Reading the climate record for this place…
Reading the climate record for this place…
Year-round planting assistant
Saturday, 3 October 2026
Unique and lesser-known vegetables, fruit, and herbs with serious flavor — especially Asian winter greens and kitchen crops from India, Africa, and Italy — ranked by how ideal they are to sow in your climate right now, outdoors and under an unheated greenhouse.
Using climate forColumbus, OH, US39.96, -83.00
last frost 22 Apr · first frost 2 Nov
22 varieties are in a plantable window today, sorted from most ideal to least.
Claytonia · Vegetable
Succulent, mild, and slightly sweet discs — the winter salad green that does not sulk in cold the way lettuce does.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
good now
31 Aug – 4 Jan · fall
Rucola · Herb
Wild rocket: thinner leaves, longer heat, a peppery, nutty, almost sesame bitterness that supermarket salad rocket never reaches. The rucola of a Roman pizzeria.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
good now
31 Aug – 4 Jan · fall
Wasabi Arugula · Vegetable
A mustard green that hits the sinuses like real wasabi — green, volatile heat that fades to sweetness. Not arugula, despite the nickname.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
good now
31 Aug – 14 Dec · fall
Komatsuna · Vegetable
Glossy spinach-mustard hybrid flavor: sweet, spinachy, with a quiet mustard undertone. One of the most versatile cooking greens in Japan.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
good now
31 Aug – 7 Dec · fall
Mâche · Vegetable
Nutty, buttery rosettes. The French winter salad that makes greenhouse lettuce look like a compromise.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
3 weeks late
31 Aug – 11 Jan · fall
Methi · Herb
Young fenugreek greens: maple-bitter, celery-fresh, and the backbone of aloo methi. The dried leaf is kasuri; this is the garden version, loud and green.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
good now
31 Aug – 7 Dec · fall
Bok Choy · Vegetable
Baby heads with celadon stems and a sweet, almost corn-like juice. More refined than full-size white-stem pak choi.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
good now
31 Aug – 30 Nov · fall
Shungiku · Vegetable
Aromatic greens with a resinous, herbal bitterness — like chrysanthemum tea crossed with spinach. The flavor of sukiyaki.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
good now
31 Aug – 4 Dec · fall
Tokyo Bekana · Vegetable
Lime-green ruffled leaves that eat like a tender lettuce with a hint of napa sweetness. The rare green that satisfies salad and stir-fry people.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
good now
31 Aug – 4 Dec · fall
Bok Choy · Vegetable
Violet leaves over green stems; milder than red mustards, with a sweet pak-choi crunch and a faint berry-brassica aroma.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
good now
31 Aug – 30 Nov · fall
Mibuna · Vegetable
Narrow strap leaves, milder than mizuna, with a juicy green-cabbage sweetness that stands up to soup and pickling.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
good now
31 Aug – 7 Dec · fall
Salad Burnet · Herb
Young leaves taste exactly like cucumber water — cooling, green, and clean. A medieval salad herb that still earns a bed.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
3 weeks late
31 Aug – 28 Dec · fall
Yu Choy Sum · Vegetable
Tender stems and buds with a sweet, green-pea brassica flavor — the Cantonese standard for high-heat wok cooking.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
good now
31 Aug – 30 Nov · fall
Cima di Rapa · Vegetable
Classic Pugliese rapini: bitter-sweet shoots and buds with a mustard edge that olive oil and garlic were made to tame.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
good now
31 Aug – 30 Nov · fall
Mustard · Vegetable
Burgundy-blushed leaves with a wasabi-like heat that cools into grape-mustard sweetness after frost.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
3 weeks late
24 Aug – 14 Dec · fall
Sarson · Vegetable
The mustard of sarson da saag: broad, succulent leaves with a round heat that cooks down to sweetness with makki and ghee. Not an ornamental purple mustard.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
3 weeks late
24 Aug – 14 Dec · fall
Borragine · Herb
Cucumber-bright leaves and flowers: the Ligurian herb of pansoti and ravioli di borragine, and a cool, honeyed edible flower. More kitchen than cottage garden.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
3 weeks late
31 Aug – 7 Dec · fall
Mizuna · Vegetable
Feathery leaves with a peppery, almost arugula brightness and a clean finish — the salad green chefs reach for when lettuce tastes like water.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
3 weeks late
24 Aug – 7 Dec · fall
Mitsuba · Herb
A wild, aromatic parsley-celery-chervil hybrid. Fresh, slightly bitter, and unmistakably Japanese in soups and chawanmushi.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
3 weeks late
31 Aug – 30 Nov · fall
Hon Tsai Tai · Vegetable
Purple flower stems with a sweet, asparagus-broccoli taste. The buds are the prize — delicate, nutty, and completely unlike heading brassicas.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
4 weeks late
24 Aug – 23 Nov · fall
Turnip · Vegetable
A slender Kyoto turnip, white with a magenta shoulder. Tender, sweet, and the traditional pickle for senmaizuke.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
4 weeks late
24 Aug – 23 Nov · fall
Agretti · Vegetable
Monk’s beard: saline, mineral, and snappy, like samphire crossed with young spinach. The Ligurian and Lazio spring green you eat with lemon and oil, not a background salad leaf.
