What to Plant in July in Zone 7

Here is what you can sow in July if you garden in USDA zone 7. Dates use typical zone 7 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.

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CropWindowSow between
Cucumber, slicingMarketmore 76springApr 12Jul 12
Cucumber, picklingExcelsiorspringApr 12Jul 12
Squash, summerZucchini DunjaspringApr 12Jul 26
PumpkinNew England PiespringMay 26Jul 10
Sweet CornInspirationspringApr 12Jul 12
Bush BeanProviderfallJul 11Aug 13
Pole BeanKentucky WonderfallJul 11Aug 3
PotatoKennebecfallJul 7Jul 20
BasilGenovesespringApr 26Jul 12
ParsleyItalian Flat-LeaffallJul 25Sep 9
KaleDazzling BluefallJul 25Sep 9
Swiss ChardBright LightsfallJul 25Sep 9
CollardsGeorgia SouthernfallJul 11Sep 9
Mustard GreensFlorida BroadleaffallJul 30Sep 10
CabbageTiarafallJul 11Aug 25
BroccoliBelstarfallJul 11Aug 20
CauliflowerSnow CrownfallJul 11Aug 15
KohlrabiWinnerfallJul 30Aug 30
CarrotNapolifallJul 30Aug 25
BeetDetroit Dark RedfallJul 30Aug 30
TurnipPurple TopfallJul 30Sep 4
Onion, bunchingEvergreenfallJul 30Sep 9
Lima Bean (Bush)HendersonfallJul 27Aug 3
Brussels SproutsLong Island ImprovedfallJul 11Aug 26
Napa CabbageBlues F1fallJul 17Aug 26
Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli)Crispy BluefallJul 27Sep 5
RadicchioPalla Rossa MavrikfallJul 22Aug 31
CeleryTangofallJul 17Aug 16
ParsnipHollow CrownfallJul 12Aug 16
LeekLincolnfallJul 12Aug 30
SalsifyMammoth Sandwich IslandfallJul 5Aug 16
CeleriacPrinzfallJul 19Aug 23
RutabagaLaurentianfallJul 12Aug 23
Fennel, FlorenceOrionfallJul 26Aug 30
CucumberspringApr 12Jul 12
BeanfallJul 11Aug 13

Zone 7 in July

Surviving the Trough

The Cliff

The table falls from over 50 crops to roughly three dozen this month, and only a handful of June's crops carry over. This is the dead season here, the stretch where daytime highs routinely clear 85 with nights sitting above 70, the combination that stops tomato fruit from setting on nearly everything still standing. Pepper holds on a little longer, since its own ceiling runs about 5 degrees higher on both ends.

Lettuce, spinach, and the rest of the tender greens have no place on the table this month for the same reason: heat pushes them to flower stalks within days instead of leaves. Fall's version of those same crops won't open again until August.

Start the Fall Garden Indoors

Broccoli, cabbage, and the rest of the fall brassicas open on the table this month as new starts, but they should be seeded indoors or in a shaded corner, not sown directly into 95-degree soil. A cardboard box with the bottom cut out, set over a flat of seedlings, drops surface temperature enough that germination rates hold instead of collapsing.

Potato also gets a second, fall-only run starting this month. Chit stored spring tubers the same way you did in January, cool and in indirect light, and hold them until soil temperatures ease in a few weeks.

Cucumber, summer squash, pumpkin, and sweet corn are all on their last call this month as the spring planting closes; anything not already producing by now won't have time to finish before disease and heat pressure take the plants down.

July in zone 7: common questions

What can I plant in July in zone 7?+

In July, USDA zone 7 gardeners can sow Cucumber, slicing, Cucumber, pickling, Squash, summer, Pumpkin, Sweet Corn, Bush Bean, and more. Dates use typical zone 7 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.

What USDA hardiness zone am I in?+

Zone 7 is one band of the map, but planting time is set by your local frost dates, not the zone number. Enter your ZIP code in the free planner and it uses your actual frost dates, which can differ by weeks within a single zone.

Are these July planting dates exact?+

They are typical zone 7 windows. Two gardens in the same zone can be a week or two apart because of elevation and local climate, so treat these as a starting point and tune them to your ZIP code with the free planner.