What to Plant in July (UK)

July is high summer, and the garden flips from sowing to picking. The beds are full, the first glut is landing, and your main job now is keeping everything watered, fed and harvested. But it's not too late to sow — a little forward planning this month sets up your autumn and winter plate.

For the full year at a glance, see our month-by-month gardening guide, and check exact local timings with the planting calendar.

Sow indoors

The warm windowsill or greenhouse is winding down, but a few sowings still benefit from a head start:

• Spring cabbage — sow now in modules for planting out in late summer; it overwinters for an early crop. See our cabbage guide.
• Winter salad leaves — start trays of winter salad to plant out as space clears.
• Parsley and coriander — sow parsley and coriander for a fresh autumn supply; coriander is far happier sown now than in the heat of midsummer.

Sow outdoors

Direct-sow these straight into warm, moist soil for crops that mature through autumn:

• French beans — a July sowing of French beans will crop well into autumn in a mild year.
• Beetroot — keep sowing beetroot every few weeks for tender, baby roots.
• Turnips — fast and forgiving; sow now for autumn pulling.
• Oriental leaves — pak choi, mizuna and mustard sown now bolt less than in spring's long days.
• Carrots — a late sowing of carrots often dodges the worst of carrot fly.
• Salad and radishes — keep lettuce and radishes going with little-and-often sowings.

Plant out

Most tender crops are already in, but keep filling gaps:

• Leeks — plant out leek seedlings now for winter and early spring harvests.
• Brassicas — get kale, broccoli and winter cabbage into the ground; net them against cabbage white butterflies.
• Successional salads — drop module-grown lettuce and chard into any space that opens up.
• Strawberry runners — peg down runners from your strawberries to root new plants for next year.

Harvest now

The good bit. July is when the glut arrives, so pick daily — regular picking keeps plants productive:

• Courgettes — check courgettes every day; miss a couple and you'll have marrows.
• Peas and beans — pick peas and broad beans young and sweet.
• New potatoes — lift the first potatoes once the flowers open.
• Early tomatoes — the first tomatoes start ripening; pick as they colour up.
• Soft fruit — gather strawberries, raspberries and currants while they're at their peak.
• Salad, herbs and onions — keep cutting lettuce, pinching basil, and pulling onions as they're ready.

Jobs for July

• Water deeply and consistently — a good soak two or three times a week beats a daily splash. Pots and containers may need watering every day in hot spells.
• Feed the heavy croppers — give tomatoes, courgettes and beans a weekly high-potash (tomato) feed.
• Pick, pick, pick — harvesting little and often keeps courgettes, beans and salad coming.
• Pinch out tomato side shoots and tie in cordon plants as they grow.
• Net brassicas and soft fruit against butterflies and birds.
• Stay on top of weeds and slugs — both move fast in warm, damp weather.
• Mulch bare soil to lock in moisture; a 5cm layer makes a real difference in a dry spell.

July rewards the grower who keeps showing up. A few minutes each evening picking, watering and tidying keeps the whole plot ticking over — and the autumn sowings you make now mean the harvest carries on long after summer fades.

New to all this? Start with our guide to starting a vegetable garden and the easiest crops for beginners, then browse the full getting started hub.