As the cool season ends and the warm season approaches, it's time to switch things up in the garden and grow new vegetable crops. Whether you're a seasoned or beginning gardener, you'll find a variety of vegetables to please your palate and fit your summer garden. Summer garden vegetables are planted throughout the summer months and are ready for harvest during the fall.

Summer is the height of the growing season when the vegetable garden comes into its own. While some vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower prefer the cooler temperatures of spring and fall, others such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers need hotter weather in order to thrive.

What Vegetables Can You Grow in Late Summer?

Though it's a bit early yet to be thinking about spring garden planning, or even how to start seeds indoors. There's still a small window of time that you can plant more vegetables to harvest before winter.

Many plants will grow well when planted in late summer and will continue growing well into the late fall and early winter.Others, still, will winter over and start growing first thing in the spring. Another favorite tip for growing into the shoulder seasons (or even all year long in front of a sunny window) is to plant an instant garden using a vertical tower garden.

Growing vegetables takes some space, but not necessarily acres. A vegetable garden can be in the ground or in a planting bed, but it doesn't have to be. Many vegetables can be grown in containers. For example, Olle Rasied Garden Bed is Perfect Garden Bed. The galvanized steel raised garden bed is food grade safe and provides ample space for your fruits, vegetables, herbs, plants, and flowers to grow.

Olle Metal Raised Garden Beds

Olle Metal Garden Beds offer you a variety of shapes and configurations to fit any space in your yard.You do not need a lot of space to build the Olle Metal Garden Bed; they are designed for space efficiency and provide a food grade safe environment for growing all your vegetables, fruits, and herbs along with seasonal flowers.

Tomatoes

It's hard to beat the taste of fresh homegrown tomatoes.These favorite vegetables require several months of warm summer weather to produce a bountiful harvest. Tomatoes are heavy feeders, needing rich soil and fertilizer to thrive. Choose a site that receives full sun and provide regular water and supplemental fertilizer for the highest yields. 

Peppers

Peppers thrive in a sunny site with rich well-draining soil. Add an all-purpose fertilizer formulated for vegetables to the soil at the time of planting and keep plants evenly moist. Plants will need staking or caging to keep from bending over or breaking from the weight of the fruit.

Berries

Though they are not vegetables, berries are a must-have addition to any edible landscape. Choose varieties that produce fruit at different times during the summer for a longer harvest. Make sure to research cultural needs for each type. Plant in full sun, keep plants well watered during summer.

Cucumber

These heat lovers are a favorite crunchy addition to salads, as well as for snacking or pickling. Train these vining plants on a fence or trellis, or allow them plenty of room to sprawl. Make sure plants receive plenty of regular water to keep fruit from becoming bitter or misshapen. Harvest frequently to encourage new fruit.

Melons

Biting into a sweet, juicy melon slice is one of summertime's greatest pleasures. Melons need lots of heat, water, rich soil, and fertilizer to develop ripe, succulent fruit. Choose a south-facing site that receives reflected heat and allow plenty of room for vines to sprawl. 

Summer Squash

Unlike winter squash, these heat-loving vegetables do not store well and are best eaten fresh. Types include green and yellow zucchini, crookneck, straightneck, pattypan, and zephyr. Choose a sunny site with rich, well-draining soil. 

Beans

A powerhouse of nutrition, beans are one of the best sources of vegetative protein. Including green beans, black, pinto, lima, and fava beans. Pole beans can be harvested from mid-summer into fall, while bush types can be sown every couple of weeks throughout summer for a continuous crop. 

Corn

Fresh sweet corn is the quintessential summer crop, a favorite treat at barbecues and picnics. This fast-growing vegetable needs plenty of fertilizer and water to produce tender, plump kernels. Plant in 4 x 4 foot squares or multiple rows to ensure successful cross-pollination. 

Eggplant

This delicious vegetable is prolific and easy to grow when planted during the heat of summer. In cooler climates, use heat-enhancing methods such as a cloche or black plastic mulch to warm the soil and speed growth. Provide plenty of sun, rich soil, and regular water. Harvest fruits when they are young for the best flavor.

Greens

Though salad greens are normally a cool weather crop, there are still ways to enjoy fresh greens throughout the summer. Choose varieties thrive in heat. Mustard, collards, and Swiss chard are both heat and cold tolerant. Even regular lettuce can be grown during the heat of summer when given shade and plenty of water.

Okra

A staple in Southern cuisines, okra is used to thicken soups, stews, and Creole gumbo. This easy-to-grow vegetable thrives in warmer regions due to its extreme tolerance to heat and drought.Though okra is drought-tolerant, it produces better yields when receiving regular water. 

Peas

Though peas are normally a cool weather crop, they can be replanted in mid to late summer for a fall crop. To calculate the best time to plant, determine your average first frost date, subtract the days to maturity listed on the seed packet, and allow an extra week for germination. 

Sweet Potatoes

This nutrient-dense vegetable is a rich source of beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, and trace minerals. Unlike regular potatoes, this tuberous vegetable is tropical in origin, needing several months of heat to thrive. Once soil temperature reaches at least 60 degrees F, plant tuber slips in a sunny site with rich, well-draining soil. 

Tomatillos

Small rounded green fruits of this tomato relative grow inside papery husks. The tart fruits are a staple ingredient in Mexican cuisine, used to make green salsa or enchilada verde sauce. Tomatillos are especially cold-sensitive, preferring soil temperatures of 70-80 degrees F.