| | Plant | Number | Spacing | Spacing in Rows | Notes |
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Arugula
Roquette
| 3 | 3" | 3" x 11" | Member of the mustard family. Spicy, tangy flavor and is commonly used in salads, pesto, or as a cooked green.
Not great performance spring 2025. |
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Beans (Bush Snap)
Roma
| 10 | 3" | 3" x 11" | A green stringless 5" flat italian bean, robust in flavor and highly productive. It produces a heavy harvest over a 2-3 week period, which makes it ideal for canning or drying.
2025: would not come up. Think they didn't like clay |
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Beans (Bush Snap)
Golden Wax
| 10 | 3" | 3" x 11" | This classic golden-yellow stringless wax bean has 4" pods with a buttery flavor and is often used in bean salads.
Snap/Green Bean |
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Beans (Bush Snap)
Contender
| 10 | 3" | 3" x 11" | Early stringless Green/Snap Bean, tasty and very productive. This bush bean produces a heavy harvest over a 2-3 week period, which makes it ideal for canning or drying. |
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Beans (Dry)
Pinto
| 10 | 3" | 3" x 11" | A staple in Mexican and southern cooking. This bush variety should be used as a dried (aka shell) bean. Easy to grow and suitable for succession planting. Can also be harvested and eaten as green beans. |
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Beans (Dry)
Taylor Horticultural
| 10 | 3" | 3" x 11" | A bush variety with 14-18" long runners that does especially well in cool climates. Good as an early snap/green bean but generally used as dried or shell beans. |
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Beans (Lima)
Large Speckled
| 10 | 3" | 3" x 11" | These large flat beans are creamy green with red markings. Also known as Christmas Pole, this popular variety is dependable, flavorful, and heat-resistant. |
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Beans (Pole)
Blue Lake
| 25 | 1" | 1" x 11" | A stringless and tender 6" green bean, these have been a workhorse in gardens for generations. Great fresh, steamed, or cooked and ideal for freezing. |
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Beans (Pole)
Kentucky Wonder
| 25 | 1" | 1" x 1' 6" | These straight 7" green/snap beans are noted for producing bumper crops as well as for their exception flavor. |
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Beet
Detroit Red
| 12 | 1" | 1" x 11" | Standard all-purpose sweet red beet. Both leaves and root highly nutritious. Midseason variety tolerant of cooler temperatures.
Could not get to come up in spring 2025 or in germination tests - think seeds are bad. |
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Broccoli
Waltham 29
| 5 | 1' 2" | 1' 2" x 11" | Variety works well in all growing zones, plant in spring or fall. Flavorful 6" dark blue/green heads.
Plant in 2 rows alternating. |
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Brussels Sprouts
Catskill
| 3 | 1' 2" | 1' 2" x 1' 11" | 100 days (mid-july planting for North Texas). One of the hardiest plants in our garden, but slow to mature. Cold tolerant and highly productive. Produces abundant yields of flavorful deep green 2" round sprouts. Plant in 2 rows alternating. |
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Cabbage (Summer)
Golden Acre
| 2 | 11" | 11" x 1' 9" | Early variety with compact and tender 2-4lb heads. Disease resistant, great for gardens where space is an issue.
Plant in 2 rows alternating. |
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Cabbage (Summer)
All Season
| 5 | 11" | 11" x 11" | This reliable cabbage is early and very flavorful. One of the best all-around cabbages, suitable for spring, summer, or fall gardens.
Plant in 2 rows alternating. |
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Carrot
Imperator
| 40 | 1" | 1" x 11" | These easy to harvest carrots are sweet, crispy, and tasty. They grow 10" long, so don't plant in a shallow bed with a barrier underneath. |
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Carrot
Danver
| 80 | 1" | 1" x 5" | High-yielding, deep orange carrots with 2" shoulders tapering to a blunt end. Heat resistant and adaptable to most soils (excels in clay), this variety also stores well. |
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Cauliflower
Snowball
| 1 | 1' 2" | 1' 2" x 11" | The 7" heads look remarkably like snowballs, only tastier! High-yield favorite for well over a century.
Plant in 2 rows, alternating.
Could not get to come up spring 2025. |
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Celery
Tall Utah
| 1 | 11" | 11" x 11" | Compact, dark green stringless 12" stalks. A varietal standard bursting with crunchy flavor.
Plant in 2 rows, alternating.
