Choosing what to grow is the most enjoyable part of planning a garden, and also the easiest place to go wrong. A crop that needs full sun will sulk in a shady corner. A sprawling squash will swallow a small patio. A long-season melon may not ripen before frost. This plant finder narrows the choices to plants that suit your conditions. Choose how much sun you have, the season you are planting for, the type of plant, the space available and how quickly you want a harvest, and it lists the matching vegetables, herbs and fruit with their spacing, days to maturity and how to start them.
How to use the plant finder
- Choose your sun. Full sun means six or more hours of direct sun a day. If you are unsure, the sunlight requirement finder explains how to measure it.
- Choose the season. Cool-season crops grow in spring and fall; warm-season crops grow in summer.
- Choose the type of plant, or leave it on “Any”.
- Choose your space. Small spaces and containers suit compact crops. Raised beds suit most crops. Plenty of room opens up sprawling crops.
- Choose how fast you want a harvest, or leave it on “Any”.
- Read the matches. Each shows typical spacing, days to maturity and how to start it. If nothing matches, loosen one filter at a time.
The finder draws on our plant database, where you can see the full details for every crop.
Start with the season
The most important filter is season, because it decides when a crop can grow at all.
Cool-season crops
Lettuce, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, beets, radishes, onions, garlic, peas, potatoes, parsley and cilantro grow best in cool weather, roughly between the 40s and 70s °F. Many tolerate light frost. Plant them in early spring, a few weeks before your last frost, and again in late summer for fall. In hot climates, they are often best grown through fall and winter.
Warm-season crops
Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, beans, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, okra, basil and dill need warm soil and air. They are damaged by frost, so they go in after your last frost, once nights stay reliably warm.
Perennials
Strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb and many herbs come back year after year. Give them a permanent spot where they will not be disturbed when you dig annual beds.
Crops for small spaces and containers
If you are growing on a patio, balcony or in a single small bed, choose compact crops that produce a lot in a little space:
- Salad greens: lettuce, spinach and arugula can be harvested leaf by leaf for weeks.
- Herbs: basil, parsley, cilantro, chives and thyme do well in pots.
- Radishes and beets: quick and compact.
- Bush beans: productive without a trellis.
- Peppers: compact plants that do well in containers of 5 gallons or more.
- Cherry and patio tomatoes: look for varieties described as compact, dwarf or determinate for containers.
- Cucumbers and peas: grown up a small trellis, they take little floor space.
- Strawberries: excellent in containers, window boxes and hanging baskets.
Avoid sweet corn, winter squash, pumpkins and full-size potatoes in small spaces. They need much more room than they return in a container.
Fast crops for quick results
If you want a harvest soon, or you are filling a gap between other crops, these mature quickly:
- Radishes: often about 3 to 4 weeks.
- Spinach and leaf lettuce: roughly 6 to 8 weeks, with leaves picked earlier.
- Arugula and baby greens: a few weeks to the first cuttings.
- Bush beans: about 7 to 9 weeks.
- Zucchini: often producing in about 7 to 8 weeks.
- Cilantro and dill: leaves in about 6 to 8 weeks.
The harvest date calculator turns a planting date into an expected harvest window for any crop.
Matching crops to your climate
Short-season northern gardens
With a short frost-free season, choose faster-maturing varieties, start warm-season crops indoors, and lean on cool-season crops that thrive in long, mild summers. Look for varieties described as early or short-season.
Hot southern and desert gardens
Intense summer heat stresses many crops. Grow cool-season crops in fall and winter, plant warm-season crops early so they produce before peak heat, and choose heat-tolerant crops such as okra, sweet potatoes, southern peas and peppers for midsummer.
Cool coastal gardens
Mild summers suit leafy greens, brassicas, peas and root crops. Heat-loving crops such as tomatoes, peppers and melons benefit from the sunniest, most sheltered spot, and from varieties bred for cooler conditions.
Your local Cooperative Extension service publishes recommended varieties for your region, which is one of the best resources for choosing what to plant.
How to narrow down your list
The finder may show more plants than you have room for. Narrow the list with a few questions:
- What do you actually eat? Grow the vegetables your household enjoys most. A bed full of kale nobody eats is wasted space.
- What tastes noticeably better homegrown? Tomatoes, sweet corn, peas, strawberries and fresh herbs are classic examples.
- What is expensive to buy? Herbs, salad greens, cherry tomatoes and colored peppers give good value from a small space.
- How much time do you have? Quick, forgiving crops suit busy gardeners. Our list of the 10 easiest vegetables for first-time gardeners is a good starting point.
- How much space do you have? Check how many plants fit with the plant spacing calculator or the square foot gardening calculator.
From list to plan
Once you have a shortlist, turn it into a plan:
- Group crops by season, so cool-season crops can be followed by warm-season ones in the same space.
- Put tall crops on the north side of beds.
- Pair compatible crops with the companion plant finder.
- Set your timing with the seed starting calculator.
- Work out quantities of seed and plants before you shop.
