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Monthly planting guide

What to plant in August

Computed from this directory's own crop-rules table and each zone band's real median frost dates or monthly temperatures, for the 15th of August. A single national list would be wrong for most readers: August means a different planting stage in a cold-winter zone than it does in a hot, frost-rare one. Every crop name below links to that crop's own sourced guide.

Planting windows and crop timing here are computed from USDA/NOAA climate data and the university extension sources cited below, not a site visit or soil test. Treat this as a starting point: local conditions vary, and a local nursery or extension office can advise on your exact site. See our full Disclaimer.

Zones 1-5 (cold winters)

Fort Plain, NY · Zone 5b

Direct-sow

Basil

Fall planting

Beets , Broccoli , Brussels Sprouts , Cabbage , Collards , Kale , Kohlrabi , Mustard Greens , Radish , Spinach , Turnip

Zones 6-7 (temperate)

McMinnville, TN · Zone 7b

Direct-sow

Basil

Zones 8-9 (warm)

Apopka, FL · Zone 9b

Nothing in our crop table has an open window here in August.

Zones 10-13 (hot, frost rare or absent)

Loxahatchee, FL · Zone 10b

Frost is rare or absent here; timing follows temperature, not frost dates.

Warm-season crops

Artichoke , Arugula , Basil , Bell Pepper , Cantaloupe / Muskmelon , Cleome (Spider Flower) , Cosmos , Cucumber , Eggplant , Fig , Four O'Clock , Lemongrass , Lima Beans , Marigold , Marjoram , Morning Glory , Okra , Pole Beans , Pumpkin , Rosemary , Snap Beans (Bush) , Summer Squash , Sunflower , Sweet Corn , Sweet Potato , Tomato , Watermelon , Winter Squash (Butternut) , Zinnia , Zucchini

August is the turning point: the cold band's own fall-planting window opens this month, while the warm band's own spring season is still months from ending.

The cold band's own first fall frost lands around October 6, seven to eight weeks out from the middle of August. That's inside the four-to-eight-week-before-first-frost window this directory's fall-planting rule uses for a shared set of crops (Purdue Extension, Indiana Vegetable Planting Calendar, HO-186-W), which is why several of them move onto the fall-planting list above this month.

About eleven weeks out from the temperate band's own first fall frost of October 30, still ahead of that same four-to-eight-week window; expect that list to open next month here, not this one.

About nineteen weeks out from the warm band's own first fall frost of December 29, far too early for fall planting in this band; the list above stays quiet this month.

August's own average in the hot band is about 82.4°F (NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals), the single warmest month in this band's own data and still short of the 85°F ceiling where this table's warm-season range stops working.

Enter your ZIP for your own exact dates rather than these four representative bands.

Nurseries near these locations

Sources

Full per-crop citations are on each crop's own guide page, linked above. Institutions cited across this page: