THERE’S a shift in the air, a certain crispness that marks the end of summer.
For home gardeners, this isn’t a time to pack away the trowel and gloves, but a final, crucial chance to get planting.
A TikTok video from expert gardener ‘ allotmentality ‘ is making waves, sharing the top vegetables you can sow right now for a delicious harvest later this year and even into next spring .
The clip has already amassed 20.5k views since being shared on August 5, with eager gardeners taking notes.
With the sun’s strongest days behind us, you have a unique opportunity to grow vegetables that thrive in cooler weather .
This late-summer planting avoids the intense heat that can cause some crops to “bolt” – or go to seed – before they’re ready.
For a harvest in the coming months, the expert recommends focusing on quick-growing root and leafy vegetables.
Now is your last chance to sow carrots, and it’s a great idea to go for short-root varieties.
You can also get turnips, Chinese cabbage, and kohlrabi in the ground.
The video also highlights that it’s “now or never” for Swiss chard if you want a continuous crop throughout the autumn and winter .
This month is a busy time for leafy greens.
The expert is starting winter lettuce, pak choi, and mustard greens in containers to protect them from pests like slugs and snails.
She’s also directly sowing rocket and winter radishes, taking advantage of the cooler temperatures.
But the planting doesn’t stop there. The video also reveals what to sow now for a harvest next year.
Spring cabbage, which will overwinter, can be planted now to be ready early next spring.
She’s also trying out a new winter-hardy onion variety called “Augusta,” noting that the name is a perfect reminder of the best time to sow it.
Her video gained 28 comments, as many gardening fans rushed to the comments section to share their thoughts.
One wrote: “This is my second year of growing stuff and it’s been such a learning curve!
“I never knew you could sow stuff right through the year. I can’t wait to put this all into practice next year!”
A second added: “I better get a shifty on if I’m to grow anything this year.”
While a third asked: “How do you stop caterpillars? Eating everything.”
To which the gardening pro replied: “I net my cabbages and veg in the cabbage family (like cauliflowers, kohlrabi, broccoli etc) to prevent the cabbage white butterflies from laying eggs on them.
“These are pretty much the only plants where caterpillars are a problem at my allotment and physical barriers like netting helped.”
August gardening jobs
The Sun's Gardening Editor, Veronica Lorraine, has shared the 10 gardening jobs to take on during the last month of summer - and the all important ones to remember if you're going on holiday.
1. Watering plants on holiday
Think about how you’re going to water your plants if you’re going away. Irrigation systems are stupidly expensive – so ask a friend or neighbour to pop over.
2. Remember your houseplants!
For houseplants use the upside down bottle trick – where you fill a wine bottle and then tip it upside down, spout down, and stick it into the pot – the water should seep out slowly. For smaller plants you can use a thick piece of cord running from a glass of water, into the soil – so it slowly takes it up over time. Be sensible with your watering – vistit www.mains2rains.co.uk for some tips on how to conserve water in August. But use as much grey water – ie washing up water – as you can to save such a valuable resource.
3. Dig for potatoes
Second early potatoes should be ready to dig up.
4. Carry on deadheading
Use either secateurs or just pinch off the blooms with your finger and thumb. With roses, make sure you’re dead heading back to a set of five leaves, giving you the best chance of more blooms.
5. Plant strawberries
You can actually plant strawberries in late august – which will be ready next year. For the ones you already have – if they’ve got runners springing off them – try and pot them up to make more strawberries for free.
6. Prune lavenders
In late August once they’ve finished flowering cut back your lavender – always prune them back to the woody stems – but make sure you can still see some little buds.
7. Collect seeds
A lot of plants will start going to seed now – so it’s the perfect time to walk around collecting them to get free plants for next year – just make sure you label the envelopes.
8. Sow hardy annuals
Towards the end of the month, sow hardy annuals in order for them to flower next year. Try and choose sheltered spots for them.
9. Cut back roses
Prune back rambling roses and make sure they are all tied in. And in late August give your roses their last feed.
10. Keep on top of watering hanging baskets
It’s really important to keep hanging baskets hydrated – they are the first and the worst for drying out.
