THE PLANT LIBRARY

Vegetables

A harvest can start with one container. Try salad leaves and radishes in cool weather, or tomatoes and sweet peppers on a sunny summer patio.

Spinacia oleraceaVegetables

Spinach

Four plants. One pot. Fresh greens.

SeedsCool weather
See the growing steps
A pile of harvested cherry and cocktail tomatoes.Vegetables

Cherry tomato

One roomy pot. Tomatoes within reach.

Nursery startWarm weather
See the growing steps
Bright green, loose ruffled leaves of Ashbrook lettuce growing in soil.Vegetables

Leaf lettuce

Four small plants. Pick a few leaves for lunch.

SeedsCool weather
See the growing steps
Small round red radishes growing at the soil surface beneath green leaves.Vegetables

Radish

Nine little roots. A satisfying first harvest.

SeedsCool weather
See the growing steps
Dense, deeply curled green leaves on a mature curly kale plant.Vegetables

Kale

One leafy plant. Pick from the outside in.

Nursery startCool weather
See the growing steps
A green bell pepper with broad lobes hanging from a leafy garden plant.Vegetables

Bell pepper

One sunny pot. Sweet peppers to pick.

Nursery startWarm weather
See the growing steps
A pile of harvested slender green snap-bean pods.Vegetables

Bush bean

A few crisp green beans, without a tall trellis.

SeedsWarm weather
See the growing steps
Long green cucumbers hanging from a leafy vine in a greenhouse.Vegetables

Cucumber

One sunny pot, with crisp cucumbers to slice.

SeedsWarm weather
See the growing steps
Harvested orange carrots piled together with their cut stem ends facing forward.Vegetables

Carrot

Nine little carrots, grown right where you sow them.

SeedsCool spring or fall weather
See the growing steps
Harvested white and purple-streaked garlic bulbs with dried roots and papery skins.Vegetables

Garlic

Four cloves now. A small garlic harvest next summer.

Planting clovesFall to summer outdoors
See the growing steps
Two bunches of yellow bulb onions hang to dry with their green tops attached.Vegetables

Onion

Six little starts. A pot of onions for your kitchen.

Young onion transplantsCool start, sunny growing season
See the growing steps
Freshly dug sweet potatoes with reddish-tan skins lie on grass beside their vine.Vegetables

Sweet potato

One leafy slip. A big pot. A harvest to dig for.

A sweet potato slipWarm and frost-free
See the growing steps

ONE GOOD PLACE TO START

Not sure what to grow?

A herb for dinner, flowers by the door, or green on a shelf. Start with the space you already have.

Something I can eat →A little more color →Something for indoors →