. It is a strategy to maximize the use of space and extend the harvest season. The script illustrates this concept by showing how the gardener starts new kale plants while others are finishing, ensuring a continuous cycle of growth.

💡Peas

Peas are a cool-season crop that is mentioned in the script as being sown in early summer to ensure a harvest before the first frosts. The video describes the process of sowing peas, including the importance of soil preparation and the planting method, with the expectation of a harvest within about 12 weeks.

💡Endive

Endive is a type of leafy vegetable with a slightly bitter taste, appreciated for its unique flavor profile in salads. The script introduces 'escarole' as a type of endive to be sown, noting its fast growth and readiness for harvest within about two months. It is an example of the diverse leafy greens that can be grown to extend the harvest season.

💡Carrots

Carrots are root vegetables valued for their flavor and nutritional content. The video discusses the importance of sowing quick-growing varieties of carrots in the summer to ensure a bonus crop before autumn. It also mentions techniques such as broadcast sowing in containers for those with limited ground space.

💡Pak choi

Pak choi, also known as bok choy, is an Asian green vegetable with crisp and delicately flavored leaves. It is highlighted in the script as a delicacy in the kitchen, particularly when fried with garlic and soy sauce. The video addresses the challenges of growing pak choi, such as slugs, and the importance of choosing varieties slow to bolt for successful cultivation in the summer.

💡Slugs

Slugs are garden pests that can damage young plants and leaves. The script mentions slugs' preference for pak choi and kale, and the gardener's strategy to sow these vegetables in plug trays to protect them from slugs. This highlights the importance of pest management in gardening.

💡Container gardening

Container gardening is the practice of growing plants in containers rather than in the ground. It is presented in the script as a solution for those with limited garden space, with examples of sowing carrots in containers and recycling old potting mix to do so. This method allows for more control over the growing conditions and is a practical approach to urban gardening.

Highlights

Midsummer is an ideal time to start new plants for continuous harvests.

Succession sowing allows for efficient use of garden space by overlapping crops.

Cavalo nero kale can be sown in summer for growth into autumn, with fewer pests.

Kale varieties can be started in plug trays for easy transplanting and crop overlap.

Sowing Red Russian and curly kale provides options for both salads and cooking.

Peas and beans should be sown early in the month to avoid missing the harvest window.

Bush or dwarf beans and quick-growing peas are ideal for late summer sowings.

Endive, with its bitter leaves, complements softer salad greens and grows quickly.

Escaroles are a type of endive with flatter leaves suitable for midsummer sowing.

Carrots are a must-grow vegetable; quick maturing varieties are ideal for late season sowings.

Sowing carrots in containers is a space-saving method using recycled potting mix.

Pak choi is a delicacy with crisp leaves, best sown in plug trays to avoid slugs.

Asian greens like pak choi, komatsuna, and tatsoi are great for late summer sowings.

Proper watering and shading are crucial for pak choi to prevent bolting in hot weather.

Slugs and snails can be managed organically to protect vulnerable plants like pak choi.

Flowering brassicas provide a valuable nectar source for bees and butterflies in early spring.

Transcripts

Midsummer is the peak of the growing season

but we can be so busy weeding, watering and  harvesting that we forget to start new plants.

But smart gardeners know that sowing seeds now

will keep their gardens cropping  with second or even third crops.

Today we'll be starting off  vegetable garden favorites

that will keep the harvests  coming for months to come.

I will be revealing my prime  tried and trusted selection,

guaranteed to keep your crops coming for longer

and I'll be sharing everything you  need to get them growing to perfection.

First up is one of my favorite leafy greens, kale.

Now this is my cavalo nero kale  that I sowed earlier in spring,

but making a sowing now in  summer can be a savvy idea

because your kale will grow on into the  coolness of autumn, which it'll much prefer

and there will be fewer pests  around at that time of year.

And all varieties of kale will grow well into the  winter as well. If you can resist it that long!

Now alas there isn't much space in my bed

so I'm going to have to start my  kale off in these plug trays here,

but it does mean that I can overlap my crops.

Now this is a great example of succession sowing.

