6 Things to Pick Before July Heat Wrecks Them

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It creeps in every year. One minute, you’re out there enjoying your garden with a cold drink and a smug smile. The next, it’s 95°F before lunch and your lettuce looks like it just got bad news.

Early summer can be brutal — especially if you’re in Zones 6 through 10. The heat doesn’t just wilt plants. It speeds everything up, often past the point of no return. Leafy greens bolt. Roots get woody. Herbs lose their flavor and start acting dramatic.

This is your gentle but urgent reminder: some crops are on a timer. And that timer is ticking faster now that the thermometer is climbing.

Whether you’re in Georgia or Michigan, there are things you should harvest now — not next week, not “after the weekend” — but now. You’ll avoid bitter flavors, bug problems, and wasted produce, and in many cases, you’ll encourage fresh regrowth or open up space for a summer round two.

Let’s walk through six plants that don’t like hot drama. And let’s get them picked before July brings the scorch.

1. Lettuce

Lettuce is the first to throw in the towel when things heat up. Once temps regularly hit 80°F, it bolts — sending up a flower stalk, turning bitter, and basically shouting, “I’m out.” If you’re still letting it sit pretty in the garden, you’re gambling with flavor and texture.

Pick now while the leaves are tender. Even slightly mature heads will taste better harvested early than left to stew in the heat.

If you’ve got space after harvest, consider replacing your lettuce with heat-lovers like bush beans or okra. Or mulch it over and prep for a fall planting round once temps drop again.

2. Strawberries

Strawberries are sweet, sneaky little things. One day they’re perfect, the next they’re mushy, sun-scorched, or snatched by ants and birds. June is prime time to pick them — wait too long and the heat turns your patch into a fruit fly buffet.

If you’re growing everbearing or day-neutral types, they’ll keep producing through summer. But the early June flush? That’s the jackpot. Grab it before the sun does.

After the first flush, consider cleaning up the bed — remove old leaves, snip runners, and add mulch to help the plants rest and recover before their next round.

3. Lettuce

If your lettuce is starting to look like it’s training for a track meet — tall, stretched, and suddenly bitter — you’re already cutting it close. Leafy greens are cool-weather lovers, and by mid-to-late June, they’re eyeing the exit ramp.

The first signs of bolting often go unnoticed: a tight center, upward growth, or leaves that suddenly taste like regret. Don’t wait for the full drama. Harvest now while it’s still crisp and sweet.

Bonus tip: if your lettuce has already gone bitter, try blending it into pesto or soup where the flavor can be mellowed. Waste not!

4. Radishes

Radishes are the sprint runners of the vegetable world. They grow fast, finish early, and don’t like to hang around. If you leave them in the ground too long, they go from crisp and peppery to woody, fibrous, and borderline inedible.

Mid-to-late June is the cutoff in many regions, especially as temperatures creep past 75°F. If your radishes are fully formed (about 1 inch wide) and the shoulders are popping out of the soil, it’s time to pull them — before they start plotting their escape underground.

Too spicy or fibrous? Roast them. Cooking tones down the bite and turns them into a completely different (and delicious) veggie.

5. Peas

Peas love spring and early summer. But as soon as the heat starts to build — usually by late June in Zones 4–8 — they decide they’re done. The vines stop producing, pods turn starchy, and flowers start ghosting you like a bad date.

If your vines are still producing, this is your last call. Harvest every couple of days, because the more you pick, the more they’ll try to impress you with new pods. Miss the window, and you’ll end up with tough, mealy peas that no amount of butter can save.

Bonus tip: Snap peas and snow peas are especially sensitive to heat. If they taste like cardboard, it’s not you — it’s the weather.

6. Spinach

Spinach is like that friend who loves brunch but disappears the second it gets too crowded. Once summer heat rolls in — especially in Zones 3–8 — spinach bolts almost overnight. One minute it’s all lush and leafy, the next it’s shooting up flower stalks and tasting like regret.

If your spinach is still holding on in mid-to-late June, now’s the moment. Pick every last usable leaf before it gets bitter or too tough to bother with. You won’t get another shot until fall, so make it count.

July sun is not your spinach’s friend. Harvest now, compost the rest, and plan your comeback for cooler days.

Pick Now or Regret Later

I’ve learned this lesson the hard way: a single week of heat can turn your lush early summer harvest into a parade of bolted stems, bitter leaves, and mushy regrets. If there’s one rule to follow in late June, it’s this — don’t wait.

Take a stroll through your garden this week with a basket and some sharp scissors. You’ll be amazed how much is ready, and how much better it tastes before the real scorch hits. Your July self will thank you — and your plants will too.