Vancouver in August: what to plant
Over the last 5 years, August in Vancouver has run 15.4–22.7°C with about 50 mm of rain across the month. Here is what weather like that will carry to harvest.
Everything above is a five-year average. In the game it is this — the weather Vancouver is actually having, today.
Grow one in Vancouver's weather right now →❄️ No sub-zero nights in August in the last 5 years — frost is not the limiting factor here.
🗓️ This month sits inside the frost-free window. Average last spring frost around Mar 10, first autumn frost around Nov 17 — roughly 252 frost-free days. Sow tender crops after the last frost date and make sure they finish before the first.
☀️ About 11.9 h of sunshine a day this month. Within the month it cools by about 0.9°C from the first ten days to the last — the window for autumn sowings is opening.
Sow this month — when would you harvest?
Assuming you sow in mid-August, then adding up the warmth Vancouver usually gets, one day at a time — which is why some of these run past the end of the month.
| Crop | Days | Harvest around |
|---|---|---|
| 🌿 Garlic chives | 246 | Apr 17 |
| 🍓 Strawberry | 66 | Oct 19 |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | 36 | Sep 19 |
| 🧅 Onion | 278 | May 19 |
⏳ Too late this month: Sweet Corn, Zucchini, Amaranth greens, Green Beans, Sunflower, Marigold, Potato, Celery would still be in the ground when the first frost arrives (around Nov 17). Sow them earlier in the year, or grow them under cover.
🌡️ Tomato, Chili Pepper, Yardlong bean, Bitter melon, Luffa, Winter melon, Aubergine, Okra never accumulate enough heat outdoors in Vancouver — not in any month. Locally these need a greenhouse or a warm windowsill.
Best crops to sow now
They are all ideal for this month — the only real difference is how long each one takes, so pick whatever you want to eat.
- 🌽 Sweet Corn about 100 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥒 Zucchini about 72 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌿 Amaranth greens about 61 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥢 Green Beans about 67 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌻 Sunflower about 91 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🏵️ Marigold about 50 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥔 Potato about 75 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌿 Garlic chives about 61 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Celery about 92 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🍓 Strawberry about 50 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Bok Choy about 33 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🧅 Onion about 75 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
Leave these for another month
- 🌶️ Okra — Recent mean 19.0°C is too cold (ideal 20–33°C)
- 🍆 Aubergine — Slow going at current temperatures (~199 days)
- 🍈 Winter melon — Slow going at current temperatures (~228 days)
Other months in Vancouver
📍 Somewhere else? Look up your own city →
Temperature and rainfall come from Open-Meteo's historical observations for Vancouver, averaged day by day over the last 5 years. Whether a crop finishes in time is worked out from its own starting temperature and heat requirement — those numbers are listed on each crop page if you want to check them.