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Plants or Crops

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A variety of different potatoes arranged on a blue cutting board.

Potatoes: How to Grow It

Potatoes are one of the world’s most-versatile vegetables. Learn how to select, plant and grow and harvest a variety that's right for you with this resource.

Colorful variety of pumpkins, winter squashes and gourds on display.

Pumpkins, Winter Squashes and Gourds: How to Grow It

There are many varieties of pumpkins, squashes and gourds available for planting in the garden. Learn how to select, plant, grow and harvest them in this article!

Two rows of leafy, salad greens growing in a garden.

Salad Greens: How to Grow It

Salad greens, grown for their leaves, are cool-season crops. Most salad greens can be planted very early in the spring, and many will germinate in soil temperatures as low as 40° Fahrenheit.

A colorful variety of freshly, harvested bell peppers.

Peppers: How to Grow It

Peppers are heat-loving vegetables that require a long, frost-free season and full sun. Peppers can be sweet or hot, and range in color from green, yellow, orange, red and purple to brown.

Row of beets growing in a garden.

Beets: How to Grow It

Beets are commonly grown for their bulbous roots, but their tops can also be harvested for greens, and they are an excellent source of Vitamin A as well as calcium. They grow best in the cooler temperatures of spring or fall.

Zucchini ready to harvest. Courtesy: Mary Roduner

Summer Squash: How to Grow It

There are many types of summer squash, including the familiar zucchini (which can be green, green-striped, or yellow), crookneck, straightneck, patty pan and more.

Green beans growing a garden.

Green Beans: How to Grow It

Snap beans, also called “green beans” or “string beans” (although most modern varieties do not have strings) are harvested when the pods contain immature seeds, and the pods are still succulent.

Cucumbers growing on a vine in a garden.

Cucumbers: How to Grow It

Some cucumber varieties form long vines that may ramble or be trellised. Others are bush types that fit more easily into a small garden or even a large container.

Several bundles of fresh carrots on display at a farmers market.

Carrots: How to Grow It

Carrot is a hardy, cool-season vegetable. Carrots are eaten both raw and cooked and they can be stored for winter use.

A lush, green cluster of garden peas with several pods developed.

Peas: How to Grow It

The most common type of pea in American gardens is the shelling pea, also called the “garden pea” or “English pea.” Tender, sweet peas are removed from thin, tough pods before eating.