Vegetable List, Spring 2020
Quick Overview
Broccoli (early spring only)
Cantaloupe
Celery (early spring only)
Corn
Cucumbers (available starting 02/25–3/31)
Eggplant
Lettuce (early spring only)
Okra (available starting 02/25–3/31)
Onions, Bunching
Onions, Spreading
Roselle
Spinach
Squash (available starting 02/25–3/31)
Swiss Chard (early spring only)
Watermelon
Helpful Hints
Most vegetables require 6–8 hours of sunlight
Make sure to inspect your plants regularly and monitor for pests
Caterpillars love those leafy greens as much as we do! Control them with an organic product, such as BT. BT does not harm pollinators (such as bees). Our staff is also available to help with selecting just the right product for your needs!
Check out the garden center for a variety of different seeds, such as carrots, radishes, peas and beets!
Amend your soil prior to planting with Happy Frog Soil Conditioner—your plants with thank you!
Fertilize with Microlife products or Foxfarm products
Staff pick book for the Houston area gardener:
Year Round Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers for Metro Houston by Bob Randall (available in the gift shop). It’s a great reference book to guide you on your gardening journey!
Varieties (Subject to Availability)
Broccoli (early spring only)
Destiny | (48–67 days) Smooth, round, 6–8" heads; excellent heat-tolerant variety great for a fall or spring crop in the South; produces lots of side shoots; replaced Packman in 2016; 12–18" tall x 18–24" spacing.
Cantaloupe
Sugar Cube | (80 days) Personal size, two-pound fruit with juicy, deep orange, extra sweet flesh (14% sugar content). Exceptionally disease-resistant & productive. Smaller seed cavity than classic melons, so more edible flesh.
Celery (early spring only)
Tall Utah | (90–100 days) Fresh celery is much more aromatic & delicious than store bought. This is a compact variety with dark green stalks. Harvest by cutting the base at soil level with a knife.
Corn
Honey 'N Pearl | (76 days) Popular, yellow & white, tender, sweet corn. Large, finely textured, well-filled cobs up to 9" long contain twice the sugar of regular corn. Award winner with superb disease resistance plus tight husks that lower the risk of corn earworm infestation.
Cucumber
Burpless Supreme | (55 days) Sweet, mild, burpless dark green slicers with no bitterness. Up to 12" long and 2" in diameter. Excellent sliced, but also fine for pickling when picked at a smaller size. High yielding.
Bush Crop (JJL) | (60 days) Extremely prolific dwarf variety with dark bluish-green skin, crisp white flesh and a small seed cavity. 6–8" long slicing cucumbers on runnerless vines only 1–2' long. Excellent for containers or small garden plots. Scab-resistant.
Diva | (58 days) AAS winner! Produces tender, crisp, sweet, bitter-free, & seedless cucumbers that are especially flavorful when harvested small. This cucumber is parthenocarpic, meaning the flowers are all female and the fruits are seedless without needing to be pollinated. Foliage is non bitter, thus not as attractive to cucumber beetles. Resistant to scab & mildews.
Excelsior | (50 days) Vigorous, balanced plant with consistent fruit setting. Excellent flavor. Disease-resistant plants produce crunchy, 4–5" cucumbers that are great for pickling or eating fresh.
GherKing | (50–55 days) 3–5" fruit has crisp, tasty flesh that has no bitterness even when left on the vine. Produces early and large crops. Perfect for pickling & fresh eating. Plant has excellent disease resistance & doesn't need insects for pollination. 4–6' vining stems do best trained on a trellis.
Green Light | (37–42 days) 2020 AAS Winner! This little beauty is an excellent mini cucumber with 3–4" fruit. It has earlier maturity and superior eating quality. Fun fact: This cucumber is parthenocarpic, meaning the flowers are all female and the fruits are seedless without needing to be pollinated.
Patio Snacker | (50–55 days) A great container or small space cuke! 6–8" long x 1 1/2–2" wide, dark green fruit are crunchy & flavorful. Produces continuously all season long. Small plants have 3–5' long vining stems perfect for a small trellis in a pot or raised bed. Doesn't need insect pollination.
Salad Crop (JJL) | (63 days) This one has it all—great taste, compact plants and excellent disease resistance. Produces straight, 8–9" long, dark green slicers.
Straight Eight | "(63 days) Extremely popular early variety that produces straight, dark green, 8"" long cucumbers with a small seed cavity & white spines. Excellent for slicing, salads, or dill pickles. Award winner.
Eggplant
Black Beauty | (Heirloom: 74 days) A standard worldwide for large-fruited, black eggplant. Glossy fruits get up to 8" long with perfect shape for eggplant steaks on the grill or Eggplant Parmesan. No need to peel the tender skin.