It means I can start these off  while the things finish over there

and have young plants ready to go out,  making the most of the space I have.

And these guys are going to go where my  potatoes are currently growing. Not long now.

And I'm sowing two types of kale today,

a beautiful pink/purple stemed variety called  Red Russian and a curly, crinkled type of kale.

Both of them will give lovely  young leaves, perfect in salads,

and then grow on to give adult leaves for cooking.

And sowing couldn't be simpler.  I filled up my plug trays,

I'm making little depressions  with my fingertips here

and then into each little  depression goes two seeds.

Now if these both come up, I will just thin out  the seedlings to leave the strongest in each plug.

And now just cover the seeds over and  then we'll give them a bit of a water

and of course a label to  set them all on their way.

If there still isn't room in the garden by  the time these guys have filled their plugs

I can easily just pot them on into larger plugs  or pots and then grow them on until there is space

and that should buy me an extra couple of weeks.

And these guys will get planted about  16in or 40cm apart in both directions

nicely firmed in and given a really  good water to set them on their way.

Now I should get some pickings in  the autumn before a lull over winter

and then they'll pick up again in  spring before eventually flowering

at which point they can just be grubbed  up and added to the compost heap.

These are the flowers of mustard which  are very closely related to kale.

Now it's worth letting kale and  other brassicas flower like this

if you have the space early in spring

because they provide a really valuable  source of nectar for bees and butterflies.

With summer in full swing it's  a final call for peas and beans,

leave it too late and the pods may not form in  time before the first frosts signal game over.

Now for me early in the month  it's either bush or dwarf beans

or a cheeky, just in the nick of time, sowing  of peas,which is what we're going to do now.

Early in the season there are  always mice to contend with,

which I swear are watching in the undergrowth

waiting to snaffle the seeds  the moment my back is turned.

But in summer the soil's nice and  warm and germination is really speedy

so these guys will be up before  the mice have even noticed.

Now I really don't have much room  here, just space for a couple of rows

but these really will give premium  pickings that are well worth waiting for.

And I'm sowing a fairly quick growing,

shorter variety which should  give a harvest by early autumn.

So I've got my rows about well,  just over a foot apart here

and cause these don't grow  too tall that should be fine

and then I'm just going to space  the seeds within the row here

about 2in or 5cm apart and there  at a similar depth as well.

The soil's really quite dry after  the last crop which has just come out

so I'm going to have to go in with a really  good, deep water here to stir them into life.

As I said, these peas will only grow  to a couple of feet or around 60cm tall

but they'll still welcome some  support, so I'm going to just push in

these kind of pea sticks here which  are just kind of off cuts of hazel.

Now as peas grow, they're obviously a cool  season crop and they like it nice and moist

so if it gets hot (you never know) then  I will be sure to keep it well watered

to keep them growing nice and strongly  and if the birds show any attention

then I might have to put in some  sort of netting to keep them off.

But all going well I should have a  harvest here within about 12 weeks.

As we head into midsummer and beyond there's a  long list of luscious leaves we can be sowing

and for me the absolute  beauty of them all is endive.

Now if you're unfamiliar with endive, well it's  got slightly bitter tasting leaves in a good way

which are the perfect counterpoint to smoother  softer leaves like lettuce and spinach.

Now there are two types of endive  there's frisée which is French for curly,

and that has really finely  dissected intricate leaves

and then there are the flatter,  fuller types called the escaroles

which is what we're going to be sowing today.

Like so many salad leaves endive is fast,

with these guys ready to harvest  from sowing within about two months.

Now I'm just going to use my  usual all purpose potting mix here

and I'm just sieving the last bit  here to give a nice smooth texture.

There we are, firm it down a bit.  They're going into this pot here

and I'm just going to sow a little  scant pinch over the surface like that

and then sieve a little more  of our potting mix over the top

and then finish with the water.

Once these seedlings are up, I will transfer  them into plug trays, one seeding per plug

and then grow them on and  once they fill those plugs

they will get planted out about 9in or 23cm apart.

Now I've chosen a slow to bolt variety, but if  we do get bit of a heat wave and it's very dry

well they will of course need to be kept well  watered to encourage those luscious leaves.