Could not get to come up in spring 2025. |
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Chili Pepper
Jalapeño Gigantia
| 1 | 1' 1" | 11" x 1' 3" | |
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Chili Pepper
Cayenne
| 1 | 11" | 11" x 1' 3" | Use fresh, or dry and grind for use as chili powder. 30-50k scoville units.
Plant in 2 rows, alternating. |
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Chinese Cabbage
Pak Choi
| 4 | 7" | 7" x 11" | Aka Bok Choy.
Immediately bolted in Texas spring. Didn't seem to fare well in clay or spring heat. |
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Collards
Vates
| 1 | 7" | 7" x 11" | Disease and frost resistant breed that matures earlier than standard collards. Dark, blue-green nutritious leaves, best to grow throughout the summer, timing harvest around your first frost. Plant in 2 rows, alternating.
Would not come up this spring. Not sure if clay, heat, or both. |
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Corn
Hopi Blue
| 9 | 7" | 7" x 7" | 110 days, Blue Hopi (Zea mays) is an ancient flour corn variety. When nuxtamalizing, use about 1 part ash to 4 parts water. With 30% higher protein content than conventional dent corns, this drought-tolerant flint corn is delicious boiled or roasted in the early milk stage, and makes wonderful, antioxidant-rich cornmeal when dried and ground. Don’t overwater this variety or it will tend to lodge more easily.
Soil temp of at least 65F to germinate, don't plant early. Full sun, keep well watered. Sow seeds 1.5-2.5 in deep.
Pick the ears for dry grain or decoration when the husks are dry and the kernels are hard enough that you cannot make a dent in them with your fingernail. Many people pick the ears too early when kernels are still soft. If this is done they shrivel up and shrink and their beauty is destroyed. They cannot finish maturing once they have been picked.
Even though the ears look dry, there remains moisture deep within the cob. If you were to enclose them in a box, the moisture would cause them to sour and mold. You may let them dry longer on the plants if neither weather nor predators are damaging them. Otherwise hang them up or lay them out in the open until they are completely dry inside. |
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Corn
Trucker's Yellow
| 5 | 1' 1" | 11" x 1' 5" | 70-85 days. An exceedingly popular dent corn, good for grits, hominy, and cornmeal. Not a sweet corn, but the 10" ears are tasty and very good for roasting. More corn-flavored and less sweet than Trucker's Yellow - but supposedly softer when heated.
The plant produces high yields of 8 to 12" long yellow corn. The ears have 14 to 16 rows of tender kernels. Particularly popular in the Cotton Belt and all parts of the South. Resists corn earworms. This variety does well under adverse weather conditions. Heat Tolerant. |
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Corn
Painted Mountain
| 84 | 7" | 7" x 7" | 80-100 days, Zea mays Painted Mountain is the most cold hardy corn available; plant a month early before last frost, 1.5-2.5 inches deep. Plants average 5' in height and produce 7" long, beautiful ears. This multicolored eight-row corn is good roasted when immature, and ground into meal and flour, imparting a nutty flavor.
Pick the ears for dry grain or decoration when the husks are dry and the kernels are hard enough that you cannot make a dent in them with your fingernail. Many people pick the ears too early when kernels are still soft. If this is done they shrivel up and shrink and their beauty is destroyed. They cannot finish maturing once they have been picked.
Even though the ears look dry, there remains moisture deep within the cob. If you were to enclose them in a box, the moisture would cause them to sour and mold. You may let them dry longer on the plants if neither weather nor predators are damaging them. Otherwise hang them up or lay them out in the open until they are completely dry inside. |
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Corn
Trucker's White
| 6 | 7" | 7" x 1' 5" | When the ears are in the milk stage, roast or fry them. Perfect for making hominy and good for grinding into flour. Ears are 5-10 inches in length. Hardy in the south, and germinates better in cooler soil than other varieties (plant before last frost). Sweeter and less corn-flavored than Trucker's Yellow. |
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Crowder Peas
Chickpea
| 77 | 1" | 5" x 1' 1" | https://www.ufseeds.com/garbanzo-beans-seed-to-harvest.html?srsltid=AfmBOorjF3_pGov7Gil7_mw_9DpuZPPRrBi0dEg_4ccZCsEHxCdyom6s |
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Crowder Peas
Pink Eye Purple Hull
| 61 | 1" | 1" x 7" | This indeterminate bush Cowpea/southern pea produces high yields of long dark purple pods. The cream colored peas have a maroon eye and are very flavorful, excellent for drying or canning. Great for everything.
