Vegetable Plants A to Z

 

African Eggplant

 

• high yielding, drought-resistant, stores well, grows poor soil
• leaves edible

 

Amaranth

 

• grows quickly
• leafy vegetable
• thrives in hot weather
• excellent source of protein, vitamins, essential minerals, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium

 

Argan

 

• native to southern Morocco, fruit contains hard nut
• seeds produce deep yellow oil with rich flavor
• loads of health properties In Morocco

 

Artichoke

 

• perennial plant, hardy to US
• require rich soil,lots of water to produce well

 

Arugula

 

• seeds in early spring or fall
• prefers cool temperatures
• unique peppery taste

 

Ash gourd / white gourd

 

• grows on vine, full of health benefits

 

Asparagus

 

• perennial, takes 2/3 years to established, lives 20/30 years
• requires minimal care
• sweet tender stalks every spring

Aubergine

 

• teardrop-shaped, glossy purple skin
• flesh is spongy/ creamy white
• grows on bushes (really fruit), don’t eat raw
• called eggplant

 

Avocado

 

• also called avocado pear (really fruit)
• best when ripe
• eaten fresh with seed removed
• good source of essential fats, vitamins, minerals

 

Bamboo shoots

 

• Crisp and chewy
• Young tender shoots are seasonal delicacy

 

Banana Blossoms

 

• Flowers of the banana tree

 

Basil

 

• Basil and tomatoes planted together, it’s thought that it improves both their flavors
• great flavor in all kind of foods and dishes
• Start from seed or transplants, needs sun
• Keep soil moist, pinch back the leaves

 

Beans

 

• Plant after soil is warm, don’t soak seeds first
• produce lots of beans over a few weeks, easy to grow

 

Black-eye bean

 

• black-eyed peas or cow peas
• each have little black dot
• easy to grow in the sun, produces lots of beans

 

Broad bean

 

• Fava bean
• grow in green leathery pod
• eaten fresh, when green, or dried when brown
• flat broad shape
• good source of protein, fiber

 

Beets

 

• take up little room, planted in early spring or late summer
• grows easy, lots of nutrients

 

Black Seeded Simpson

 

• easy to grow, grows like a weed just about anywhere

 

Bok Choy

 

• crisp flavorful cabbage
• thrives in cool, moist conditions and tolerates part shade

 

Bottle Gourd

 

• grows on vines and is easy to grow

 

Broccoli

 

• cool season crop that tolerates late spring frosts
• tastes better fresh from garden
• Cut stalks off main plant for a continual harvest
• Rotate crops

 

Broccoli Raab

 

• Italian cousin of broccoli
• Produces loose flower heads, instead of compact formed bunches

 

Brussel sprouts

 

• need long season to grow (175 days) depending on the variety
• taste improves with a touch of frost

 

Butternut Squash

 

• large pear shaped, golden-brown to yellow skin
• only eat the flesh
• flesh is really hard when raw, soft and sweet when cooked
• roasted, pureed, mashed
• good source of beta-carotene, vitamin A
• Beta-carotene gives flesh orange color

 

Cabbage

 

• Start cabbage early in the spring when the soil is soft or set out transplants.
• Like brussel sprouts, cabbage likes a nice, long growing season and plenty of moisture.
• Cabbage stores well for the winter.

 

Carrots

 

• slow to germinate especially in dry conditions, take little room, easy to grow
• Thin carrots to 2 inches apart

 

Cauliflower

 

• can be tricky to grow
• doesn’t tolerate heat or frost, needs 2/3 months to mature
• Cover the cauliflower head with the leaves, when its the size of egg to blanch the cauliflower, turns it white, improves taste

 

Celery

 

• Home gardeners seldom grow celery
• grows slowly, requires 6 months to mature
• prefers cool moist climate, rich wet soil

 

Celeriac

 

• root vegetable native to Northern Europe
• best alternative to potatoes, little starch
• edible in raw or cooked
• protects against cancer
• contains phosphorus, iron, calcium, manganese, vitamin K

 

Red Chard

 

• Similar to beets
• Green leaves, red stems

 

Chile peppers

 

• pungent flavorful peppers
• thrives in dry warm weather
• sunny location
• Limit water as matures to improve flavor

 

Chicory

 

• Bitter

 

Chives

 

• perennial herb, give them permanent location
• thin green leaves are excellent in salads, blossoms edible
• tolerate cold winters and drought

