The Most Productive Fruits, Veggies and Herbs to Plant Right Now
These crops offer the best bang for the buck, earning their keep with plentiful harvests
Lauren Dunec Hoang
May 2, 2021
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and in-house designer for Sunset's Editorial Test Garden. Her garden designs have been featured in the Sunset Western Garden Book of Landscaping, Sunset Western Garden Book of Easy-Care Plantings (cover), Inhabitat, and POPSUGAR.
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and... More
There’s really never been a better time to grow your own fruits, veggies and herbs. While small kitchen gardens won’t necessarily provide enough produce to meet all of your fruit and vegetable needs, they will certainly help add interest and variety to each meal — even if that’s just a few snips of fresh herbs and a sliced sun-ripened tomato to spice up those dried beans.
For those of us with smaller gardens, choosing highly productive crops can offer the best bang for your buck in terms of efficient use of growing space. Look for crops that offer abundant harvests and steady pickings over a long season. Also opt for plants that are quick to mature or can be harvested with cut-and-come-again methods. Using this criteria to choose which fruits and vegetables you grow this season can help make even a small plot or balcony a highly productive space.
For those of us with smaller gardens, choosing highly productive crops can offer the best bang for your buck in terms of efficient use of growing space. Look for crops that offer abundant harvests and steady pickings over a long season. Also opt for plants that are quick to mature or can be harvested with cut-and-come-again methods. Using this criteria to choose which fruits and vegetables you grow this season can help make even a small plot or balcony a highly productive space.
1. Tomatoes
If you’re aiming for productivity when it comes to tomatoes, look for smaller varieties and determinate-type tomatoes. Smaller varieties, like cherry tomatoes and some slightly larger “salad tomatoes,” produce far more fruits overall than larger slicing tomatoes and many heirlooms.
Yellow ‘Sungold’ and red ‘Isis Candy’ are two top-performing cherry tomatoes that will produce buckets of tomatoes over the summer season.
If you’re aiming for productivity when it comes to tomatoes, look for smaller varieties and determinate-type tomatoes. Smaller varieties, like cherry tomatoes and some slightly larger “salad tomatoes,” produce far more fruits overall than larger slicing tomatoes and many heirlooms.
Yellow ‘Sungold’ and red ‘Isis Candy’ are two top-performing cherry tomatoes that will produce buckets of tomatoes over the summer season.
Another strategy is to plant a determinate tomato, where fruits ripen all at once, rather than over a longer harvest season typical of indeterminate-type tomatoes. If you grow a determinate-type tomato to maturity, you can pull up the entire plant, which will be covered in ripe tomatoes, and open up that growing space to a second crop in its place. Plus, determinate-type tomatoes are more compact plants overall — perfect for containers and small spaces.
When to plant: Set out plants once all danger of frost is past and soil has warmed up; start seeds indoors five to eight weeks before planting.
Light requirement: Full sun
When to harvest: 50 to 90 days
Learn more about growing tomatoes
When to plant: Set out plants once all danger of frost is past and soil has warmed up; start seeds indoors five to eight weeks before planting.
Light requirement: Full sun
When to harvest: 50 to 90 days
Learn more about growing tomatoes
2. Zucchini and Summer Squash
It’s hard to beat a zucchini or summer squash plant in midsummer for sheer productivity. For most of us, one or two squash plants will be plenty to provide a steady stream of squash. Plant more to share your harvests with friends and neighbors.
It’s hard to beat a zucchini or summer squash plant in midsummer for sheer productivity. For most of us, one or two squash plants will be plenty to provide a steady stream of squash. Plant more to share your harvests with friends and neighbors.
Squash generally grow as large, sprawling vines that can be trained onto supports to free up growing space.
For containers and small gardens, look for compact varieties like ‘Eight Ball’ zucchini.
If you have more space, give squash plants a corner of the garden or a raised bed of their own and let them go to town. Swimming in summer squash? Fry the edible blossoms for a tasty bonus crop.
