Vegetable Seeds
The vegetable you can grow depends on two things: your frost dates and whether you'll start seeds indoors. Lettuce, beans, squash, radishes and carrots all go straight in the ground. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant need a 6 to 10 week head start indoors under lights. Most seeds here are heirloom or open-pollinated, so you can save seed from this year's best plants and grow them again next year.
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How to choose vegetable seeds
- Days to maturity is the number to check. Short seasons (zones 3 to 5) need tomatoes under about 75 days and peppers under about 70.
- Heirloom and open-pollinated vs hybrid (F1): heirlooms win on flavor and you can save their seed. Hybrids often add disease resistance and uniformity, but saved hybrid seed won't grow true.
- Determinate vs indeterminate tomatoes: determinate types stay compact and ripen at once (good for canning and containers). Indeterminate types vine all season and need a trellis or cage.
- Space: for containers and small beds, pick bush beans, compact squash, cherry tomatoes and loose-leaf lettuce.
When to sow
| Vegetable | Method | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Tomato | Start indoors | 6 to 8 weeks before last frost |
| Pepper | Start indoors, soil at 80 to 85°F | 8 to 10 weeks before last frost |
| Lettuce, spinach | Direct sow | Early spring and again in late summer |
| Beans | Direct sow | After last frost, soil above 60°F |
| Squash, cucumber, melon | Direct sow, or start 3 to 4 weeks early | After last frost |
| Carrot, radish, beet | Direct sow only | Early spring through late summer |
What to skip
- Starting tomatoes and peppers on a windowsill. They stretch and flop. A seedling light 2 to 4 inches above the plants gives you stocky transplants.
- Transplanting carrots, radishes and beets. Root crops fork and stunt when you move them, so sow them where they'll grow.
FAQ
What are the easiest vegetables to grow from seed?
Radishes, bush beans, lettuce, zucchini and peas. They sprout fast, go straight in the ground and produce within 30 to 60 days.
Why won't my pepper seeds germinate?
The soil's usually too cold. Peppers want 80 to 85°F to sprout, so use a heat mat and expect 7 to 21 days.
What does heirloom mean?
An open-pollinated variety passed down for generations, usually 50 years or more. Saved seed grows true to the parent.
Can I grow vegetables indoors from these seeds?
Leafy greens, herbs and microgreens grow well indoors under lights. Fruiting crops like tomatoes need strong light and hand pollination indoors.
Related collections
Herb Seeds and Plants · Flower Seeds · Grow Lights for Seedlings · Propagation Trays and Plugs
