What to Plant in August in Zone 6: Fall Crops That Still Fit

In USDA zone 6, August is for fall lettuce, kale, spinach, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, and bush beans. Skip new watermelon and tomatoes.

Published 2026-08-13 · Reviewed 2026-08-28 by ThriveThyme

August Zone 6 August zone 6 fall planting

What to Plant in August in Zone 6

In USDA zone 6, August is a fall-planting month, not a second summer. Direct-sow lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula, radishes, turnips, beets, and carrots. Transplant broccoli, cabbage, and kale if you can find starts. Bush beans are the last warm-season seed that still has a realistic chance if you sow in the first week of August.

Skip new watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, peppers, and winter squash from seed. There are not enough warm days left before a typical mid-October frost in many zone 6 gardens � confirm with My Garden frost settings. Harvest what is ripe instead. See the zone 6 planting schedule and the zone 6 fall calendar.

Sow These Now

• Lettuce, arugula, spinach: sow late August into early September. Keep seedbeds cool and moist. Details: fall lettuce, fall spinach.
• Kale and collards: sow or transplant in August. They sweeten after frost. Fall kale.
• Carrots, beets, turnips, radishes: sow through late August. Fall carrots, fall turnips.
• Broccoli and cabbage: transplant in August; seed is late unless you started indoors in July. Fall broccoli.
• Bush beans: first week of August only, then stop.

Wait Until Fall for Garlic

Do not plant garlic in August in zone 6. Cloves need cool soil. Plant mid October through early November. Order seed garlic now. Garlic by zone.

Harvest Path

August is peak harvest for tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, and melons planted in spring. Use when to harvest tomatoes, peppers, and watermelon. Pull spent plants and free space for the fall sowings above.

Next Steps

This week: sow a first row of lettuce, kale, and radishes in afternoon shade. Water daily until they sprout. Keep picking summer crops so they do not stall. When September starts, use what to plant in September in zone 6.