2025 notes: Ones closest to fence quickly vined across it. Try a trellis next time |
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Cucumber
National Pickling
| 10 | 9" | 9" x 1' 6" | Harvest at 2-3" for gherkins or 4-6" long for cucumber slices/spears. Crispy, tender-skinned and long lasting.
They vine everywhere. Blanch for 1 minute. Cucumis sativus |
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Cucumber
Armenian
| 10 | 9" | 9" x 1' 11" | Also known as snake melon, this 18" fruit is neither Armenian nor a true cucumber. Even so, it looks, functions, and tastes just like one and is a staple in Mediterranean cooking. Does not juice well.
C. mello, they vine everywhere. Blanch for 1 minute |
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Eggplant
Black Beauty
| 6 | 1' 2" | 1' 1" x 1' 5" | 6 fruits per plant, harvest before glossy dark skin fades to a dull purple. Ripeness determined by tone and gloss, not size. Plants require early staking to support the bountiful and heavy fruit. |
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Garlic
Inchelium Red
| 1 | 5" | 3" x 9" | Softneck, store well and generally do not produce flower stalks. Softnecks can be braided. Softnecks are well-adapted to the more temperate climate of the South and, because they do not bolt easily, can flourish through the erratic temperatures of Southern winters.
These bulbs do best in a well-drained, sandy loam. As soon as the lower 1/3 of the leaves turn brown, the bulbs are ready to harvest. Do not wait until the tops fall over and turn brown, because by then the outer bulb scales will have decayed and the crop will lose its attractive appearance and the bulbs will be more difficult to clean. You want to harvest while you still have 5–6 green leaves remaining.
If the soil is very dry, lightly irrigate the night before your harvest. Carefully loosen the soil under the bulbs using a digging fork. Gently remove excess soil and keep them out of the sun until you can bring them indoors.
Curing is a very important step which improves the flavor and hardiness of the bulbs. Move the onions and garlic to a shaded, warm, dry, and well-ventilated area to complete the drying and curing process. Spread them out in a thin layer on wire screens or wooden shelves. Many people use one or more fans to circulate the air. Allow the bulbs to remain undisturbed for 1–2 months. It is important to check for spoiled bulbs during this period of time, but handle them gently and as little as possible. Because the bulbs have a high water content after harvest they are easily bruised and susceptible to rot. Once curing is complete, separate onion clusters, and cut the dried tops 1 in. above the bulb. Your multiplier onions and garlic are now ready for eating, storage, or planting.
https://www.southernexposure.com/garlic-and-perennial-onion-growing-guide/ |
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Kohlrabi
White Vienna
| 36 | 1" | 1" x 11" | Leaves function like collards. Bulb can be cooked, eaten raw, or used as a mashed potato substitute. Use as cabbage, but better!
Would do a lot better in friable soil rather than Texas clay, but didn't mind the heat. |
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Leek
American Flag
| 72 | 1" | 1" x 3" | A classic leek, good for soups, salads, cooking, canning, and freezing. 8-10" at maturity, hardy in all zones. |
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Lettuce (Crisphead)
Buttercrunch
| 6 | 11" | 11" x 11" | Juicy crisp lettuce with dark green leaves on loose heads, a classic favorite. Somewhat heat resistant.
Plant in 2 rows alternating.
Could not get to come up in spring 2025. |
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Lettuce (Crisphead)
Parris Island Cos
| 6 | 11" | 11" x 11" | Could not get to come up in spring 2025. |
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Melon
Honey Dew
| 4 | 9" | 9" x 2' 11" | A canary yellow skin enclosing a sweet white flesh. This variety is slightly more tangy than a typical green fleshed honey dew. Didn't come up in from seed in June/July/August 2024 plantings; reluctant to come up in 2025. Not sure if due to variety, clay, or seeds.
Grow on trellis to mitigate pests and insects. Healthy plants can support melons by the vine only; when fruit falls to the ground it is ripe and ready to be eaten. Ripeness can also be determined by feeling for the quarter-sized soft spot on at the end of the melon. |
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Muskmelon
Hale's Best Jumbo
| 4 | 9" | 9" x 1' 6" | Slightly oval, solid 3-5lb fruits have a rich flavor. Heavily netted, firm and fine textured with a small seed cavity. Drought resistant, compact vines make this a backyard favorite.
