June is well under way and here we are at the start of summer: fine weather is definitely here and the urge to harvest your own vegetables has been nagging you for a while. But let's face it: you've dawdled and, in the vegetable patch, no vegetables have been sown.
To be honest, although the situation is far from desperate, it may be a bit tricky for some vegetables such as tomatoes (take comfort, half the time they get blight), chillies, aubergines… But for the rest, almost everything is still possible!
First of all, let's see why sowing a little later than the "official calendar" can be a good thing:
Benefits of late sowing in the vegetable patch
Late sowing can prove preferable in cool regions, because sowing in well-warmed soil speeds up germination and promotes rapid plant growth.
I experimented with this last year by planting two rows of beetroot: the first from transplants and the second from seed. In less than a month, although both received the same care, the row sown from seed had caught up with the one from transplants.
Reassured? Let’s move on to our short selection of vegetables easy to sow in early summer:
7 easy vegetables to sow in early summer in the vegetable patch
1) squash and courgettes
Although they are often recommended to be sown in April and started in pots, that is mainly to harvest them earlier, but direct sowing is perfectly feasible. Only drawback: harvest will be slightly delayed.
2) peas with wrinkled seeds
Usually sown until the end of May, wrinkled peas such as "Merveille de Kelvedon" or "Télévision à grain ridé" tolerate heat. A slightly late sowing, especially if you live in a temperate region, will not cause them any problem.
3) beetroot
Easy to get right, beetroot tolerate a slightly late sowing very well provided you watch watering or, better, mulch the patch. Warmth speeds up growth: I've never had to wait four months before enjoying them! We particularly like 'Chioggia'… and the beetroot 'de Détroit'.
4) lettuce
Summer lettuces grow at great speed… it's a real joy provided you choose the right variety, otherwise watch out for bolting! Aim for 'Kinemontepas' (of course!), 'Grosse Blonde paresseuse', 'Du bon jardinier' or, for cut-and-come-again lettuces, 'Lollo Rossa' or 'Red Salad Bowl'. All are well suited to heat, provided you give them some protection by situating them in partial shade.
5) beans
… all beans, including green beans! With them, it's simple: harvest comes 60 days after sowing. Very handy for timing pickings before you go on holiday or on your return, right? If your schedule isn't fixed, rather than a string-bean variety choose a mangetout which can wait a little longer without becoming stringy. And to vary things, consider butter beans, and also the stunning purple varieties such as 'Amethyst'…
6) radishes
Radishes can be sown almost all year round… We covered this in this article on radishes. Summer is the perfect time to try new varieties especially well adapted, such as the radish 'Golden Yellow Oval' or 'Scarlet Globe'.
7) carrots
Sown in June–July, they'll be harvested in autumn. Consider sowing them with radishes to reduce the thinning chore. If this sowing worries you a little (it's delicate) and you don't have time to waste on a failure, go for seed tapes without hesitation: they're really handy, even if you're not a beginner!
Ready? Here are a few precautions to take to make sure everything goes well!
Precautions to take when sowing in hot weather
First, know that in the vegetable patch summer sowings are no more difficult than spring ones. However, they require closer monitoring, because for germination to proceed without mishap, soil must remain moist.
Which is not necessarily easy when the sun is beating down. If you cannot keep up with regular watering, consider shading the soil while waiting for emergence using crates, simple sheets of newspaper or a very thin layer of previously dried grass.
Finally, favour morning watering: it is less likely to attract slugs, which are fond of young seedlings in all seasons.
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