Calliope (JJL) | (64 days) Beautiful, oval, Asian-style eggplant. Small fruits are variegated purple & white and can be harvested at 2" long for baby eggplants or 3–4" long when mature.
Dancer (JJL) | (61 days) Deep pink, Italian-type eggplant. Semi-cylindrical fruits are mid-sized (7–8" long x 3–4" wide), mild, and non-bitter. Plants are strong and high yielding.
Diamond | (Heirloom: 70 days) Mild, dark purple, slender eggplant that has superb flavor & firm flesh. 6–9" long x 2–3" wide fruit are delicious grilled. Disease-resistant, 2' tall plants are high yielding.
Ichiban (Shikou) | (61 days) Long, slender, purplish-black, Asian-type eggplant with thin, tender skin & a sweet, mild flavor. Perfect for Asian dishes, grilling, & roasting. Attractive purple-tinged foliage on productive plant.
Meatball | (55–60 days) The meatiest & tastiest eggplant yet! Dense, moist flesh captures the flavor & texture of meat. Use the large, 4–6", dark purple fruit in any recipe that calls for meat, even in meatballs or burgers. Cook as cutlets, in stir fries, pastas, curries, dips, or mashed for baba ghanoush. Stake or cage the compact, 2–3' tall plant.
Orient Express (JJL) | (58 days) Long, slim Asian variety (8–10" long x 1.5–2.5" wide) with thin, glossy black skin & tender, delicately-flavored flesh. Sets early & in both cool & hot weather.
Pingtung Long | (Heirloom: 65–75 days) A prolific, early-producing Asian-type with slender fruit up to 12–18" long x 1–2" wide. Very tender skin doesn't need to be peeled. A vigorous, stress & disease tolerant plant.
Kale (early spring only)
Extraordinarily nutritious vegetable. One cup has more than 100% of the daily value of Vitamin K & A & almost 90% of the daily value of Vitamin C. A rich source of compounds linked to cancer prevention. Use raw or lightly steamed in soups, stir-fries, & other dishes.
Kale Storm Mix | (65–80 days) Mix of different colors & textures of kale that's like a ready-mix salad; lasts longer in patio pots than lettuce & won't bolt; harvest outer leaves for continual supply; great for salads, soups, sandwiches, & smoothies.
Nero di Toscana | (Heirloom: 50 days) Superior Italian variety also known as "Lacinato" or "Dinosaur Kale". Dark green, heavily "blistered" leaves have a softer texture than curly types. Productive plants can reach 2–3' tall. Heat-tolerant. (from JJL only)
Redbor | (50 days) Beautiful & tasty variety with mild-flavored, crisp, finely curled leaves. Grows 18–24" tall. (from JJL only)
Lettuce (early spring only)
Allstar Gourmet Mix (JJL) | (30 days) A specially-designed salad mix with reds, greens, ruffles, & other uniquely-shaped leaves. (Green & Red Oakleaf, Green & Red Romaine, Lolla Rossa, & Redleaf)
Buttercrunch | (65 days) Award winner. Heat-tolerant bibb-type with luscious, buttery texture. Rich green leaves form a beautiful rosette in the garden that holds well under stress & has good bolt resistance.
New Red Fire | (29 days) Heavy heads of crisp & sweet, red, frilly leaves on plants with excellent heat tolerance & bolt resistance.
Parris Island Romaine | (65–70 days) Thick, crisp, elongated leaves that hold well after harvest. Sweet & delicious. Very heat resistant & slow to bolt.
Simpson Elite | (53 days) Like Black-Seeded Simpson but can be harvested a month longer. Crisp texture & fine flavor. Early maturing & tolerant of hot weather.
Okra
Great for soups, stews, jambalaya, & casseroles. Also excellent fried, either whole or sliced, & pickled.
Clemson Spineless | (56 days) Heavy producer of grooved, very meaty pods without spines that are best picked when 2–1/2 to 3" long. Full-bodied flavor. Award winner.
Jambalaya | (50 days) Extra early & heavy bearing compact plants that set masses of dark green fruit. Tender, meaty pods are 4–5" long & very evenly-sized (great for pickling).
Onions, Bunching
He Shi Ko | (Heirloom: 60–80 days) Mild & tasty, Japanese bunching (non-bulbing) onions that are used like scallions. Delicious, pungent flesh on 12–14" white stalks with tender leaves. Overwinters & "over-summers" here. Stalks grow & can be divided from the base.
Onions, Spreading
Larry's | (Heirloom) This prolific variety will re-seed and spread. Great for eating and cooking with year-round. Trim back to the ground if it gets too floppy and it will re-grow quickly. This variety originated at a bait shop in Bryan, TX in the 1950's and has since been grown all over Texas, including a salty bay-front planter box in Port Isabel. It will grow anywhere! Bees love the flowers!