When to plant: Sow seeds about two weeks after the last frost date when soil temperatures reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius). You can start seeds indoors about one week before that date.
Light requirement: Full sun
Learn more about growing zucchini and other types of squash
For containers and small gardens, look for compact varieties like ‘Eight Ball’ zucchini.
If you have more space, give squash plants a corner of the garden or a raised bed of their own and let them go to town. Swimming in summer squash? Fry the edible blossoms for a tasty bonus crop.
When to plant: Sow seeds about two weeks after the last frost date when soil temperatures reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius). You can start seeds indoors about one week before that date.
Light requirement: Full sun
Learn more about growing zucchini and other types of squash
3. Culinary Herbs
Herbs pack more flavor for the space they take up and offer more versatility in the kitchen than practically anything else in the garden. Grow them in pots on the patio or indoors on a sunny windowsill, or use herbs like basil to edge planting beds.
While the most common herbs — like parsley, basil, thyme, chives, tarragon and sage — all need full sun to thrive, herbs like mint and cilantro can take partial shade.
12 Essential Herbs for Your Edible Garden
Herbs pack more flavor for the space they take up and offer more versatility in the kitchen than practically anything else in the garden. Grow them in pots on the patio or indoors on a sunny windowsill, or use herbs like basil to edge planting beds.
While the most common herbs — like parsley, basil, thyme, chives, tarragon and sage — all need full sun to thrive, herbs like mint and cilantro can take partial shade.
12 Essential Herbs for Your Edible Garden
4. Radishes and Carrots
Among root crops, radishes and carrots are some of the easiest to grow and quickest to reach maturity. To save on space, seed them together in the same container or cleared planting bed. Both need excellent drainage and loose, clod-free soil.
Sprinkle seeds for both directly in the container or planting bed and cover with a light top-dressing of soil. The radishes will grow faster than the carrots and can be harvested in as little as three weeks.
When to plant radishes: Start sowing regular radish seeds two to three weeks before the last frost in spring. Continue sowing every two weeks or so.
Days to maturity: 21 to 150
Light requirement: Full sun is best, but they can take partial shade
Learn more about growing radishes
Among root crops, radishes and carrots are some of the easiest to grow and quickest to reach maturity. To save on space, seed them together in the same container or cleared planting bed. Both need excellent drainage and loose, clod-free soil.
Sprinkle seeds for both directly in the container or planting bed and cover with a light top-dressing of soil. The radishes will grow faster than the carrots and can be harvested in as little as three weeks.
When to plant radishes: Start sowing regular radish seeds two to three weeks before the last frost in spring. Continue sowing every two weeks or so.
Days to maturity: 21 to 150
Light requirement: Full sun is best, but they can take partial shade
Learn more about growing radishes
Once you’ve harvested all of the radishes, the carrots will take advantage of the newly cleared growing space to mature — generally after about a month to six weeks.
Reseed the radishes and carrots all spring, up until summer temperatures start to climb; then wait to reseed until fall.
You can eat the tops of both crops as well as the roots; try radish greens as a peppery stir fry and chop carrot greens to add to pesto or to fill ravioli.
When to plant carrots: Sow carrot seeds in early spring. If your winters are mild, with only occasional light frost, you can grow carrots from late summer through spring.
Days to maturity: 30 to 80
Light requirement: Full sun
Learn more about growing carrots
Reseed the radishes and carrots all spring, up until summer temperatures start to climb; then wait to reseed until fall.
You can eat the tops of both crops as well as the roots; try radish greens as a peppery stir fry and chop carrot greens to add to pesto or to fill ravioli.
When to plant carrots: Sow carrot seeds in early spring. If your winters are mild, with only occasional light frost, you can grow carrots from late summer through spring.
Days to maturity: 30 to 80
Light requirement: Full sun
Learn more about growing carrots
5. Salad Greens
Salad greens are an easy crop to grow and can slot into a partial-sun spot in your yard where few other edible crops would thrive. Hot weather can make lettuces taste bitter, so plant now to enjoy spring and early summer harvests.
