June Planting Guide – It’s not too late to Plant!

This June Planting Guide is meant for those of you living in Zones 4 to 6.  This post originally appeared as a guest post on The Survival Mom!

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Let me start out by giving you a quick link.  This post is meant for those of you living mainly in Garden Zones 5 and 6.  If you don’t know what your garden zone is, follow this link to find out!

Not in zones 5 or 8? Check out our posts on zones 3 & 4, 7 & 8, or 9 & 10

Even the most avid gardeners have a bad year! Any number of things can keep you out of the garden in April and May, weather problems, work commitments, family problems . . . we’ve all been there. But don’t give up on your garden just yet. There are still plenty of yummy veggies you can get planted now (in mid to late June) and this June Planting Guide will get you a nice harvest before the summer ends. Let’s talk about what you can still get planted now and also talk about a few things that you can get started indoors and plant in about 6 to 8 weeks (Around August 1st for most of us).

June Planting Guide

June Planting Guide – Summer or Warm-Season Veggies

Tomatoes

No summer garden is complete without a few tomato plants and you can still get some in. Hurry on this one! Most nurseries will still have a few tomato plants hanging around but they won’t last much longer (don’t try to plant tomatoes by seed this time of year) This late in the year you want to be thinking about smaller quicker maturing varieties. Try some type of cherry tomato (varieties to look for include Sun Sugar, and sweet 100), they are relatively fast growers and should still give you a good harvest in September and early October.

You can also try some of the tomatoes that produce small to medium-sized fruit (think varieties like Early Girl, possibly Celebrity, or many of the Roma tomatoes). Try to find tomatoes that grow on determinate vines (vs Indeterminate) as these will spent less time growing vines and more time growing fruit. The 6 weeks you have lost in growing time means you won’t have a huge harvest this year, but if you get them in soon you should still have plenty for fresh eating!

Summer Squashes

Zucchini and yellow crookneck squash are actually quite fast-growing. Look for varieties that have a maturity date of around 60 to 70 days and you should still have lots of time to grow more zucchini than you can eat! You could also look for a pattypan squash with a short maturity date.

Green beans

Most bush-type green beans have a maturity date of around 60 to 70 days so there is plenty of summer left for beans. In fact, I don’t make my last planting of green beans until mid-July and still have a great harvest!  Learn more about growing a late crop of beans with this article.  

Melons

If you would still like to plant a melon you have a little bit of time left. But choose the small “icebox” types as those take much less time to mature. You can also get cantaloupe planted now. Again don’t expect a huge harvest this year, but you will still have a few melons that will be ready before the frost comes.

Potatoes

If you can find the seed still around at your local nurseries there is time to grow a nice crop of potatoes. In fact, you could continue to plant potatoes until mid-July in most areas of the country and still get a nice harvest of small roasting potatoes. This time of the year I would stay away from the big “baking” potatoes, like russets. As you are running short of time to get them to maturity.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are a good late-season planter to be included in a June planting guide. Again you may not get the huge yields you are used to but by planting seeds now you can still have a fairly respectable crop.  Check out our complete growing guide on cucumbers here.

Onions

If you can still find a package of onion sets at your local nursery they will do okay this time of year. You won’t get a lot of large onions but you will have plenty of smaller onions and green onions. Don’t try growing onions from seed or starts this late in the year.

Herbs

Many herbs will still do well if planted this time of year. But it would be best if you could find starts, instead of trying to plants seeds.

June Planting Guide Cool Weather Veggies

You can still have an awesome harvest of cool weather veggies by planning now to get them planted in late summer and early fall. Nearly anything you would normally plant in the springtime you can also plant in the fall.  Most of the following crops in this June planting guide are meant to be planted INDOORS in your seed starter for transplant out into the garden in August.

Cole Crops

Broccoli, cabbage, kale, and kohlrabi. If you grow your own seedlings mid-June is a good time to start a fall crop of all these yummy cool-season veggies. If you plant any of the Cole crops indoors now, they will be ready for planting out in the garden in about 6 to 8 weeks. That means you will be planting them around mid-August and they will mature in October when the weather has cooled back to those temperatures that Cole crops love so much! You may find many of these veggies are even tastier in the fall because a night or two of frost helps to sweeten the flavor.  You will be planting these INDOORS in your seed starter for transplant to the garden in August.

Lettuce

You can start replanting lettuce about 6 to 8 weeks before your first frost (for us that’s August 1 – 15). Fall planted lettuce can last unprotected in your garden until early December depending on where you live.  Again you will be planting these INDOORS in your seed starter in June and moving them outside in August.

You can also consider some Summer Crisp lettuces.  These lettuces are more heat tolerant and can be planted directly in the soil in June for harvest in August and September.  Try a variety like Nevada for a great summer crop!

Spinach

This one may seem strange for a June planting guide.  Most people see spinach as a spring only crop, but it does very well in the fall! Again look at planting about 6 weeks before your first frost and you will be able to start harvesting in late October. Then cover those plants with a cold frame or hoop house and they will overwinter for an extra early spring crop.  Again any planting you do in June will be INDOORS in your seed starter for transplant outside as the fall approaches.

Root Crops

Carrots, turnips, beets, and Parsnip all do well in the fall and you can start replanting them around 6 weeks before your last frost.  A June planting of these root crops will need some extra care to get germinated (think extra water) but will do well once established.  The taste of these summer grown root crops won’t be a good as their spring or fall counterparts, but they should still give you a good harvest.

So as you can see from this June planting guide, all is not lost, get out there this weekend, and gets some seeds and plants in your garden and you can still have an awesome harvest this year!