What to sow and grow in August

August is the best time to prepare your garden for next year's blooms
Image: Cornflower 'Classic Fantastic' from Thompson & Morgan

Enjoy your garden this month while it’s looking its best, there are so many delicious fruits and vegetables ripe and ready to eat. August is also the time to start planning ahead if you want colourful autumn and winter blooms, or plenty of produce for your plate over the colder months. Read our helpful 'what to do in the garden in August' list to help you get started.

Here's what to plant in August, including things you can still sow from seed:

Flowers to sow and grow

Sow overwintering violas now for springtime displays
Image: Thompson & Morgan

• Winter-flowering pansies can be sown now for colour in the cooler months.
• Sow viola ‘Pot Pourri Mixed’ seeds to over-winter and provide fresh colour in the spring.
• Sow hardy annual seeds like poppies, Californian poppies, cornflower ‘Dwarf Blue Midget’, calendula and larkspur now to provide earlier flowers next year.

Herbs & vegetables to sow and grow

Give your winter cabbages plenty of room!
Image: Thompson & Morgan

In the greenhouse / indoors

• Sow winter lettuce such as 'Arctic King' or Winter Gem in modules to plant out later this month.
• Sow parsley, coriander and chervil in seed trays now for growing under glass throughout the winter.
• If you have a greenhouse you can still sow dwarf beans such as 'Delinel' for an autumn crop.

Direct sow outdoors

• Winter-hardy spring onions such as 'White Lisbon' and 'Performer' should be direct sown now for crops next spring.
• Radish ‘French Breakfast’ are very quick to crop — continue to make more direct sowings this month for an autumn harvest. Alternatively try sowing winter radish ‘Dragon’ for a winter crop.
• Keep sowing salad leaves ‘Speedy Mix’ outdoors for a continuous harvest.
• Make final sowings of spring cabbages such as 'April' and 'Durham Early' into seedbeds now — they’re a great crop to have next April when not much else is ready to eat!
• Swiss chard ‘Bright Lights’ can be sown in drills now for autumn 'baby leaves' or to over-winter for a spring crop.
• Lambs lettuce ‘Favor’ is a fully hardy crop which can be sown outdoors now for cropping throughout the autumn and winter.
• Now is an ideal time to direct sow pak choi ‘Tricolour Mix’ as it’s prone to bolting if grown before midsummer.
• There’s still time to make direct sowings of fast-maturing carrots such as 'Adelaide'.
• Make a last sowing of endive ‘Mixed’ outdoors for use as salad leaves.
• For something more unusual try growing kohl rabi ‘Kolibri’ F1 Hybid in a well prepared bed — it will be ready in as little as 8 weeks after sowing.
• Make a final sowing of turnip ‘Sweetbell’ F1 Hybrid in drills now.
• Direct sow spinach 'Perpetual' now for autumn and winter cropping.
• Sow radicchio 'Rossa di Treviso precoce' outdoors for use as an attractive autumn salad leaf.

Plant outdoors

• Plant out summer/autumn cauliflower ‘All The Year Round’ early in the month for an autumn harvest.
• Finish planting out winter cabbage ‘Winter Jewel’ early in the month, allowing about 45cm between plants as they get quite big!
• Finish planting out kale plants for winter and spring cropping.

Fruit to sow and grow

Ensure you get a good first season crop by planting strawberries now
Image: Strawberry 'Elsanta' from Thompson & Morgan

• Plant newly pot grown strawberry plants (or your own runners as soon as they have rooted) in an area where you haven’t grown strawberries for three years or more to avoid disease. Planting now will allow them to establish well before winter.

Keep one step ahead — what to order this month

Sow calendula seeds for a bright addition to next year's garden
Image: Calendula officinalis 'Pink Surprise' from Thompson & Morgan

• Order Calendula officinalis 'Candyman Orange' seeds to sow in pots in September.
• Buy in cornflower ‘Jubilee Gem’, poached egg plant, and annual poppies to direct sow next month for early flowers next year.
• Order winter-hardy spring onion ‘Performer’ for crops next spring.