If your vegetable garden is beginning to scare you, if the weeds are grabbing your ankles and you’re finding all kinds of wildlife and missing items in there, you have two options.  You could do as I usually do; ignore it and then finally tear it all out in one burst of frustrated energy.
Or, you could take a higher road.  You could look for an opportunity to enjoy fresh vegetables this fall from your garden by seeding crops right now.  I realize that even the most dedicated gardeners will find it strange to be thinking about planting crops during the blast furnace of August, but there are several advantages to consider.
It’s really less work than planting the garden in the spring.  The soil has already been prepared and, if you’ve pulled the ankle-grabbing weeds, there will be fewer weeds as the season progresses.  You might find yourself with more time to spend nurturing these vegetables without the long list of spring gardening chores hanging over you like a black cloud.
With the summer heat captured in the soil seed germination will be much quicker than it is in spring.  One challenge, however, is keeping the newly planted seeds moist in the hot and dry weather.  Use a light mulch of grass clippings or straw on the soil to keep moisture in, and pull it back once the seedlings emerge.  Laying shade cloth or row cover over the young seedlings will help them to adjust to the heat and sun.
Here in the valley we have an ideal scenario for late season vegetable garden success.  Our first frost in the autumn typically holds off until mid-October (with exceptions I know) and September and October can be glorious months with pleasant daytime temperatures that will encourage good top growth.  Soil temperatures will stay warm well into November, perfect for root crops like beets and carrots.
  The following vegetables could be seeded right away if you are so inclined to savour the flavour of fresh vegetables in time for Thanksgiving dinner-
Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Chard, Kale, Leeks, Lettuces, Pak Choi, Mesclun (mixed salad greens), Peas, Radishes, Spinach.
There is also a host of herbs that grow from seed to try for a late season crop-
Argula, Borage, Chervil, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Bronze Fennel, Parsley.
Crops such as cabbage, broccoli, kale and root vegetables will tolerate some light frost anyway, and their flavour actually improves as the temperatures fall.  Root crops can be mulched with straw and left in the garden to harvest throughout the winter.
What have you got to lose?  The empty space is sitting there anyway, and we still have a good two months (or maybe even more, who knows?) of frost-free growing to experiment with. At the very least the idea of enjoying a salad made with fresh mixed greens on the Thanksgiving table is an appealing one.  What wine goes well with radicchio?