Outdoor
4 weeks late
24 Aug – 19 Oct · fall
Greenhouse
4 weeks late
24 Aug – 9 Nov · fall
Tatsoi · Vegetable
Spoon-shaped leaves with a sweet mustard snap and a lingering mineral finish — richer than bok choy, never bitter when grown in cold.
Outdoor
too early · opens in 2 weeks
19 Oct – 7 Dec · winter
Greenhouse
too early · opens in 1 week
8 Oct – 28 Dec · winter
Yukina Savoy · Vegetable
Deeply blistered, dark leaves with a buttery texture and a mild, sweet brassica flavor — like tatsoi crossed with savoy cabbage.
Outdoor
too early · opens in 3 weeks
26 Oct – 14 Dec · winter
Greenhouse
too early · opens in 2 weeks
15 Oct – 4 Jan · winter
Soko · Vegetable
Lagos spinach: tender celosia leaves with a mild beet-green mineral taste and no bitterness. The everyday pot herb of southern Nigeria, not the cockscomb in the flower bed.
Outdoor
too late · closed 3 weeks ago
18 Jun – 11 Sept · summer
Greenhouse
too late · closed 1 week ago
28 May – 2 Oct · summer
African Cabbage · Vegetable
Spider plant, the African cabbage of the Sahel and East Africa: mustard-bright leaves with a peppery, slightly bitter snap that mellows in a tomato stew.
Outdoor
too late · closed 4 weeks ago
18 Jun – 6 Sept · summer
Greenhouse
too late · closed 1 week ago
28 May – 27 Sept · summer
African Nightshade · Vegetable
Mnavu / managu: tender nightshade greens with a deep, spinach-bitter richness that milk or cream tames. The everyday pot herb of Kenya and Uganda.
Outdoor
too late · closed 4 weeks ago
11 Jun – 6 Sept · summer
Greenhouse
too late · closed 1 week ago
21 May – 27 Sept · summer
Ethiopian Kale · Vegetable
Gomenzer in a heat-proof suit: kale-mustard leaves with a clean, cabbage-sweet bite and none of the sulfur funk of tired collards. Ethiopia’s brassica, selected in Texas for greens.
Outdoor
too late · closed 4 weeks ago
18 Jun – 6 Sept · summer
Greenhouse
too late · closed 1 week ago
28 May – 27 Sept · summer
Gai Lan · Vegetable
Thick succulent stems with a sweet, faintly bitter broccoli intensity. Oyster sauce exists for this vegetable.
Outdoor
too late · closed 1 week ago
20 Jul – 28 Sept · fall
Greenhouse
9 weeks late
20 Jul – 19 Oct · fall
Romanesco · Vegetable
The fractal Roman cauliflower: nuttier and sweeter than white cauliflower, with a precise, almost hazelnut crunch. A Lazio and Roman-campagna classic, not a novelty print.
Outdoor
too late · closed 1 week ago
13 Jul – 28 Sept · fall
Greenhouse
11 weeks late
13 Jul – 19 Oct · fall
Bhindi · Vegetable
Classic Indian okra: long tender pods with a green-bean sweetness and only a little slime if you keep them small. The bhindi of bharwan and sukhi sabzi.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 2 weeks ago
30 Apr – 19 Sept · summer
Napa Cabbage · Vegetable
Crisp, juicy midribs with a clean sweetness that kimchi was invented to celebrate. 'Bilko' heads are dense and resist bursting.
Outdoor
too late · closed 2 weeks ago
13 Jul – 21 Sept · fall
Greenhouse
11 weeks late
13 Jul – 12 Oct · fall
Tinda · Vegetable
The round Indian gourd: apple-sized, pale green, with a soft squash-cucumber flesh that is the sabzi of Punjabi summers. Nothing else in the catalog tastes like it.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 2 weeks ago
23 Apr – 19 Sept · summer
Chaulai · Vegetable
Red amaranth saag: earthy, mineral, and slightly sweet, with a spinach body that does not collapse into water. The summer green when palak has bolted.
