What to Plant in August in Zone 8

Cucumbers and Squash Come Back

The table rebounds from single digits to more than 40 crops this month, and the headline isn't the fall greens, it's that cucumbers and summer squash get planted again, a genuine second run of the same warm-season crops that finished back in June. With your first frost typically not landing until mid-November, that leaves 14 to 15 weeks, more than enough for a 50 to 65 day cucumber to mature with room to spare.

That second run is only possible because of how late frost arrives here; a shorter season elsewhere would close this door before a fall cucumber crop could realistically finish.

Snap pea sown this month needs support in place before the vines take off. A trellis added after the fact damages roots that have already spread, while one set at planting time costs nothing extra.

Fall Brassicas Need a Transplant, Not a Seed

Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts all reopen this month too, but they need to go in as transplants rather than direct-sown seed. Brussels sprouts alone can take 90 to 100 days to mature, and counting back from mid-November leaves little slack for a seed to germinate first.

Start those transplants in a shaded spot or under 30 to 50 percent shade cloth; seedlings sown directly into soil still carrying summer's heat germinate unevenly, if they germinate at all.

Lima beans planted now are a genuine gamble against the calendar, needing 65 to 75 days that leave little room for delay. A bush variety is the safer bet over a pole type, which typically needs several weeks longer to start producing.

English shelling peas share snap peas' need for cooling weather to set pods well. Expect the best production once nights settle into the 50s in a few weeks, not from the first flush of blossoms in the heat still lingering now.