What to plant in August (UK)

By Sophie Sparkes · Updated September 2026 · 5 min read

August feels like harvest season, not planting season. The beds are full and the sowing bench is dusty. But it's a proper turning point: the last month for quick summer crops, the first month for winter ones, and the single best month of the year to plant strawberries. Here's what still goes in the ground.

Short answer: August is the single best month of the year to plant strawberries, and the first month for winter crops. Sow winter salads, spinach, chard and spring cabbage now, plus quick crops like radishes and baby turnips that still have time before the frosts.

🍓 Strawberries: August's headline act

New strawberry plants (or rooted runners pegged down from your existing plants) go in now, while the soil is warm and there's a whole autumn ahead for them to establish. An August planting fruits properly next summer; wait until spring and you'll get barely a bowlful. Space them 35-40cm apart in your sunniest spot, water them in well, and keep them moist through any late-summer heat. If you have established plants, this is also the moment to pot up their best runners for free new stock.

Veg to sow in August

🥬 Winter salads

Rocket, mizuna, mustard greens, land cress and lamb's lettuce sown in August germinate in days and keep producing long after summer lettuce has bolted. Sow a short row every fortnight; from late September, cover with fleece or a cloche and you'll pick leaves into winter.

🌿 Spinach & chard

Late August is the classic sowing for overwintering spinach ('Medania') and Swiss chard. Both crop in autumn, sulk briefly in midwinter, then surge back for a big early-spring harvest: some of the most productive sowings of the whole year.

🌸 Spring cabbage

Sow spring cabbage in early August in a seed bed or modules, ready to plant out in September to October. It stands through winter and fills the April "hungry gap" with sweet greens when little else is ready.

🥕 Quick crops that still have time

• Radishes: 3-4 weeks from sowing; you can squeeze in two more batches.
• Baby turnips: 'Milan Purple Top' sown now gives golf-ball roots by October.
• Salad onions: sow in August for pulling from late autumn, or overwinter for spring.
• Kohl rabi & pak choi: both actually prefer the cooling days of late summer; August sowings bolt far less than spring ones.
• Carrots: first days of August only, with a fast variety like 'Adelaide', for sweet baby roots before the frosts.

Flowers to sow and plant in August

• Autumn-flowering bulbs: colchicums and autumn crocuses go in now and flower within weeks: the fastest payback in bulb-world.
• Madonna lilies: the one lily that wants shallow, late-summer planting.
• Plant out biennials: wallflowers, sweet williams and forget-me-nots sown earlier in summer move to their flowering positions now.
• Order spring bulbs: the catalogues open in August and the best tulip and daffodil varieties sell out first. Buy now; plant later, on the right schedule.

Three jobs that set up autumn

• Summer-prune trained fruit: apples and pears on cordons and espaliers get pruned in August to keep them productive.
• Keep harvesting: courgettes, beans and tomatoes stop producing if you stop picking. Little and often keeps them cropping into autumn.
• Clear and re-sow: as crops finish, don't leave beds bare: re-sow with winter salads or a green manure so the soil stays covered and fed.

August planting questions

Is it too late to plant vegetables in August?

No, but the type of crop changes. The window has closed for anything needing a long warm run from seed, so do not sow courgettes, sweetcorn or tomatoes now. What August is genuinely good for is winter crops: salads, spinach, chard, spring cabbage, and fast growers like radishes and baby turnips.

What is the best thing to plant in August in the UK?

Strawberries, without much competition. Planted in August they have a warm soil and a whole autumn to establish, and they fruit properly the following summer. Left until spring, the same plants give you barely a bowlful. If you already grow them, this is also the moment to peg down and pot up runners for free plants.

What flowers can I plant in August in the UK?

August is mostly about planning for next year rather than instant colour. Sow hardy annuals like calendula and cornflower for earlier, sturdier plants next summer, and plant out biennials such as wallflowers and sweet williams. It is also the month to order spring bulbs, which start going in from September.

What salad can I sow in August?

Rocket, mizuna, mustard greens, land cress and lamb's lettuce are the ones to reach for. They germinate in days in warm August soil and keep producing long after summer lettuce has bolted. Sow a short row every fortnight, and from late September cover them with fleece or a cloche to keep picking into winter.

Can I sow carrots and beetroot in August?

Beetroot yes, in early August, for a decent autumn crop. Carrots are more marginal: an early-August sowing of a fast, short variety can work in the south, but further north you are unlikely to get much size before growth stops. Radishes and baby turnips are the safer fast root crops this late.