August garden guide: planting peas, harvesting fruit and preparing autumn crops in France and Germany

In August, gardeners in France and Germany can still sow sweet peas for an autumn harvest. Peas should be planted 8‑10 weeks before the first frost, mature in about 60 days, and benefit from regular moisture, shade cloth and mulch to protect seedlings from heat.

The month is also peak time for harvesting ripe summer fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and berries, and for cutting herbs like basil and parsley. Garden‑care tasks include early‑morning or evening watering, pruning roses, applying autumn fertilizer to lawns, pest control, and trimming shrubs and hedges.

August is suitable for sowing autumn vegetables—lettuce, spinach, Chinese cabbage, kale, broccoli, radishes—and for planting spring‑flower bulbs like crocuses and daffodils, giving them enough time to establish before winter.