🪏What to Plant at the End of June in Northeast Texas (Zone 8b)

If you’re looking out at your garden wondering if you’ve missed your chance to plant anything else this year, don’t worry—you haven’t.

By the end of June, many spring gardens are looking a little tired. The lettuce 🥬 has bolted, broccoli 🥦 has given up, and those early cucumber 🥒 vines may be showing their age. It can make the garden feel like the season is winding down.

The truth is, we’re just changing gears.

☀️Summer gardening in East Texas is different than spring gardening. Instead of fighting the heat, we work with it by growing crops that actually enjoy hot weather. This is also one of the best times to clean up the garden, giving your remaining plants a healthier environment to grow through the rest of summer.

What You Can Still Plant

🌡️There are plenty of vegetables that thrive when temperatures climb into the 90s.

Some of my favorites to plant at the end of June include:

• Southern peas (black-eyed peas, purple hulls, cream peas)
• Okra
• Sweet potato slips
• Pumpkins for an October harvest
• Winter squash
• Malabar spinach
• Basil
• Oregano
• Another round of bush beans or cucumbers if you can provide afternoon shade and consistent watering

Don’t be discouraged if your spring garden is fading. Many of these summer crops actually grow better when the weather gets hot.

Don’t Be Afraid to Pull Out Tired Plants

One mistake many gardeners make is leaving struggling plants in the garden simply because they’re still alive.

If your lettuce has bolted, pull it.

If your broccoli is flowering, it’s finished.

If cucumber or squash vines are covered in mildew and barely producing, it’s usually time to let them go.

Old plants don’t just stop producing—they often become a safe place for insects and diseases to multiply.

Removing them gives your healthy plants better airflow, more sunlight, and less competition for water.

🪲A Cleaner Garden Has Fewer Pests

Summer pests love neglected gardens.

Squash bugs hide beneath dying leaves. Spider mites thrive on stressed plants. Aphids reproduce quickly on weak growth, and stink bugs seem to appear overnight.

A quick cleanup can make a surprising difference.

Take a little time to:

• Remove diseased or badly damaged plants.
• Pick ripe vegetables every day or two.
• Pull weeds around the edges of beds.
• Trim yellow or dead leaves from tomatoes.
• Water deeply in the morning rather than late evening.
• Refresh mulch to help keep the soil cooler and conserve moisture.

These simple jobs don’t take long, but they go a long way toward keeping your garden healthy through July and August.

🐝 Invite the Good Bugs

Not every insect in the garden is a problem.

Ladybugs, lacewings, hoverflies, parasitic wasps, and praying mantises all help keep pest populations under control. The easiest way to encourage them is by planting flowers nearby.

Zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, dill that’s gone to flower, basil blooms, and native wildflowers all provide nectar and pollen that beneficial insects need.

Sometimes the best pest control isn’t something you spray—it’s creating a garden where nature helps do the work.

Gardening Is a Season of Change

Every few weeks, the garden asks us to do something different.

Spring is all about planting.

Early summer becomes maintenance and harvesting.

Late summer brings another round of planting for fall.

Learning when to let go of tired plants is just as important as knowing what to sow. Every empty space you clear today is an opportunity for something new to grow tomorrow.

So don’t look at an empty bed as a failure. Look at it as your next planting opportunity.

Happy gardening from all of us at Willow & Branch. May your harvest baskets stay full, your soil stay healthy, and your garden continue growing through every season.