Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Inspiration

The best fruits and vegetables to harvest in August

Rebecca Wolken
By

After all your hard work over the summer, you don’t want to miss out on the most important and exciting part of gardening: harvesting. Almost all your summer garden plants will be ready to harvest at some point in August; it can quickly become overwhelming to try and harvest them all before they go bad.

If you feel like you can’t handle the overabundance of ripe and ready fruit, maybe it’s time to focus on the fruits and veggies that are the best during this harvest season.

ripe summer peaches

What is ready to harvest in August?

Before we start picking favorites, let’s talk about all the garden plants that will probably be ready to harvest in August.

Related

Warmer weather crops will be at peak deliciousness in August. This includes beans, corn, cucumbers, melons, okra, tomatoes, and summer squash. These iconic summer veggies will be tender and juicy and taste great when harvested in August.

Recommended Videos

There are also a lot of cooler weather plants that can be grown and harvested during the hotter months. These plants include beets, cabbage, kale, radishes, turnips, carrots, lettuce, onions, peas, spinach, and swiss chard. While these taste their best when grown and harvested in cooler months, you can still enjoy a good harvest during August.

Growing your own herbs at home is rewarding and can save you a lot of money. August-ready herbs include basil, chamomile, chives, cilantro, fennel, lavender, lemon balm, oregano, peppermint, rosemary, sage, and thyme.

Let’s not forget the sweeter cousins to veggies: fruits. While fruits are less commonly grown in backyard gardens, there are still those who have dedicated strawberry beds, and now is the time to harvest those plump strawberries, figs, and plums.

What is the best produce to harvest in August?

To make it easy, any of the warm weather veggies mentioned above will be the best tasting and looking veggies in August. However, we’ve gone ahead and listed some favorites, as well as our favorite uses for them, to make the best of the hot summer harvest.

Tomatoes

Do we even need to talk about tomatoes? Everyone knows that fresh summer harvested tomatoes are the best, and every other tomato is just a disappointment. During August, almost all tomato varieties, from cherry to beefsteak, are at their best. To enjoy the full flavor of a tomato, try making a tomato sandwich including toasted bread, mayonnaise, a slice of beefsteak tomato, and a sprinkle of salt. You could even add some fresh basil and mozzarella for the most summer-tasting sandwich ever!

Pluots

Pluots are a mix between a plum and an apricot. Although they start showing up in local grocery stores around the middle of May, they’re at their peak deliciousness in August. They’re tender, sweet, and juicy fruits that can be eaten right off the plant or made into yummy, baked goods.

Raspberries

These bright pink and juicy berries are best when picked in August, although you can pick them all summer long. They’re at their best when they look dry, are uniform in color, and have no signs of molding. We like them best in a raspberry-rhubarb jam, which tastes great on fresh biscuits.

Eggplant

While it might be an acquired taste for some, eggplant is a popular veggie grown in many gardens. To achieve the best eggplant, wait until August and then harvest when the fruit is smooth, shiny, and feels almost too heavy for how big it is. Try eggplant in eggplant parmesan or make eggplant fries with a marinara dipping sauce for a unique appetizer at your summer parties.

Peaches

If tomatoes are the star veggie in August, then peaches are their fruity co-star. Ripe, juicy, and bursting with flavor, peaches harvested in August are as good as it gets. Eat them on your way home from the farmers market, or make a mouthwatering peach cobbler for dessert!

cut in half watermelon

Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Watermelon

It’s no coincidence that those melon ball fruit bowls are so popular during August BBQs. Melons are at their juiciest and tastiest during August, and you’ve got to get your hands on them before they’re gone! They are fantastic on their own as sides at breakfast, or you can make a spicy melon salsa to top a yummy grilled fish.

Peppers

Hot peppers and sweet peppers are both ready to be enjoyed in August. Chop them up for a salad, add jalapeno peppers to your salsas, or enjoy stuffed bell peppers for a summer-filled dinner. Peppers are also delicious with grilled steak fajitas!

Corn

Okay, okay, we’ve already said it a few times, but seriously! What’s more summery than corn on the cob? It doesn’t matter if it’s boiled, steamed, or grilled –– corn on the cob is a must-have at any summer BBQ. There’re also many different ways to add a little something special to your corn on the cob. For example, try Mexican street corn or an herb-filled dill and feta sauce to brush over your corn.

Spitting out watermelon seeds, biting into a tomato and basil sandwich, and grilled corn on the cob are all some of the most delicious ways to enjoy summer, and they can all come straight from your garden. Don’t miss out on these summer favorites by ensuring you harvest them all at their peak ripeness.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Rebecca Wolken
Rebecca Wolken
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Rebecca's has written for Bob Villa and a Cincinnati based remodeling company. When she's not writing about home remodeling…
The 6 best types of Christmas trees to fill your home with holiday cheer
Everything you need to know about the most popular Christmas trees
Decorating a Christmas tree

Decorating for the holidays is so fun, and it's something the whole family can take part in. Choosing the Christmas tree is often an activity that families especially look forward to. And you can make a full day of it, bringing the entire family to pick out the perfect tree together.

This tradition is a fun way to spend time together and ensure everyone feels included in the festivities. But how do you know which tree is best for your situation? There are many types of Christmas trees to choose from, so it can be hard to understand how to narrow them down.

Read more
From mini Christmas trees to ivy wreaths, here are the best small holiday season foliage picks
Great small-space alternatives to Christmas trees this winter
Frosty fern

Sure, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is the epitome of holly jolly winter foliage, but large Christmas trees don’t need to be the sole focus during the holidays. There are plenty of different ways to incorporate greenery into your December festivities that don’t involve lugging home a 6-foot-tall commitment that sheds all month long.

If you live in a small space or don’t want to budget out money for a tree, you can certainly tap into the Christmas joy with a small potted tree or houseplant! Below, we’ve rounded up our favorite mini Christmas tree alternatives.

Read more
The best vegetables to plant in November
Tips on which vegetables to grow when the temperatures drop
Pumpkin on a vine

Some vegetables are more suited to be grown in cooler months than others. It all depends on their growing conditions and the kind of environment they prefer. When you’re planting vegetables during winter, the chances are you’re planting them in an insular setting — be it in a greenhouse or in your home. These are a few ideal vegetables to plant in November, but there are many others beyond them if these aren’t up your alley.

Rhubarb
Growing rhubarb in containers during the winter is possible, so long as you have a large enough pot to accommodate the plant. With rhubarb, depth is more important than width (depending on how many you want per pot) because of its large root system. You want to make sure you select pots or containers that are sturdy, have good drainage, and are at least twenty inches deep. To the same effect, the soil should be designed for good draining to avoid drowning or rotting the plant. A healthy rhubarb could live and produce for up to ten years if you play your hand right.

Read more