What to Plant in June Your Texas Garden Guide

If you have been wondering whether it is too late to plant anything in Texas — this episode is your answer. June is not the month to stop gardening. It is the month to choose the right plants.

In this episode, Vandhana walks you through exactly what to plant right now across every Texas region — Houston and the Gulf Coast, Austin and Central Texas, Dallas and North Texas, and El Paso and West Texas. Plus: the truth about June pest and disease pressure, why cutting back your spring tomatoes is a strategy (not a failure), and why southern peas might be the most underrated summer crop in Texas.

In This Episode

• Why June is actually a month of abundance in a Houston garden — and what the chaos looks like alongside it
• The "summer swap" — clearing spring crops to make room for what belongs in this season
• Why summer tomatoes and summer broccoli are not for Texas summers
• The full Houston and Gulf Coast June plant list: vegetables, herbs, and flowers
• The southern peas story — heat-tolerant, productive, and nitrogen-fixing
• Regional breakdowns for Austin, Dallas, and El Paso
• The June beginner formula: 1-2 vegetables, 1-2 herbs, 1-2 flowers — all chosen for the heat
• What Vandhana is personally planting right now, including the giant sunflowers

June Plant List — Houston & Gulf Coast (Zone 9B)

Vegetables

• Sweet potato slips — direct plant
• Hot peppers — transplants
• Eggplant — transplants
• Asian cucumbers — transplants
• Summer squash — transplants
• Long beans — seeds
• Southern peas / cowpeas — seeds — purple hull, black-eyed, crowder
• Okra — seeds
• Melons — seeds or transplants
• Summer gourds — seeds or transplants
• Roselle / Hibiscus sabdariffa — seeds or transplants

Herbs

• Basil — seeds or transplants
• Rosemary — transplants
• Cuban oregano — transplants
• Lemon grass — plant or division

Flowers

• Sunflowers — seeds — including giant varieties
• Marigold — seeds or transplants
• Zinnia — seeds or transplants
• Native flowers — seeds
• Echinacea — seeds or transplants
• Coreopsis — seeds or transplants
• Asian veggies — seeds or transplants — Malabar spinach, bitter melon, luffa