Try growing lettuces, arugula and spinach with the cut-and-come-again method to enjoy harvests of young greens about two to three times a month. For this growing method, plants are grown tightly together in the ground or in a container, saving garden space.
Once they have formed leaves about 3 to 5 inches tall, clip the leaves to harvest, leaving about an inch or so of growth above the base of the plant from which the plant will “come again” and grow new leaves. Stagger cutting days in a single bed to have a steady supply of fresh salad greens.
Learn more about growing salad greens
Salad greens are an easy crop to grow and can slot into a partial-sun spot in your yard where few other edible crops would thrive. Hot weather can make lettuces taste bitter, so plant now to enjoy spring and early summer harvests.
Try growing lettuces, arugula and spinach with the cut-and-come-again method to enjoy harvests of young greens about two to three times a month. For this growing method, plants are grown tightly together in the ground or in a container, saving garden space.
Once they have formed leaves about 3 to 5 inches tall, clip the leaves to harvest, leaving about an inch or so of growth above the base of the plant from which the plant will “come again” and grow new leaves. Stagger cutting days in a single bed to have a steady supply of fresh salad greens.
Learn more about growing salad greens
Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, Inc.
6. Berries
Not all berries earn their keep in terms of the space they take up versus the amount of fruit they produce, but some do, including strawberries, dwarf blueberries and dwarf raspberries.
For dwarf berries, check out the BrazelBerry hybrid range, which offers raspberries, blueberries and huckleberries in very compact hybrids that thrive in containers.
Not all berries earn their keep in terms of the space they take up versus the amount of fruit they produce, but some do, including strawberries, dwarf blueberries and dwarf raspberries.
For dwarf berries, check out the BrazelBerry hybrid range, which offers raspberries, blueberries and huckleberries in very compact hybrids that thrive in containers.
For unruly brambles, like blackberries, cultivation methods can make a big difference in how much they take over your garden. Train a blackberry or boysenberry on a trellis against a garden fence to give berries maximum sun and save garden planting space.
Strawberries can be a satisfying berry to grow in smaller spaces, as plants stay compact and thrive in containers. Productivity of plants often drops after a few years, so if your strawberry patch is unproductive, it may be time to replant.
When to plant strawberries: In cold-winter climates, plant when the ground can be worked in early spring about three weeks to one month before the last frost date; plant in winter and early spring or fall in warm-winter climates.
Light requirement: Full sun or partial shade for Alpine strawberries; full sun or partial shade for musk berries
Learn more about growing strawberries
Strawberries can be a satisfying berry to grow in smaller spaces, as plants stay compact and thrive in containers. Productivity of plants often drops after a few years, so if your strawberry patch is unproductive, it may be time to replant.
When to plant strawberries: In cold-winter climates, plant when the ground can be worked in early spring about three weeks to one month before the last frost date; plant in winter and early spring or fall in warm-winter climates.
Light requirement: Full sun or partial shade for Alpine strawberries; full sun or partial shade for musk berries
Learn more about growing strawberries
7. Green Beans
Green beans are one of the most reliable summer crops and, as long as you stay on top of harvests, will keep on producing beans for months. (Beans left to mature on a plant signal the plant to stop producing).
Try bush beans in smaller spaces or in pots, as they have a slightly shorter harvest season but are nonetheless very productive for a 1- to 2-foot-tall plant.
Pole beans need supports to climb and will produce beans all summer long.
When to plant: Sow seeds once soil temperatures have warmed, probably around 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 to 21 degrees Celsius); seeds will rot in the ground if the soil is too damp or cold.
Days to maturity: Snap beans: 45 to 80 days; shelling beans: 70 to 80 days; dry beans: 85 to 100 days; lima beans: 65 to 100 days; soybeans: 65 to 95 days
Light requirement: Full sun
Learn more about growing beans
Green beans are one of the most reliable summer crops and, as long as you stay on top of harvests, will keep on producing beans for months. (Beans left to mature on a plant signal the plant to stop producing).
