Broccoli
Broccoli is packed with nutrients and is tasty and easy to grow. This cold-weather vegetable will survive frost; in the spring, you can plant it about a month before your area's average last frost date. Because broccoli loves cool weather, you can plant it in late summer for fall harvests. And if you keep the leaves on the plant after harvesting your broccoli florets, the plants should produce side shoots that'll give you a second or even third crop.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 2-11
Standout Variety: 'Packman', which bears uniform heads and matures in about 55 days
Cabbage
Cabbages can pull double-duty as ornamentals and edibles. There are many different types; pick varieties called early cabbage (such as 'Earliana') for spring harvests. Late cabbage varieties (such as 'Vantage Point') are better for planting in midsummer and harvesting in fall. Add color to your vegetable garden with red-leaf cabbage varieties such as 'Ruby Ball' or 'Super Red'.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 2-9
Standout Variety: 'Gonzales', which produces softball-size heads in about 60 days
Calendula
Add a touch of beauty to spring and fall vegetable gardens with edible flowers. Calendula is a favorite for its cheery cream, yellow, or orange daisy-like blooms. Use the petals, which have a zingy, peppery flavor, to add color and interest to salads and cream-based soups. Calendula also dries well, making it a good pick for garden craft projects.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 2 feet tall
Zones: 2-11
Standout Variety: 'Porcupine', which bears orange blooms with distinct, quill-like petals
Carrot
Enjoy tasty carrots in spring, summer, and fall. While you won't have big, long roots in spring, smaller selections such as 'Thumbelina' are perfect for early planting. Harvest carrots as soon as the roots are large enough to eat.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 3-10
Standout Variety: 'Thumbelina', an award-winning variety that matures about in 65 days
Chives
Begin harvesting this perennial herb as soon as its new leaves appear in spring. The foliage has the classic chives flavor, but the late-spring blooms are also edible and taste more like an onion. Pick off faded blooms if you don't harvest them. Chives can self-seed prolifically in the garden.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 3-10
Lettuce
Lettuce is one of the cold-weather vegetable garden's most versatile plants in a fantastic array of colors, shapes, and flavors. Plant a few seeds weekly, and you'll have a constant crop for fresh salads.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 4-9
Standout Variety: 'Red Sails', an award-winning variety with reddish-bronze leaves; ready for harvest in 45 days
Pansy
Pansies grace spring and fall gardens with their cheery, edible blooms. The flowers appear in virtually every shade of the rainbow and make beautiful decorations when used on desserts. Fall-planted pansies in cold-winter areas will often overwinter and bloom the following spring.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 2-11
Standout Variety: The Matrix series, which bears large flowers in a wide color range on strong stems
Peas
Peas are perfect for growing on a fence or small trellis to give structure to the cool-season garden. They're pretty, too: The plants often bear variegated foliage and white flowers. If you don't have a spot to put up a fence or trellis, look for upright pea varieties that don't need a support to climb on.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 3 feet tall
Zones: 2-10
Standout Variety: 'Maestro', an extra-sweet variety that's ready for harvest in about 60 days
Radish
Radishes win the prize for being one of the fastest vegetables; they're often ready for harvest less than a month after you plant the seeds. Radishes come in a variety of flesh colors, from white to red to pink and lavender. Because of their fast growth and small size, round-root radish varieties are suitable for growing in containers.
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 18 inches tall
Zones: 2-11
Standout Variety: 'Easter Egg', which is ready for harvest in about 30 days and comes in shades of red, white, and purple
Spinach
Equally tasty whether cooked or in a fresh salad, spinach is a cinch to grow. Like other leafy greens, plant some in a shaded spot to keep harvests going into the summer months. In mild-winter areas, you can sow spinach in late fall for early spring harvests.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 2-10
Standout Variety: 'Melody', which is heavy bearing and disease resistant; ready for harvest in about 45 days
Swiss Chard
Swiss chardmay be the prettiest cold-weather vegetable you can grow. It offers glossy green heart- or arrow-shaped leaves carried on colorful purple, pink, red, gold, orange, or white stalks. The leaves taste a bit like spinach. Some Swiss chard varieties are more tolerant of frost than others. Take care not to plant this vegetable too early in spring.
Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 12 inches tall
Zones: 3-10
Standout Variety: 'Bright Lights', an award-winning series with brightly colored stalks; harvest in about 60 days.