 

Collards

 

• Easy to grow
• contains lots vitamins
• early spring crop
• prefer slightly cool temperatures

 

Courgette

 

• type of squash
• grow on bushes
• look like cucumbers and soft seeds
• zucchini

 

Corn

 

• requires plenty of space, sweet crisp taste
• pollinated by the wind

 

Cowpea

 

• one of the oldest crops
• drought resistant, can thrive in poor soil

 

Cucumber

 

• thrive in warm moist conditions
• Plant after last frost in sunny location
• takes up little space in garden ,can even be trellised
• Grow bush varieties in containers

 

Dahon Sili

 

• Leaves of pepper plant

 

Dahon Kamote

 

• leaves of sweet potato plant
• red and green

 

Dandelion greens

 

• edible
• lots of health benefits, particularly green parts
• Benefits: PMS, promote liver health, blood cleanser, detoxifies, digestive aid
• vitamin C, B1, B2, B6, vitamin K, folate, copper, magnesium, potassium, iron, potassium, calcium, sodium

 

Dill

 

• grows easily from seed, attracts beneficial insects to garden
• Interplant it throughout the garden to confuse pests

 

Drumstick Moringa

 

• easy to grow, very nutritious
• Leaves and pods are edible

 

Dulse

 

• red seaweed found in the coasts of Atlantic and Pacific ocean
• sea vegetable
• rich source of minerals, protein, potassium
• help to prevent against unhealthy cell growth

 

Eggplant

 

• shiny purple lobes
• Grow eggplant as you would tomatoes.

 

Endive 

 

• member of lettuce family
• shaped like a bulb
• leaves are bitter

 

English peas

 

• garden peas, traditional peas eaten without the pods, easy to grow

Start them from seed in early spring.

• don’t tolerate hot dry conditions

 

 

Escarole

 

• Use in salads or sautéed in olive oil
• Plant from seed in midsummer for a tasty fall crop

 

Fennel

 

• tastes a bit like licorice
• grows in the ground
• bulb shape grows at base of the plant, this is the part that you eat
• Raw fennel adds a crunchy taste
• adds flavor to any dish

 

Fiddleheads

 

• known as ostrich fern found in Eastern United States
• not all members of fiddleheads are edible, some are poisonous
• unique flavor

 

Filder Pointed Cabbage

 

• cruciferous vegetable
• rich source of beta-carotene, vitamins C, K, fiber, antioxidant
• stored in cold for months

 

Formby Asparagus

 

• notable for its coloration white base, green stem, purple-tinged tip
• rich in protein, fiber, vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium, zinc
• aids in protein synthesis, reduces calcium loss, antioxidant properties

 

French Sorrel

 

• perennial green that is easy to grow
• Sow seeds in early spring and make cuttings throughout season
• Don’t allow the plant to grow above 12 inches or go to seed

 

Green bean

 

• Types of bean: French, runner, common, bobby, string, Thai, wax
• are picked when they are very young
• If the pods are bendy, won’t taste sweet crunchy
• ends should be chopped off -called tailing
• cooked in boiling water
• good source of fiber
• contain beta-carotene

 

Garlic

 

• Plant in early spring
• varieties adapted for your climate zone
• Dig them up when the tops die back

 

Gourds

 

• common name for Cucurbitaceae plants ( cucumbers, squashes, luffas, melons)

 

Haricot bean

 

• beans are white and grow all over the world
• Beans are good for giving you energy.

 

Iceberg lettuce

 

• many kinds of lettuce to choose from
• cool crisp taste

 

Jicama

 

• vitamin C, copper, iron.

 

Jerusalem artichoke

 

• related to the pretty sunflower
• eat ugly little tuber part
• white flesh inside tastes amazing

 

Kale

 

• cool season vegetable
• successful as spring or fall crop
• Harvest leaves before heat, since higher temperatures make leaves bitter
• Fertilize kale with a nitrogen rich fertilizer about a month after transplanting
• rich in vitamin A, vitamin C

 

Kohlrabi

 

• Plant from seed in early spring
• turnip-flavored root in six weeks

 

Leeks

 

• mild-flavored cousins to onions are expensive to buy , but easy to grow
• Sow them from seed in early spring
• Dig them with a trowel rather than pulling them

 

Lemongrass

 

• many minerals, essential vitamins
• essential oils
• known to possess anti-microbial, anti-fungal, antioxidant, anti-septic properties

