What to Sow in Summer? Lettuce, Radishes or Herbs
There's still plenty of time left until autumn, though not quite enough to sow absolutely everything during summer. Suitable are those types of vegetables that have a short growing season, so they can mature before the first autumn frosts arrive.
Lettuce All Year Round
Among head lettuces, choose varieties suitable for year-round or summer cultivation. In warm weather, lettuces tend to bolt quickly. When that happens, they won't be very enjoyable on your plate anymore. However, if you keep chickens, don't throw such lettuce straight into the compost. You'll see how happy the girls will be when they enthusiastically peck at it.
Resistance to bolting is therefore an important parameter to watch for when selecting suitable lettuce seeds for summer sowing. At Pěstík, you'll find, for example, year-round head lettuce Adinal or Cassini, and among iceberg lettuces, the year-round Larsen or summer Traper. From leaf lettuces, you can try the characteristically shaped Dubáček lettuce, designed for harvesting individual leaves.
If you want to try something original and unusual in taste, Asian lettuces also grow well in summer and are gaining increasing popularity. They offer unusual flavours and various leaf colours. Don't forget about the spicy, piquant arugula either, which you can start harvesting just a few weeks after sowing. It's undemanding and will easily grow even in a planter box.
Radishes in Summer? With Enough Water, No Problem
Radishes grow very quickly, so summer sowings will easily reach maturity before autumn. Ideal are varieties suitable for year-round cultivation, such as Lada, Duo, or Granát. However, the main challenge is watering. If you don't ensure consistent soil moisture throughout the growing period, the radishes won't thrive and their taste will suffer. They can become very hot and bitter. In this year's extremely dry summer, growing radishes won't be easy in some areas.
Herbs and Sprouts for a More Varied Diet
A whole range of herbs will grow in just a few weeks. Fresh basil is excellent in almost every summer dish, and vegetable salads simply can't do without it. It's not too demanding to grow and will thrive even in a planter. Successive sowing throughout the season will also ensure you have enough dill for cucumber salad, sauce, or pickling cucumbers.
However, you can harvest vegetables even before they're fully grown – for example, young sprouts of broccoli, radishes, or chard are very tasty, and the tiny leaves look great as plate garnish too. From a health perspective, they're valued almost as a miracle. Definitely worth trying.
If You Want to Be Sure, Get Ready-Made Seedlings
In summer, it's also possible to grow vegetables from pre-grown seedlings. If you're worried that seeds won't germinate in the hot summer garden bed, you can pre-grow lettuce seedlings yourself or purchase them. During summer, you can still find cauliflower or kohlrabi seedlings. And if you're not going to grow anything else, don't leave beds empty – it's better to sow green manure. You can use rapeseed, for example.
Seed Tapes for Easier Growing
Sometimes it's not entirely easy to sow vegetables so that the seedlings have the correct spacing and don't crowd each other. You then have to thin them out thoroughly and even them out. It's extra work and also a waste of seeds. Other times, even experienced gardeners may accidentally skip a spot in the row. Seed tapes can help you with these problems - they contain individual seeds at the correct spacing. You place them in a dug row, cover with soil, and continue the same way as with any other sowing. For summer growing, you might find useful combinations of lettuces from our range - Oakleaf, Lollo Rosso, Lollo Bionda, Asian salad mix, or rocket (arugula).