Grow on trellis to mitigate pests and insects. Healthy plants can support melons by the vine only; when fruit falls to the ground it is ripe and ready to be eaten. Ripeness can also be determined by feeling for the quarter-sized soft spot on at the end of the melon.
Comes up really easily. |
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Muskmelon
Rockyford
| 5 | 9" | 9" x 2' 11" | The plant produces good yields of 5" diameter cantaloupes. The green flesh is sweet with a spicy and distinct flavor. It does well in the heat.
Grow on trellis to mitigate pests and insects. Healthy plants can support melons by the vine only; when fruit falls to the ground it is ripe and ready to be eaten. Ripeness can also be determined by feeling for the quarter-sized soft spot on at the end of the melon.
Not as easy as Hale's Jumbo to come up, but seems to fruit better in 90F+ temps. |
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Mustard
Florida Broadleaf
| 9 | 7" | 7" x 5" | A mild flavored mustard producing large, rich green leaves. Good steamed or cooked in broth.
Big producer, seems to not mind clay nor heat too much. Possibly best choice for spring greens; older plants bolts around 90F |
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Okra
Clemson Spineless
| 5 | 11" | 11" x 1' 11" | This popular 4' high plant produces and abundance of dark gree spineless grooved pods. Pick pods at 3", knowing they can grow 5" in 12 hours. Okra can be boiled, fried, or pickled and is also good in soups, stews, and relishes. |
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Okra
Red Burgundy
| 2 | 11" | 11" x 1' 11" | Stunning color, although turns green when cooked. Pods remain tender up to 6 inches, but less of a producer than Clemson. |
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Onion
Borettana Cipollini
| 36 | 3" | 3" x 3" | 110 days. |
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Onion (Red)
Red Creole
| 36 | 3" | 3" x 3" | 110 days. These short day onions grow great in the south and tropics. The flat hard red bulbs are spicy and work well in salsas, Cajun cuisine, and other zesty dishes. They also keep well. |
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Peas
Oregon Giant
| 36 | 1" | 1" x 7" | Average 5" length pods, high-yielding Shelling/English Pea is naturally disease resistant. Bushes grow 3' in height and peas mature in roughly 60 days. Needs 3' trellis. |
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Peas
Oregon Sugar Pod II
| 36 | 1" | 1" x 7" | Snap/Snow pea. High yielding compact bushes throw off large sweet snow peas that are best picked when the forming peas are just barely visible. Wonderful in stir-fried dishes, salads, or cooked by themselves. Needs 3' trellis. |
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Pepper
California Wonder 300
| 7 | 11" | 11" x 1' 3" | Introduced in 1928 and is still the largest heirloom bell pepper breed available. Vigorous and prolific.
Plant in 2 rows, alternating. |
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Pepper
Sweet Banana
| 6 | 11" | 11" x 1' 3" | 6" pepper starts out yellow but eventually turns crimson. This breed is sweet, a little spicy, and often used for pickling. |
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Potatoes (Early)
Adirondack Red
| 33 | 7" | 7" x 2' 5" | 70 days to maturity. A low starch, moist (waxy) potato, excellent flavor. Good for boiling, mashing, pan frying, salads and microwaving. Color may leach out during boiling but not with other cooking methods. Preferred use is for salads, home fries, casseroles, soups, and stews. When baked,
roasted, or steamed Adirondack Reds will be moist.
Dark green decumbent to spreading vines bear oblong to long, slightly flattened, purplish-red-skinned tubers with shallow eyes and pink to red flesh. Strong skin set will typically take a full three weeks after vine kill |
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Potatoes (Maincrop)
Magic Molly
| 29 | 7" | 7" x 2' 5" | Magic Molly Fingerling Potatoes have an oblong shape and can be harvested early (75 days) for fingerlings or left in the ground (120-135 days) for a blockier shape. Tubers can grow to over 6" long and make a good boiler since it retains its purple color. All purpose in the true sense: good baked and boiled, yet it may be best roasted or as homefries. It can also be used for purple potato chips. It is extremely vigorous and sets striking deep purple skin and flesh.
When the plants start flowering, usually around 7-8 weeks after planting, you can start digging up some of the potatoes. These will be smaller, tender potatoes perfect for boiling or steaming.