Try bush beans in smaller spaces or in pots, as they have a slightly shorter harvest season but are nonetheless very productive for a 1- to 2-foot-tall plant.
Pole beans need supports to climb and will produce beans all summer long.
When to plant: Sow seeds once soil temperatures have warmed, probably around 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 to 21 degrees Celsius); seeds will rot in the ground if the soil is too damp or cold.
Days to maturity: Snap beans: 45 to 80 days; shelling beans: 70 to 80 days; dry beans: 85 to 100 days; lima beans: 65 to 100 days; soybeans: 65 to 95 days
Light requirement: Full sun
Learn more about growing beans
8. Chard and Kale
Both of these greens grow into large, hearty plants that are nearly as valuable for their ornamental quality in the garden as their usefulness in the kitchen.
Harvest outer leaves from each plant as needed. If plants start to grow leggy, harvest to the ground and they will regrow from the base.
When to plant kale: For a summer harvest, sow seeds in spring two weeks to a month before the last frost date.
Days to maturity: 55 to 75
Light requirement: A sunny spot is best, though afternoon shade is good if the climate is very hot.
Learn more about growing kale
Both of these greens grow into large, hearty plants that are nearly as valuable for their ornamental quality in the garden as their usefulness in the kitchen.
Harvest outer leaves from each plant as needed. If plants start to grow leggy, harvest to the ground and they will regrow from the base.
When to plant kale: For a summer harvest, sow seeds in spring two weeks to a month before the last frost date.
Days to maturity: 55 to 75
Light requirement: A sunny spot is best, though afternoon shade is good if the climate is very hot.
Learn more about growing kale
In hot summer regions, wait to plant kale and chard seedlings until fall. In cooler summer regions, these greens can be grown through the summer in partial sun and in foggy coastal areas. Clip the center stalk to delay bolting in warm weather.
When to plant chard: For spring and summer crops, sow seeds or set out seedlings in late winter (in mild climates) or early spring.
Days to maturity: You can begin harvesting in about 60 days.
Light requirement: Full sun or partial shade where the climate is very hot
Learn more about growing chard
When to plant chard: For spring and summer crops, sow seeds or set out seedlings in late winter (in mild climates) or early spring.
Days to maturity: You can begin harvesting in about 60 days.
Light requirement: Full sun or partial shade where the climate is very hot
Learn more about growing chard
Bonus: Grow an Edible Windowsill Garden
If you don’t have an outdoor space, you can still get in on growing edibles at home. Most culinary herbs will thrive in pots in a window that gets at least four hours of bright light. You can also try growing microgreens in a seed tray in the same spot.
Store-bought green onions can be regrown with their roots in a jar of water, and you can treat the tops as a cut-and-come-again crop.
Learn more about growing edible plants inside
If you don’t have an outdoor space, you can still get in on growing edibles at home. Most culinary herbs will thrive in pots in a window that gets at least four hours of bright light. You can also try growing microgreens in a seed tray in the same spot.
Store-bought green onions can be regrown with their roots in a jar of water, and you can treat the tops as a cut-and-come-again crop.
Learn more about growing edible plants inside
Your turn: Have you been growing more crops this spring? Show us your victory gardens or productive windowsills in the Comments.
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Black raspberries are delicious and not found in stores, likely because the berry is delicate. Easy to grow and unlike red raspberries, they don’t wander in the garden.
Thank you for the tip Linda. I have a red raspberry grove that is very high maintenance. I had no idea that black raspberries don't wander. I will look into adding these to my garden.
There are several varieties of raspberries. I personally love the golden ones the most although I also have black, red, a dark purplish red that looks halfway between a black and red and enjoy them all. Some came from my dad's garden and are probably are 1950s varieties or older. We put in an everbearing red a couple of years ago( I cannot remember the name) and had a steady crop until frost last year. We use a metal fence post for each bush and tie the canes up loosely twine. We also love our blueberries.