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Hey Vibrant Gardeners, welcome back to Grow with Vibrant Rainbow Gardens podcast where families and beginner gardeners learn how to grow vibrant organic gardens with confidence right here in Texas. I'm so glad you're here today because this episode is for every gardener who's ever walked outside in Texas June, looked at their garden and thought, Oh my god, it's so hot. Is it too hot to plant anything right now? The short answer is no, not even close. But I wanna be honest with you about what June actually looks like in a Houston garden because it's not what most gardening content on the internet will tell you. June is a month of abundance and chaos at the exact same time. One hand, it's your garden is producing so hot right now, everything, all your spring planting is coming in, and bees are moving from bloom to bloom, and they're going crazy. Wasps are making come back, but on the other side, pest pressure is seriously real. The stingbugs and harm horn worms and army worms. You have to you cannot guess how many army worms I killed today. The spider mites moving in with the heat, the fungal, the bacterial issues showing up on your tomatoes, the blight because of the humidity. June brings all of it. June is also not the month to stop gardening. It is a month to choose the right plants. That's what we are doing today. I'm gonna walk you through what a plant right now in June for Houston, for Central Texas, for North Texas, and for the West. And of course, everywhere in between. But here's the thing: the gardeners who thrive in Texas summers are not the ones who are fighting the heat, they are the ones who chose plants that were built for it. Let's get into it. Before we get into the plant list, I want to name what is actually happening in my garden, my Houston garden this month. Because understanding June helps you work with it instead of against it. The harvest abundance is really real. If you planted tomatoes and peppers in the spring, they are like pretty they're producing like crazy right now. Maybe more than you can even keep up with. These are actually real things in some parts of the country. They are not for Texas summers, though. Right now in June, most of your spring tomatoes are either peak harvest or just past it. The decision that comes next is the one that defines summer gardening in Houston. Most of these tomatoes are going to come out or get back, get cut back really hard, and you're going to replant that space with something that loves the heat. I want you to sit with that for a second because a lot of beginner gardeners that feel like giving up, like you're admitting your tomatoes failed. You're not giving up, you are making room, you're clearing that space for the plants that were meant for this season. The ones that will carry your garden from June through fall. The ones that do not just survive a Texas summer, they thrive in it. The summer swap, the summer succession planting is not a retreat, it is a strategy. This is the whole idea behind today's episode. Plant for the heat, not against it. Stop trying to keep cool season logic alive in a hot, super hot season garden. Make the swap and then watch what happens. Okay, let's talk about what goes in. If you live in Houston, Galveston, Beaumont, or anywhere on the Gulf Coast, here is your June plant list. I wanna say something before we go through with it. The list is full. There's a lot here. Do not plant all of it. Um plant for what you have space for. But now just let yourself get excited about what is possible. Sweet potato slips, one of the best crops you can put in the ground right now. They love the heat, they tolerate the humidity, and you'll harvest them in the fall when the wines start to yellow. They also produce some of the most beautiful flowers you've ever seen in a summer garden. They are in the Morning Glory family, and it's it's a stunning flower. Um hot peppers. If you if your spring peppers are still going, wonderful. If you wanting a second planting or a first start, transplants can go in town. Peppers genuinely love Houston summers once established, but they do appreciate a little bit of afternoon shade in our peak summer. Eggplants are a true Gulf Coast hero, they are very heat tolerant, they are abundantly productive, and even a late-planted eggplant will surprise you. If it is in the ground, it is going to make it. Give them a trellis and get that trellis in before you actually plant. Summer squash is still fast and very productive. Train them on a on a trellis. Uh so they don't get crowded. And June humidity is actually it'll invite a lot of problems for the squash. Long beans, also called yard long beans are asparagus beans, these are some of the favorite plants I plant in Houston for the summer heat. They handle the heat and humidity better than almost any other bean variety. You can directly see now, especially with all the rains we've been having. Cow peas, southern peas, black-eyed peas, purple hull peas. We are going to be actually talking a little bit about them deeper because they do deserve their own moment. Okras are a Gulf Coast classic, direct seed them into warm soil. They don't just tolerate heat, it needs it. This is its season. You can also plant melons, any melon, like watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew. They need the room, they need time. Planting now is right on schedule for a late summer or a fall harvest. You can still plant some summer goats, they are very productive, versatile, and beautifully heat tolerant. Lufa is a favorite in my home. Um, another one of my favorites is Rosal. This is also called hibiscus. It is one of my favorites. Um, it's a tropical hibiscus that thrives in the heat and humidity and produces the calyxes you want to harvest for fall in fall for hibiscus tea. The cargo is productive, perfectly suited for our climate. There's still a lot of herbs that you can grow: basil, rosemary, Cuban oregano. It's a very underrated, very heat tolerant herb, better than Mediterranean oregano. Um, and of course, lemongrass. It's incredibly suited for our climate, and if you plant it once, they'll come back year after year. There's so many flowers we can plant right now. Sunflowers, super fast growing, loved by pollinators and a joy to watch. Marigols and zinnias are a summer favorite. Um, and of course, you can still plant some native sea native flowers from seeds or from transplants as well. Um, they are built for this climate. Asian veggies like Malabar's pinache, pitamelon, and loofah are worth calling out specifically because they thrive in this tropical weather and produces abundantly. Even though mainstream gardening completely overlooks these plants. The humidity that makes June feel hard is also what allows you to grow a wider variety of tropical plants and subtropical plants in our climate. It is our superpower and not many people actually use it. I really wish a lot more people use the superpower. Okay, I want to spend a little bit little moment on one plant from that list. It deserves it. Southern peace. If you grew up in the south or if you've been gardening in the south for any length of time, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Cow peas, black-eyed peas, purple hull peas, zipper cream peas, crowder peas. They are all the same family, they've been feeding southern families through the summer heat for generations. I love picking up some fresh peas, um, and um every time I pass through a farm stand. And here is why I love them for a june. They are one of the only crops you can direct seed in the heat of Houston and watch thrive, not survive, I mean beans, but they love the heat, they handle the humidity they produce all the way through early fall. But you know, they are not just producing above ground, they are also doing something invisible under the soil, they are fixing the nitrogen in the soil. Southern pieces are legumes, and like all legumes, they form a symbiotic relationship with the soil bacteria that pulls nitrogen from the air and deposits directly into the soil. You're not just growing food, you're also feeding your soil for everything that comes after. So