Roselle
A hibiscus with edible seed pods after its flowers are finished blooming. A super plant for making cranberry-flavored bright red beverages, jellies, pies, and teas. If you are a fan of hibiscus tea, this is your plant! Give it plenty of space in full sun and be prepared to stake it—they get top-heavy and can blow over and break. Will get 6–8ft tall. Blooms in late summer and ready to harvest for the fall.
Spinach
Red Malabar (available in summer) | (50–70 days) Not a true spinach. This heat-loving, vigorous climbing vine has attractive red stems & thick, glossy, succulent leaves that have a slight Swiss chard taste. Use leaves & young stems sparingly in salads & stir fries. Grows in hotter temperatures than true spinach.
Squash
Black Beauty | (50 days) The classic dark-green summer squash that has made modern zucchini of this type popular. Delicious fried or baked; best picked young.
Bush Table Queen | (80 days) Bush-type acorn squash, each plant is only 3 feet across. Plants produce an abundance of green, deeply ribbed, acorn-shaped fruit that are 5" long and 4" wide. Delicious, high quality flesh is orange. Delicious roasted, grilled, and stuffed.
Cupcake | (52 days) Cupcake-shaped summer squash with the rich, sweet flavor of patty-pan & the soft skin of zucchini. Large, trailing plant yields dozens of 2–5" green fruit great for roasting, slicing, grilling, boiling, stuffing, & more. Use as a substitute for zucchini in any recipe, sweet or savory.
Dixie | Crookneck (41 days) Early variety produces heavy yields of shiny, lemon yellow, strongly tapered 5–6" long fruit. Skin is smooth, unlike other yellow crookneck varieties. Very flavorful & tender. Best when harvested at about 6" long.
Eight Ball Zucchini | (55 days) A round little charmer that is bold, glossy and with a deep forest-green skin. Loaded with delicious nutty, buttery flavor, Eight Ball makes a fantastic stuffer. Vines are very productive. Size: 3–4" x 3".
Gentry (JJL) | (44 days) Semi-crookneck, smooth, butter-yellow squash of excellent quality even in stressful weather. Mild, sweet, delicious flavor. Best harvested at 5–6".
Primavera (spaghetti) | (90–95 days) A perfect substitute for pasta! Consistently outperforms other spaghetti squash varieties on a manageable, semi–bush vine.Two-and-a-half to four pound fruit mature a bright canary yellow. Stores up to 6 months once skin hardens.
Yellow Crookneck (JJL) | Crookneck (58 days) Compact plants that produce loads of creamy, mild, sweet, & flavorful yellow, swan-necked squash. Best when harvested at 5–6" long.
Yellow Straightneck | (Heirloom: 42 days) Early, prolific yields of creamy, yellow-skinned fruits with firm, delicate flesh. Best when 8–9" long. Perfect to slice into lengths for grilling, sliced thin for dips, or used in any number of dishes.
Swiss Chard (early spring only)
Bright Lights Mix | (60 days) a mix of green & burgundy, lightly savoyed leaves on individual stems of red, yellow, orange, gold, pink, or white; very mild, delicious flavor; use cooked or raw; pretty enough to use as an ornamental too; 20" tall.
Watermelon
Black Diamond | (Heirloom: 75–90 days) Classic, oblong watermelon with black-green rind and bright red, crisp, juicy & sweet flesh. Fruit can weigh up to 30–50 pounds. Prolific. (from JJL only)
Crimson Sweet | (Heirloom: 85 days) Award winner. The 20–25 lb oval to round fruit have sweet, fine-textured, firm flesh with relatively few small, dark seeds. Rind is medium green, tough & thick with dark green stripes. Disease-resistant & thrives in most climates.
Mambo | (75 days) 2020 AAS winner! Enjoy multiple, perfectly round melons with a beautiful dark green rind and deep red flesh. The sweet crisp flesh is extremely tasty and holds well (doesn’t over ripen) if you can’t harvest them right away. Each 9” fruit will weigh about 11 pounds at maturity.
Moon & Stars | (Heirloom: 88–90 days) Medium-sized (6–10 lb), oval, dark green fruit are covered with pea-sized bright yellow "stars" and usually one larger "moon." Pink flesh is heavenly sweet & juicy. Beautiful plant has spotted foliage too.
Sugar Baby | (85 days) Compact vine is good in containers or smaller garden plots. Produces heavy crops of 6–10 lb melons with firm, sweet, red-orange flesh. The rind has distinct stripes when immature, becoming black-green when ripe.