What to Plant in August — Zone 8
Mild winters and hot summers allow nearly year-round gardening with smart crop selection.
Quick Answer
In zone 8 during August, late summer — fall garden planting begins in earnest alongside ongoing summer harvests. Your key tasks this month: transplant fall tomatoes and peppers, direct sow fall beans, squash, and cucumbers, and sow fall lettuce, kale, and swiss chard.
August Gardening Tasks for Zone 8
August is late summer — fall garden planting begins in earnest alongside ongoing summer harvests. Zone 8 has a frost-free window from March 25 – Nov 15, which shapes what you can plant and when. Here is your complete task list:
Plant Guides for This Month
These plants are mentioned in your August tasks. Read their full growing guides for detailed planting instructions:
Tomato
America's most popular garden vegetable, tomatoes come in thousands of varieties…
Lettuce
Lettuce is the perfect beginner crop—fast-growing, forgiving, and endlessly vers…
Cucumber
Cucumbers are summer garden staples that grow fast and produce abundantly. Wheth…
Kale
Kale is the hardiest green in the garden—thriving in cold weather that kills mos…
Swiss Chard
Swiss chard is the showstopper of the greens world, with stems in electric red, …
Helpful Guides for August
These gardening guides are especially useful this time of year:
- Seed Starting Indoors — essential if you're starting transplants this month
- Companion Planting Guide — plan your layout for maximum yield
- Organic Pest Control — prepare defenses as the season progresses
- Building Better Soil — start any month to improve next season's harvests
- Pest & Disease Library — identify and solve common garden problems organically
- Browse All Plant Guides — detailed growing instructions for every crop
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I plant in August in zone 8?
In zone 8 during August, focus on: Transplant fall tomatoes and peppers. Direct sow fall beans, squash, and cucumbers. Sow fall lettuce, kale, and Swiss chard. The frost-free period for zone 8 is March 25 – Nov 15.
Is it too late to plant in August in zone 8?
August is a productive month in zone 8. Mild winters and hot summers allow nearly year-round gardening with smart crop selection. Check each crop's days to maturity against your remaining frost-free window (March 25 – Nov 15).
What is USDA zone 8?
USDA Zone 8 has a frost-free growing season from approximately March 25 – Nov 15. Mild winters and hot summers allow nearly year-round gardening with smart crop selection.