Transitioning from Summer to Fall: Sowing, Hardening Off & Fresh August Harvests
By TigreBlume
Hello, gardening friends!
After taking some much-needed time to recharge and reap the rewards of a months-long planting season, it feels wonderful to be back with you, talking all things garden.
Bouquet of yellow, purple and white flowers. Courtesy of TigreBlume.
The summer months always fly by, but I am fully embracing August. It’s such a pivotal transitional period—a bridge between peak summer and the cool-season days ahead. While the beds are still bustling with vibrant new blooms, summer staples like tomatoes and peppers are finally producing like crazy, and early-season annuals and perennials are beginning to wind down. Best of all, I am thrilled to dive back into seed starting!
Collection of garden fresh tomatoes. Courtesy of TigreBlume.
My mid-summer indoor starts are off to a incredible start. A few weeks ago, I moved a tray of seedlings sown back in June—pansies, violas, lobelia, blanket flowers, French marigolds, Zinnia Star Gold, and Georgia Southern collards—out to harden off. Shortly after, I potted them up into larger nursery containers to give their root systems room to stretch out. They are filling out beautifully in their new homes! Meanwhile, the July seedlings are moving outside in steady waves. As soon as they develop two solid sets of true leaves, off they go to the staging area on the back porch.
Black plant tray full of different varieties of flower seedlings (blanket flowers, lobelia, collard greens, marigolds, zinnias and sweet alyssum). Courtesy of TigreBlume.
The varieties I started outdoors back in May and June—including celosia, amaranth, snapdragons, verbena, zinnias, and Sweet Alyssum Oriental Nights—are hanging in there! They’ve braved hot, humid stretches, torrential downpours, and a little bit of seasonal neglect. While they are slightly smaller than their indoor-grown counterparts and I lost a few (like the blue salvia) to heavy storms, these plants have proven incredibly resilient and are bouncing back strong.
Black plant tray full of flower seedlings (celosia, amaranth, verbena, snapdragons, and zinnias). Courtesy of TigreBlume.
Over in the indoor seed station, the July starts—broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, calendula, and zinnias—are thriving. The calendula and zinnias grew so vigorously that they’ve already joined the outdoor hardening-off queue. I’ve historically struggled with germinating Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, so I’m celebrating the wins: I currently have one-and-a-half Brussels sprout plants and two healthy cauliflower starts looking remarkably strong!
Dark colored seed tray with young brussel sprout seedlings. Courtesy of TigreBlume.
My focus for the rest of this month shifts entirely to sowing cool-weather favorites: kale, chard, lettuce, cilantro, carrots, radishes, and bush beans. I’m also sneaking in a late succession of pickling cucumbers (Homemade Pickling and National Pickling) along with Beit Alpha, squash (Nimba Zucchini and Waltham Butternut), Red Lettuce Leaf basil, nasturtiums, Flash collards, and a couple of perennial daisy varieties for next year’s blooms.
Dark colored seed tray with newly sprouted squash and cucumber seedlings. Courtesy of TigreBlume.
Between all the sowing, I’m soaking up the best part of late summer: harvesting fresh herbs, vibrant flowers, and the first major crop yields. The tomatoes are finally blushing on the vine, and the pepper plants are loaded with setting fruit.
Freshly harvested vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, carrots, and onions). Courtesy of TigreBlume.
Although the main growing season has only a few precious months left, August reminds us that a garden is never truly standing still. It’s a constant cycle of gathering today’s harvest while laying the groundwork for tomorrow's growth—and there is still so much magic left to cultivate before the first frost arrives.
