What to plant in August in Zone 5

Start indoors this month

Seed trays indoors, under a light or in the brightest window you have. These are slow crops that need a head start on the season.

Nothing in our dataset needs an indoor start this month in this zone.

Set out into the final container

Transplants go into the pot they will finish in. Hardening them off for four to five days first prevents most transplant shock.

No transplanting window is open this month here.

Direct sow

Sow straight into the final pot. These crops resent root disturbance, and transplanting them usually costs more time than it saves.

No direct-sowing window this month in this zone.

Sow for autumn

A second sowing timed backwards from first frost. Fewer pests, less watering, and better flavour in most cool crops.

• Bush Bean — window Jul 27 – Aug 17 (3 gal, 9" deep)
• Loose-leaf Lettuce — window Aug 10 – Aug 31 (2 gal, 6" deep)
• Radish — window Aug 24 – Sep 14 (1 gal, 6" deep)
• Kale — window Aug 10 – Aug 31 (3 gal, 10" deep)
• Bush Cucumber — window Jul 27 – Aug 17 (5 gal, 12" deep)
• Zucchini — window Jul 27 – Aug 17 (7 gal, 14" deep)
• Spinach — window Aug 17 – Sep 7 (2 gal, 6" deep)
• Carrot — window Aug 10 – Aug 31 (3 gal, 12" deep)

Harvesting this month

• Cherry Tomato — harvest from Jul 11 (5 gal, 12" deep)
• Basil — harvest from Jul 23 (2 gal, 8" deep)
• Hot Pepper — harvest from Aug 2 (3 gal, 12" deep)

Not this month

Everything in the dataset is either in an active window or already finished for the year. Nothing is badly timed this month.