 

Lettuce

 

• Plant in early spring
• Choose soft-headed lettuces over head lettuce, which tend to go to seed more quickly.
• Keep the soil moist
• nutrient dense leaves are crisp bitter
• rich in vitamins A, C and K

 

Lifou Island Yam

 

• starchy tuber
• versatile–it can be roasted, fried, grilled, boiled
• can be stored for long period

 

Målselvnepe Turnip

 

• hardy root vegetable
• strong and distinct taste
• eaten raw, roasted, baked, boiled
• excellent source of vitamin C and potassium

 

Mungbean

 

• important digestible protein
• High levels of iron

 

Mustard greens

 

• easy to grow, lot of vitamin and minerals

 

Mushrooms

 

• Not technically a vegetable, but older member of the plant kingdom
• can be grown or foraged in the wild, and loaded with nutrition

 

Nopales

 

• After the removal of spines the fleshy part of cactus becomes edible
• used in many Mexican dishes since ancient times
• boost your immunity
• low calorie food

 

Oca

 

• root vegetable
• demands specific climate
• substitute for potatoes
• pleasant smell
• eaten raw
• rich source of vitamin C, potassium, iron, protein

 

Okra

 

• thrives in warm moist conditions
• Start it indoors six weeks before planting

 

Onions

 

• take long time to grow from seed

 

Parsnip

 

• texture close to potatoes
• Sow parsnips in spring and keep the soil moist
• they are slow to germinate, and may take a year to grow
• benefit from a few frosts

 

Peppers

 

• need a warm location, moist soil to develop the thick-walled sweet fruit
• difficult to grow in dry regions

 

Perinaldo Artichokes

 

• thistle vegetable
• violet in color
• good source of fiber, vitamin C, folic acid, minerals
• drought resistant and very hardy

 

Potatoes

 

• drought-resistant and high in protein

 

Pumpkins

 

• take up a lot of space in the garden
• Plant in late spring when the soil is warm
related to cucumber
• can be boiled, baked, roasted
• beta-carotene, vitamin A
seeds roasted, good source of essential fatty acids

 

Radish

 

• good crop for the beginning gardener
• They germinate quickly, take little space, reach maturity in four weeks
• Use in salads or fresh

 

Radicchio

 

• exotic Italian plant with its red foliage
• needs five months to mature and prefers cool temperatures
• Plant it midsummer

 

Romanesco

 

• edible flower of cauliflower family
• zinc
• eaten raw, semi cooked, cooked
• excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K, fiber

 

Rhubarb

 

• large space in full-sun and soil moderately moist
• Harvest rhubarb in mid spring to early summer, leaves are toxic

 

Rutabagas

 

• round squat root vegetables
• thrive in cool temperatures, require three months to mature
• Plant them in early summer

 

Samphire

 

• grows in rocky and salt rich areas
• sea pickle rich source of salt
• mainly used salads

 

Shallots

 

• easy and inexpensive to grow

 

Snap peas

 

• have crisp edible pods, eaten fresh or in stir-fry
• easy to grow
• Plant them in early spring

 

Spinach

 

• is one of the earliest garden greens
• It goes to seed as soon as temperatures spike

 

Spinach and Swiss Chard

 

• belong to Amaranthaceae family
• rich in iron

 

Summer squash

 

• grow easily and prolific producers
• One or two plants is plenty

 

Sunchoke

 

• Jerusalem artichoke
• root vegetable
• same calorie value of potatoes
• At same time it is zero cholesterol and contain only small amount of fats.
• vitamin A, vitamin C, Vitamin E

 

Taro Leaves

 

• taro leaves are eaten and used cooking
• excellent source of vitamins A and C

 

Tomatillo

 

• resemble tomatoes
• develop a papery skin when they are ripe
• Use them for sauces

 

Tomatoes

 

• most commonly grown garden vegetable
• Home-grown better than those found store

 

Turnips

 

• are a fast-growing root vegetable that thrives in cool weather

 

Upland Cress

 

• lettuce has a spicy zing

 

Watercress

 

• grown in water

 

Winter squash

 

• high in vitamin content

 

Yardlong

 

• native to warmer regions
• vigorous climbing veggie
• vitamin C

 

Zucchini

 

• grown using the same methods as summer squash
• A great choices to get a lot of vegetables from one plant

 

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