10 Things to Plan in August for your Garden

Guest Blog Post by Beth Syphers, owner of Crowley House Flower Farm

Hello again, Beth here from Crowley House Flower Farm. I hope you are enjoying your summer and that your gardens have treated you well. For us on the farm the season is in full swing, the flowers are blooming and the vegetable garden has peaked and it’s time to plant again for a fall harvest. It’s always a challenge to balance the flower farm and grow a big garden that feeds our family and to preserve for winter. I think more and more folks are wanting to help soften the cost of the grocery bills these days and one great way to do so is to plant a few things for fresh eating and storage. I thought I’d take a moment and share with you what I’m growing. Here is a list of my top 10 vegetable seeds to start in the garden this August.

Beets, great for pickling, fresh eating, and roasting

Carrots, also great for fresh and pickling

Peas, for fresh eating and freezing

Bush beans, for pickling, freezing, canning and fresh

Broccoli, I love sprouting varieties for fresh and pickling

Cabbage, like a Chinese cabbage great for stir frys and making kimchi

Chard, great for fresh eating alongside scrambled eggs

Kale, just all round yummy in everything

Spinach, all the goodness in smoothies and most dishes

Lettice’s, a good mix of greens to toss alongside any meal.

I love planting a late garden, partly because I have more time to enjoy it and to preserve the bounty for winter and partly because there’s something about heading out into the garden on a cool crisp fall morning to gather a few things up. Here in this part of Oregon zone 8B some of the things we plant now will carry us through the winter with fresh eating like Kale or Swiss chard. If you don’t want to sow seeds you can find starts at your local garden center for easy transplanting. On a side note, August 15th is about the last day to plant another round of sunflowers. As we are chatting about flowers it’s time to seed some spring blooming flowers and order your bulbs! Life has speed up again now that the worlds engines are turning faster. I remind myself I don’t have to fall in line, I can choose to keep life simple and slow. I encourage you to do the same, get out and plant a few things, extend the beauty of the garden, and the joy of life. Follow us over on YouTube at Crowley House Flower Farm and see more of our gardens and life on the farm. If you’re looking for more recipes and garden beauty our first book Furrow and Flour is available now for pre-order coming out this fall and will make a great Christmas gift for any garden lover or homemaker. Cheers to winter gardens and creating a beautiful life with what you have just around you, till next blog post much success in all you do and grow.