if you plant them in June, harvest into the fall, and when the season is done, what you have left is a garden bed that is more first fertile than when you started. They are not just a summer crop, southern peace are investment in your fall garden. That is the whole idea of planning for the heat, not against it. You're not just getting through summer, you're building on to something. Alright, let's move up the map. Central Texas Gardeners, Austin, San Antonio, and the surrounding areas. Your June list is actually very similar to Houston. It it's kind of a good news. You are by June, you are practically in full summer. The heat is here, the plants that love heat love you right now. The list is practically the same for you guys as well. Um for Dallas and North Texas gardeners. You are practically join us, joining us in the peak of summer as well. The average last frost date was somewhere in early March, and summer has practically been building since then. Your North Texas planting plantless looks very similar to the rest of Texas. That's because the heat-loving crops do not care much about geography once the whole seat is actually cooking. But a few things you can still plant a little bit of cucumbers and con. Um, your night temps are not that high yet. Um, you can of course you can plant pumpkins uh for fall harvest. June transplant actually uh benefit from shade cloth the f a few weeks. Um North Texas does have intense heat during the midday and it cools down in the um nights, but the getting giving them a shade cloth can help them settle before the full uh sun exposure for West Texas. Um the plant list is very similar, the same mochar's peas, sweet potatoes, melons, peppers, summer squash, um Asian cucumbers, um, herbs, and flowers, but you're nearly at 4,000 feet of elevation. Your heat is dry instead of humid. You do not have our best pressure and disease pressure that we have in the Gulf Coast, but you do have more urgent irrigation needs than anyone else we talked about today. So I'm in soil with compost for moisture retention mulch heavily. This is non-negotiable, and drip irrigation in place before the seeds even actually go in. Water management is the difference between a crop that thrives and one that completely stops growing. Okay, if you're looking at everything we just covered and thinking, okay, where do I even actually start now? I have a simple formula for you. The same one I actually share every season because it works. Start with one to two vegetables, a couple of herbs, a couple of flowers. That's it. It's imagine this is very small for a heat-ready garden. Ogra lung means, basil, a Cuban oregano, zinnias, and marigols. That's it. All of them are chosen because they were made for this season. They are not fighting the heat, they are built for the heat. A focused June garden that you tend and love will outperform an overwhelmed one every single time. And here's the thing about starting focused in June specifically. The gardeners who go out and plant 15 things in the summer heat they get overwhelmed very fast. The water needs alone will wear you out if you're not set up for it. Start with what you actually care for and eat. Learn what thrives in your specific garden and build from there. Before I send you into your June garden, I want to tell you what I am personally putting in the ground right now. Because I think there is something valuable about knowing that the person who is telling you what to do is actually doing the same thing. I'm getting my hands dirty in the same June heat and humidity. I am making the same seasonal decision. So, this is what is happening in my garden. I'm planting more okra. I always want more okra. My kids love okra, they will eat it every single day if I make it. That's one thing I plant every year and immediately regret. Oh my god, I wish I planted more. So I'm planting more. I just planted some watermelon and cantaloups this past week. Um, there is something really amazing about um homegrown melon. If you have the space for it, do it. And of course, I'm planting more rosa. Uh, it was so productive last year. My kids loved eating. We barely dried a few uh packets for tea. My kids loved eating literally out of the plant. We also I wanted to make some jellies and jams, but I don't think that's gonna happen this year either. We'll probably snack on it before it even comes into the house, and then flowers because I always make. Room for more flowers. I'm planting more zinnias, uh, echinacia, choriopsis, and of course more sunflowers, always more sunflowers, and this year, after many, many, many years, I'm going to be planting those huge giant sunflowers, the ones that grow taller than your fence, the ones that are taller, that are bigger than your face. Uh I've grown this, it's been quite a while, it's been almost I wanna say around eight years, but it's been a while, but yeah, uh I'll I wanna plant them. Um that's the thing about June garden, even in the heat, even at the stink bugs, and the horn worms, and the army worms, and the humidity. There's so much joy out there. You just have to plan for it. Okay, alright, parent canners. Let's bring this all together. June is not the month to stop, it's the month to choose. Right, the heat is real, the best pleasure is real, humidity is real, and yes, some things are coming out of the garden this month because they have run their course, but there is so much more that belongs right here, right now, in the heat of the Texas summer. Sweet potato slips, oak grass, southern peace, long beans, russell, basil, lemongrass, zinnias. That's a joint garden. That is a garden that is working with the season instead of against it. And remember, plant for the heat, not against it. Make the swap out with what fought the summer and in with what loves it. Start focused, southern southern peace in your bed mean nitrogen in the soil for the fall. If something is beyond saving, remove it and replant. This is not a failure, that's just you. If you're not sure how to set up your garden or for what comes next, if you want someone to walk alongside you through your garden from summer, fall, whatever season it is. That is exactly what I build mine. Garden coaching around. Before I let you go, I want to talk to you just for a second about how I can help you beyond this podcast. There are two types of you listening right now. One of you is thinking, I love all of this, but I want someone to actually do this for me, build it for me. I want the garden installed, planted, ready to go. I do not want to figure it out on my own. If that is you, I'm your girl. That's exactly what my garden design package is. I come out, we build it, we plant it, and we get you set up for success. But here's the thing: I want to make sure we talk first before anything else because every garden is different, every family is different, and I want to make sure we are the right fit before we even meet. So send me a message, just reach out, we'll have a conversation, and then we'll go from there. The second type, you're thinking, hey, I'm a DI wear, I want to do this myself, I just want a little bit of direction. I don't want to spend the next three to five years figuring out what I'm doing the hard way. I hear you, and that is exactly why I built the vibrant garden experience. It's my six-week course where I take you through my complete rooted fear framework from getting your garden set up to understanding exactly what to plant, when to plant, and how to keep it going season after season. Six weeks, and trust me, that is so much faster than how long it took me to even figure out what mistake I was doing. This course is coming back in the fall, and if you want to be on the wait list, link is in the show notes. If this episode helped you, if it gave you some clarity or some excitement about your June garden, will you share it with someone, a neighbor, a friend, someone in your family who keeps saying they want to start a garden but doesn't know where to begin? Send them this episode because the more gardens we grow, the more vibrant vibrant our communities become. Okay, until next time, keep growing. I'm Vanna from Vibrant Rainbow Gardens. I'll talk to you soon.