Good choices by situation
| Situation | Good choices |
|---|---|
| First garden | Radishes, leaf lettuce, bush beans, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, basil |
| Part shade | Lettuce, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, parsley, cilantro |
| Containers | Herbs, lettuce, peppers, patio tomatoes, strawberries, bush beans |
| Hot summers | Okra, sweet potatoes, peppers, eggplant, southern peas |
| Short season | Lettuce, peas, radishes, kale, early tomato varieties, bush beans |
| Fall planting | Garlic, kale, spinach, lettuce, radishes, carrots, broccoli |
| Best value | Herbs, salad greens, cherry tomatoes, colored peppers, zucchini |
How much to plant for a household
Once you know what to grow, the next question is how much. Needs vary with how much your household eats and whether you preserve food, but a few rough starting points help:
- Zucchini: one or two plants are often plenty for a household.
- Tomatoes: a few plants per person for fresh eating, more if you plan to can or make sauce.
- Lettuce and salad greens: small sowings every two to three weeks rather than one large planting.
- Bush beans: a few feet of row per person per sowing, sown in two or three batches.
- Herbs: one or two plants of each herb you use regularly; more basil if you make pesto.
- Peppers: a few plants per person, depending on how much you use them.
Keep notes on what you ran short of and what went to waste, and adjust next year. The seed quantity calculator turns plant counts into seed quantities.
Try something new each year
Part of the fun of gardening is discovery. Alongside your reliable favorites, try one or two new crops or varieties each season: an unusual tomato, a colorful chard, a new herb, or a crop you have never tasted fresh. Seed catalogs and local seed swaps are full of options you will never see in a supermarket. Grow a small amount at first, note how it does in your garden, and keep the winners.
Using the plant finder through the year
The best crops to plant change with the calendar. Use the season filter to plan ahead.
- Late winter: plan the year, order seeds, and start onions, peppers and other slow crops indoors.
- Early spring: sow cool-season crops such as peas, spinach, radishes and lettuce, a few weeks before your last frost.
- Late spring: after your last frost, plant warm-season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash and basil.
- Midsummer: sow fall crops such as carrots, beets, kale and broccoli, and keep sowing quick crops in batches.
- Fall: plant garlic, sow fast greens, and cover beds for winter.
Our fall garden prep guide covers the jobs that set up next spring.
Choosing healthy plants at the nursery
If you buy transplants rather than growing from seed, choose well:
- Look for sturdy, compact plants with deep green leaves rather than tall, pale or leggy ones.
- Check leaf undersides and stems for insects, eggs and spots.
- Gently tip a plant out of its pot if you can. Healthy roots are white and fill the pot without circling tightly.
- Avoid plants already flowering or fruiting in small pots; they often establish more slowly.
- Choose varieties suited to your region and season.
Perennial food plants worth considering
Most vegetables are replanted every year, but a few food plants come back season after season once established. Strawberries produce for several years. Asparagus can produce for many years after a slow start. Rhubarb returns every spring. Perennial herbs such as chives, thyme, oregano, sage and mint keep going with little care, and rosemary survives winters in milder regions. Give perennials their own permanent bed or a corner of the garden, so they are not disturbed when you dig and replant annual beds each year.
Frequently asked questions
How do I choose what vegetables to grow?
Start with what your household likes to eat, then check which of those suit your sun, space and season. Add crops that taste much better homegrown or are expensive to buy.
What vegetables grow well in containers?
Lettuce, spinach, herbs, peppers, patio and cherry tomatoes, bush beans, radishes and strawberries all do well in containers of a suitable size.
What can I plant in the fall?
Garlic, kale, spinach, lettuce, radishes, carrots, broccoli and other cool-season crops. In mild-winter regions, fall is often the best season for these crops.
What vegetables grow fastest?
Radishes are often ready in about a month. Leaf lettuce, spinach, baby greens and bush beans follow within roughly six to nine weeks.
What grows in the shade?
Leafy greens and some herbs tolerate partial shade best. Very few vegetables do well with less than about two hours of direct sun.
What are the easiest plants for beginners?
Radishes, leaf lettuce, bush beans, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, Swiss chard, kale and basil are all forgiving and productive.
How many tomato plants do I need?
A few plants per person is a common starting point for fresh eating, and more if you plan to make sauce or can tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes are especially productive.
How do I choose vegetable varieties for my area?
Your state Cooperative Extension service publishes recommended varieties for local conditions. Seed catalogs also note days to maturity and disease resistance, which help in short seasons or humid climates.
Is it better to grow vegetables from seed or buy plants?
Seeds are far cheaper and offer more variety. Transplants save time and are easier for long-season crops such as tomatoes and peppers. Many gardeners do both.
What should I plant in spring?
Cool-season crops such as peas, lettuce, spinach and radishes in early spring, then warm-season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, beans and squash after your last frost.
What vegetables can I grow in raised beds?
Almost all of them. Raised beds suit greens, root crops, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, beans and trellised cucumbers especially well. Sprawling squash and pumpkins need more room than most beds offer.
What is the best vegetable for a small garden?
Crops that produce a lot in little space: salad greens, herbs, cherry tomatoes, bush beans, peppers and trellised cucumbers or peas.
Which vegetables grow well together?
Plants with similar needs grow well together, such as tomatoes with basil or lettuce with radishes. The companion plant finder suggests pairings for common crops.