We've sown carrots a few times  in this series of sowing videos

but that's because carrots are a must  grow for its sheer character and flavor

and by the way, if you want to catch  up with all of these sowing videos

I'll put them in a playlist  which I will link to below.

Anyway with summer rapidly marching on,  the window for sowing these ravishing roots

is rapidly closing, so it's my last sowing and  I'm going to be using a quick growing variety.

If you're not sure which types of  carrots can turn things around in time,

well here's a little list of quick  maturing varieties to give a go.

There isn't time before autumn for my  carrots to grow big fat chunky roots

but there is time for a bonus  crop of sweet and tender roots

which I can then enjoy throughout the autumn.

And it's the usual routine for these carrots.  I've marked out two rows about 10in or 25cm apart

and now just to help the seeds along  cause it is beginning to get a bit dry,

I'm going to water into the row before I sow

and this will create a nice cool,  moist cushion around the seeds.

And now to sow, a little pinch of  seeds, trying as best as you can

to drop each seed about a  cm or half an inch apart,

but don't worry if you get a little  a little bit closer than that,

you can always thin the seedlings  out. And then just cover them over.

If it gets really hot then what I could  do is cover this area with a plank of wood

each row, to kind of shade it until the  seedlings come up, but do check regularly.

And if you are in a very hot climate,

then I would say that's absolutely a very good  idea actually to help with germination there.

And then these should be good to  harvest from about two months time

and then on well into autumn  and possibly even early winter.

This is also a really good time to make  more sowings of carrots into containers,

so if you don't have much ground  space this is a great option.

Now these guys I sowed earlier  in the spring and look,

I've got some lovely little baby finger  carrots that are perfect for salads.

What I love about sowing carrots into containers

is that they don't really need  very rich compost or potting mix,

which means you can get away with actually  recycling old potting mix from for example,

a container that had potatoes in, so it'll  still have enough nutrients left in it.

So fill a container and then just do  the usual, but rather than doing rows

we're going to do what's called broadcast sowing,

which means scattering the  seeds evenly all over like this

and then once you've got them scattered,  aiming for about a cm or or half an inch apart,

you can then just cover them back over  with a touch more of your potting mix.

And now for something that's a  real delicacy in the kitchen.

Pak choi or bok choy is a real winner thanks  to its crisp but delicately flavored leaves.

I absolutely love it briefly fried with a  little bit of oil, lots of minced garlic

and perhaps a little splosh of soy sauce  to finish it all off. Mmm delicious!

Pak choi is one of a number of Asian greens

that are great for sowing from  the second half of summer.

Others include komatsuna, tatsoi  and of course Chinese cabbage.

Now slugs absolutely love pak choi

so I'm again going to be sowing them into a plug  tray so I can grow them off the ground for now.

Slugs are a nuisance, but you have to  hand it to them, they've got good taste.

What I love about pak choi is that like kale,

you can enjoy the leaves young in  salads or let them grow on to then cook.

And just like kale, there are a number  of good varieties to choose from

including a purple-tinged colored  leaf which is what I'm sowing today.

I've also gone for a variety that is  slow to bolt or flower prematurely

which can be a risk at this time of year

and the variety I've chosen is an  award winner. Some others for you here.

So I'm just going to sow again like I did  with the kale, two seeds into each plug here

and then if they both germinate I will remove  the weakest seedling to leave the strongest.

Now the big trick with these pak choi  is to keep them well watered and cool,

that's really important  especially at this time of year,

so I'll probably grow these  outside in a dappled, shady spot,

safe from those butterflies of course  which could lay eggs and munch on them.

Pak choi and all of the Asian  greens in fact, do not like it hot

so if you do get really hot summers  it may just be worth waiting

until later in summer or even  early autumn before you sow them.

Once these seedlings are ready, I will  plant them out about 8in or 20cm apart

and of course watch out for slugs, making sure  I do regular slug hunts and set those traps

and you can learn more about my strategy  for dealing with both slugs and snails

completely organically of course, in  this video. I'll catch you next time.