Late Start? These 9 Plants Will Still Give You Food and Flowers This Summer

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It’s June. Your neighbor already has tomatoes the size of tennis balls and you’re just now staring at a half-empty garden bed, wondering if it’s too late to bother. Spoiler: it’s not.

There’s still time to grow stuff. Good stuff. Stuff you can eat, smell, or brag about before summer fades into whatever weird season September is trying to be. You just need to pick plants that don’t mess around.

Below is a list of nine plants you can still start now and actually harvest, sniff, or show off before summer ends. No slowpokes. Everything on this list grows fast and gives you visible results in a matter of weeks.

To keep it useful, we’ve sorted them by approximate days to harvest or bloom. Because waiting until October is not the vibe.

Under 30 Days: Radishes

Radishes are the ultimate quick win in the garden. These little root veggies can go from seed to harvest in as little as 25 days, making them perfect for impatient gardeners. Plus, they don’t need a lot of space, so you can tuck them in between

Under 30 Days: Baby Lettuce

If you’re growing for leaves instead of full heads, lettuce is a fast-track win. Many loose-leaf varieties like ‘Black Seeded Simpson’ or ‘Red Salad Bowl’ can be harvested as baby greens in just 21 to 28 days.

• Best Type: Loose-leaf or cut-and-come-again varieties
• Light Needs: Partial shade in hot climates, full sun elsewhere
• Why it’s great: You can keep snipping and it keeps coming back — no waiting for a perfect head
• Extra tip: Succession plant every 7 to 10 days for a steady supply

30–50 Days: Bush Beans

Fast, productive, and low-maintenance, bush beans are one of the best crops you can plant in June. They don’t need support like pole beans do, and many varieties go from seed to harvest in just over a month.

• Best Type: ‘Provider,’ ‘Contender,’ or ‘Blue Lake’ bush beans
• Light Needs: Full sun
• Why it’s great: You’ll get handfuls of fresh beans with minimal effort, and they just keep producing
• Extra tip: Sow them directly into warm soil — no transplanting needed

30–50 Days: Basil

Basil doesn’t waste time. As soon as the soil warms up, it takes off. You can start pinching and harvesting leaves within 3 to 4 weeks, and it keeps going strong all summer long. Perfect for pesto lovers and anyone who likes brushing past a fragrant plant on the way to the garden hose.

• Best Type: Genovese for classic flavor, or Thai basil for something different
• Light Needs: Full sun, at least 6 hours a day
• Why it’s great: Continuous harvest, super fragrant, and makes you feel fancy when you use it fresh
• Extra tip: Pinch the growing tips often to prevent flowering and boost leaf production

30–50 Days: Cucumbers

Cucumbers love warm weather and they don’t like to wait around. Pick a fast-growing variety, and you’ll be harvesting crisp, snackable cukes before July is even over. They grow fast, look dramatic on a trellis, and make you feel like a gardening genius when you see your first baby cucumber forming.

• Best Type: Pickling types like ‘Boston Pickling’ or ‘Patio Snacker’ for the fastest results
• Light Needs: Full sun, and lots of it
• Why it’s great: High yield, fast payoff, and zero patience required
• Extra tip: Trellis them if you can — they grow cleaner, straighter, and take up less space

50–70 Days: Zucchini

Zucchini is the overachiever of the summer garden. Plant it now and you’ll be harvesting more squash than you know what to do with by late July or early August. Even a single plant can feed a household… and their neighbors. And their dog. And probably the mail carrier.

• Best Type: ‘Black Beauty,’ ‘Raven,’ or any compact bush variety
• Light Needs: Full sun with well-drained soil
• Why it’s great: It grows fast, produces constantly, and doesn’t need coddling
• Extra tip: Harvest small for the best flavor and to keep the plant producing

50–70 Days: Zinnias

Zinnias are the definition of low-effort, high-reward. They germinate quickly, grow fast, and start blooming in as little as 6 weeks. They thrive in heat, laugh at dry spells, and make your garden look like a florist exploded — in the best way.

• Best Type: ‘Benary’s Giant’ for tall, cutting flowers or ‘Thumbelina’ for small beds and containers
• Light Needs: Full sun — the more, the better
• Why it’s great: Blooms last ages, come in every color, and attract butterflies like a magnet
• Extra tip: Deadhead often to keep the flowers coming nonstop into fall

50–70 Days: Calendula

Calendula brings sunny, golden blooms that look like little fireworks and grow fast enough to make you feel like you planned it all along. It’s technically a cool-season annual but still thrives in early summer, especially if you give it a bit of afternoon shade in hotter zones.

• Best Type: ‘Pacific Beauty’ or ‘Orange Flash’ for vivid color and good cut flowers
• Light Needs: Full sun in cooler climates, partial shade in hot ones
• Why it’s great: Edible petals, easy to grow, and one of the few flowers that handles less-than-perfect soil
• Extra tip: Keep deadheading or lightly cutting it back to encourage more blooms into late summer

You’re Not Late, You’re Right on Time

It’s easy to think June is too late to start anything. By now the early birds have Instagram-ready tomatoes, the garden centers are picked over, and the heat is creeping in. But the truth is, your timing is just fine. Some of the fastest, most satisfying plants thrive when planted right now.

I’ve had years where I didn’t plant a single thing until mid-June. No greenhouse, no head start, no fancy setup. Just a warm patch of soil, a handful of seeds, and a little persistence. And I still ended up with salads, bouquets, and more zucchini than any one person should legally own.

If your garden feels behind, don’t stress. Pick anything from this list, give it sun and water, and you’ll be amazed how much can happen in just a few weeks. Summer isn’t over. It’s just getting interesting.