For larger, more mature potatoes, wait until the foliage starts to die back. After the foliage has died, leave the potatoes in the ground for another couple of weeks to allow the skins to set. This will help them store better. |
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Pumpkin
Connecticut Field
| 2 | 1' 8" | 1' 8" x 2' 11" | One of the oldest heirloom varieties in the Texas-Ready lineup, this one dates back to the 1600s. Large orange fruit that should max out at about 25lbs. 110 days.
C. Pepo, you can leave pumpkins on the vine and field-store them a long time. Roast seeds.
2024 plant was over 20ft long in 7 weeks in Mittleider garden. |
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Radish
Cherry Belle
| 118 | 1" | 1" x 11" | Classic 1" round salad radish. Crisp and bright red with a bit of a bite. Grows fast, 25 days. |
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Rutabaga
Purple Top
| 18 | 3" | 3" x 1' 3" | Round 5" bulb, purple top as name implies. Grown like turnips, great at breaking up hard ground. Leaves are edible, roots can be prepared like mashed potatoes, and the entire plant can be used for livestock fodder. |
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Spinach
Bloomsdale Savoy
| 14 | 3" | 3" x 11" | Almost two centuries old, this is the classic heirloom spinach variety with large, ruffled dark-green leaves. Very cold tolerant.
Seems to do well in clay and in Texas spring heat. Bolts around 85F |
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Squash (Summer)
Summer Straightneck
| 3 | 1' 8" | 1' 8" x 1' 11" | Early summer variety, high producing and flavorful. Harvest at 5-6" length to keep plant producing and to enjoy best vegetables.
Curcurbita Pepo, Blanch for 3 minutes |
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Squash (Winter)
Buttercup
| 2 | 9" | 9" x 2' 11" | A hard shell winter squash, this butternut variety is dark green and blocky. 3-5lb fruits have a deep orange fiberless flesh known for its rich, sweet flavor. Stores well.
Came up from seed in 2025 really easily. Planted early but it aborted a lot of early fruit; didn't mind 100F temps tho
Curcurbita Max |
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Squash (Winter)
Butternut Improved
| 2 | 9" | 9" x 2' 11" | Hard shell 8" squash, this favorite stores well and can be baked or used in soups.
Curcurbita moschata |
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Sweet Potato
| 8 | 7" | 7" x 1' 11" | 120 days. |
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Swiss Chard
Rainbow Blend
| 7 | 5" | 5" x 11" | Solid producers that don't seem to mind the Texas heat. |
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Tomato (Large)
Marglobe Improved
| 4 | 1' 2" | 1' 2" x 11" | Determinate variety that is extremely disease resistant, and ideal for canning. Plant in 2 rows. |
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Tomato (Large)
San Marzano
| 3 | 9" | 9" x 1' 6" | Large indeterminate vines produce intensely red fruits up to 4" long. This crack resistant italian breed is high in solids and excellent for paste, puree, or canning. Use for italian dishes. |
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Tomato (Large)
Homestead
| 4 | 1' 2" | 1' 2" x 11" | Determinate, meaty, medium sized "slicer" variety that is both heat and wilt resistant. Plant in 2 rows |
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Tomato (Small)
Red Cherry
| 5 | 9" | 9" x 1' 6" | Indeterminate, salad tomato produces nickel sized fruits. Volunteers readily each spring from fruits left in the garden. |
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Turnip
Seven Top
| 7 | 3" | 3" x 11" | This breed's root is not good for eating, but great for greens. Bit bitter, tho. Doesn't mind Texas heat and gets going quickly.
Grown like rutabaga, great at breaking up hard ground. Leaves are edible, the entire plant can be used for livestock fodder. |
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Watermelon
Black Diamond
| 4 | 1' 8" | 1' 8" x 2' 11" | 90 days. Expect good yields of fruit weight 25lbs and higher. The bright red flesh is flavorful, the tough rind resists bruising, and the large leaves help protect the fruit from sunburn.
Heat resistant, drought-tolerant, and low-maintenance. Give the vines plenty of room to sprawl. Hand-pollination required if bee count is low. Ripe when closest opposite tendril is brown, melon smells fruity, and underbelly has a cream/yellowish tint. |
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Zucchini
| 1 | 1' 8" | 1' 8" x 1' 11" | Early 7" straight variety with a smooth green skin, both vigorous and prolific.
Curcurbita Pepo, Blanch for 3 minutes |
