What to Plant in Late Summer in Central Ohio

Late summer (typically August through early September) may seem like it’s too late to plant anything in your garden. But that’s incorrect! Late summer presents a great opportunity for planting. This is because the soil is still warm, which encourages root development for new plants. Plus, there are fewer pesky insect foes during the late summer and the intense heat of Ohio’s summer often begins to lessen, which makes for a less stressful environment for new plants.

So, what can you plant in late summer in Ohio and how do you make the most out of late-summer gardening? We’re so glad that you asked!

First, let’s talk about when central Ohio’s first frost is and why it matters for your late-summer planting.

Central Ohio's First Frost: Why It Matters for Planting

When gardening during the late summer, one of the most critical dates is the average first fall frost as this will be your guideline for how much time you have left in the growing season. For much of central Ohio, the first fall frost is around October 20th. While this is an average and can vary, this date serves as a vital guideline for Ohio gardeners because it affects the following elements.

Tender Plant Lifespan

Many of the cool-season vegetables and some annual flowers you plant in the late summer are "tender," meaning they cannot tolerate freezing temperatures. Knowing your approximate first frost date helps you to calculate if there's enough time for these plants to mature and produce a harvest before cold weather damages or kills them.

Root Establishment for Perennials

For many perennials, planting them several weeks before the average first frost date gives their roots adequate time to establish themselves in the warm soil. A well-rooted perennial is likely to survive the winter and return robustly in the spring.

Planning Your Harvests

The first frost may mark the end of your harvest period unless you plan for crop protection. Understanding this timing allows you to maximize your yield and set your gardening expectations.

Protection Strategies

Knowing your average date helps you to prepare for the impending cold temperature. For example, you may take protective measures, such as covering tender plants with a frost cloth, to extend your plants’ lives by a few extra weeks.

While no one can predict the exact day of the first frost, having this average date in mind empowers you to make smart planting decisions and get the most out of your central Ohio home garden.

Late Summer Planting in Your Central Ohio Garden

With an eye on that upcoming frost date, here are some of the best things you can plant during the late summer.

Cool-Season Vegetables

Can you plant a vegetable garden in the late summer? Absolutely! You just have to plant the right vegetables for the late summer.

Stick with cool-season vegetables, which are plants that thrive in cooler temperatures. For example, leafy greens such as collards, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, and spinach love late summer’s and fall’s cool weather. You can also plant arugula, Swiss chard, and mustard greens for a quick and rewarding harvest.

Cabbage is another vegetable you can grow in the late summer and harvest in the fall. In fact, fall-harvested cabbage often tastes sweeter than spring-grown cabbage, and you avoid the danger of your cabbage bolting in summer’s high heat.

Consider planting root vegetables, such as carrots, beets, radishes, and parsnip. You may even be able to wait and harvest these root veggies during the winter, and who doesn’t want fresh vegetables during the winter?

Garlic is another one of our favorite vegetables to grow in the late summer. As the soil cools down as we move toward the fall, garlic gets a chance to establish a strong root system. Then, you can harvest your garlic in the spring or during the next summer.

Perennials

Planting new perennials in late summer gives them crucial time to establish their root systems before the ground freezes solid for winter. This leads to a strong start and vigorous growth during the next spring. Some perennials to plant during the late summer and into fall are asters, hostas, daylilies, irises, peonies, bleeding hearts, coral bells, and rudbeckia.

Our favorite perennial to plant in the late summer and fall, though, is the mum. Mums are easy-to-grow flowers and are classic late-summer and fall flowers that will bring color, texture, and beauty to your Ohio garden. Planting mums in late summer allows them to get established before cooler weather truly sets in, which ensures that they will give you an incredible burst of vibrant color just when other plants are winding down. Mums’ wide array of colors and forms make them perfect for extending your garden's beauty well into autumn and right up to the first hard frost.  

The Fall Festival at Timbuk Farms celebrates mums, and we’ll have a beautiful mum-painted field (trust us, it’ll make sense when you see it) for our 2025 Fall Festival. Stay tuned for more details on the mum-painted field and on our 2025 Fall Festival activities and showcases.

Biennials

Biennial plants are those that live for two years and bloom during their second year before dying. Ohio biennial plants include foxglove, sweet William, parsley, swiss chard, and hollyhocks. Sow biennial plants during the late summer to give them time to establish strong roots and foliage this year, which sets them up for stunning floral displays during the next spring and summer.

Cover Crops

A cover crop refers to plants that are grown for purposes other than for harvesting. For example, people grow cover crops to ward off pests, add nutrients into the dirt, add biomass to the soil, prevent erosion, create “green manure,” and to complement other plants regarding nutrients. You can read our full guide on cover crops and on how and when to plant cover crops here: “Prepping Your Garden for Winter: All About Cover Crops.”

Some of the best cover crops for Ohio gardens are clover, oats, rye, hairy vetch, buckwheat, peas, beans, alfalfa, turnips, kale, and canola.

How to Jumpstart Your Late-Summer Garden

If you want to jumpstart your seeds, then germinate them indoors and use a grow light. Or, if you want to skip seeds altogether, then go to your local garden center and purchase the plants you need. Timbuk Farms is a local garden center in Ohio, and our plants are healthy and mostly grown locally on our farm.

To jumpstart your plants, you can also give them extra fertilizer. Just make sure that you use the correct fertilizer: perennials need low-nitrogen and high-phosphate, bulbs need phosphorus, and leafy vegetables need nitrogen.

By taking advantage of these late-season planting opportunities and keeping an eye on the forecast, your central Ohio garden can continue to provide beauty, color, and delicious harvests well into the fall.

Need Help, Gardening Supplies, or Plants?

If you want to extend your gardening season this summer and fall, then stop by Timbuk Farm’s Garden Center in Granville, Ohio, or send us a message. We have a wide selection of late-season plants, seeds, and all of the supplies you need to make your late-summer and fall garden a success.

We’re a family-owned business and we grow our plants locally here in Ohio. We know Ohio gardening, and our friendly gardening experts are happy to answer any questions you have about your garden.