Outdoor
too late · closed 2 weeks ago
18 Jun – 16 Sept · summer
Greenhouse
too late · closed 2 weeks ago
28 May – 16 Sept · summer
Epazote · Herb
Resinous, medicinal, and a little wild — the herb that makes black beans taste Mexican. Not a background note; a signature.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 2 weeks ago
30 Apr – 17 Sept · summer
Gongura · Herb
Andhra’s sour leaf: lemon, sorrel, and a green tang that makes gongura pachadi and mutton the dishes they are. Small-leaf chitti is the sharper one.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 2 weeks ago
30 Apr – 17 Sept · summer
Molokhia · Vegetable
Jute mallow, the ewedu of Yoruba cooking and Egypt’s national green: mucilaginous, deep, and spinach-like with a toasted-okra richness. The soup thickens itself.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 2 weeks ago
30 Apr – 17 Sept · summer
Turai · Vegetable
Ridge gourd: angled, spongy-tender, and quietly sweet, with a cucumber-squash taste that loves jeera and tomato. Peel the ridges; keep the flesh.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 2 weeks ago
23 Apr – 17 Sept · summer
Zucchini · Vegetable
Ribbed Roman zucchini: dry, nutty flesh that does not water out in the pan, and male flowers worth stuffing. The zucchini people grow after they swear off watery supermarket fruit.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 2 weeks ago
23 Apr – 16 Sept · summer
Celtuce · Vegetable
Grown for the thick stem: crisp as jicama, with a mild lettuce-cucumber taste and a toasted-nut aftertaste when sliced thin.
Outdoor
too late · closed 3 weeks ago
6 Jul – 14 Sept · fall
Greenhouse
12 weeks late
6 Jul – 5 Oct · fall
Cucumber · Vegetable
Ribbed Chinese cucumber: crisp, mild, and never bitter, with thin skin you do not peel. The slicing cucumber of northern China.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 3 weeks ago
23 Apr – 12 Sept · summer
Karela · Vegetable
Bitter melon the Indian way: long, pointed, fiercely bitter, then nutty once salted or stuffed. The bitterness is the point, not a defect.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 3 weeks ago
23 Apr – 12 Sept · summer
Negi · Vegetable
A fat, leek-like Japanese onion with a melting sweetness when braised. Famous from Shimonita, Gunma — one of Japan’s great vegetables.
Outdoor
too late · closed 3 weeks ago
29 Jun – 14 Sept · fall
Greenhouse
13 weeks late
29 Jun – 5 Oct · fall
Okra · Vegetable
Ridged North African / Middle Eastern okra: star-shaped in cross-section, meaty walls, and a deep green-bean sweetness. The ancestor crop, not a slimy afterthought.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 3 weeks ago
30 Apr – 14 Sept · summer
Basilico · Herb
Lettuce-leaf Neapolitan basil: huge rumpled leaves, softer and sweeter than Genovese, with a perfume that holds in a caprese without turning minty. The basil of the South.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 3 weeks ago
30 Apr – 9 Sept · summer
Cowpea · Vegetable
Burgundy pods and earthy, sweet beans — the niebe of West Africa, eaten as leaves (the first green) and as peas. Deeper than a supermarket black-eyed pea.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 3 weeks ago
30 Apr – 9 Sept · summer
Lauki · Vegetable
Bottle gourd with pale, mild, slightly sweet flesh that takes dal, kofta, and lauki halwa. A cooling summer squash, not a craft birdhouse.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 3 weeks ago
23 Apr – 9 Sept · summer
Padrón · Vegetable
Galician frying pepper: grassy, sweet, and mostly mild, with the same roulette heat as shishito but a deeper, oil-friendly flesh.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 3 weeks ago
30 Apr – 9 Sept · summer
Shishito · Vegetable
Blistered, salted, and eaten whole: thin skin, green-pepper sweetness, and the occasional hot one. The best bar snack that is a vegetable.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 3 weeks ago
30 Apr – 9 Sept · summer
Thai Basil · Herb
Anise-clove basil that holds in a hot wok. Sweeter and more perfume-heavy than Genovese, with purple stems that mark a proper phở plate.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 3 weeks ago
30 Apr – 9 Sept · summer
Barbati · Vegetable
Yardlong bean, the bora of Bengal and barbati of the North: snap-bean crunch with a deeper, pea-like sweetness and burgundy pods that stay pretty in a stir-fry.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 4 weeks ago
30 Apr – 7 Sept · summer
Scent Leaf · Herb
West African clove basil: pepper, clove, and thyme in one leaf. The scent leaf of pepper soup and jollof, louder and more medicinal than Thai or holy basil.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 4 weeks ago
30 Apr – 7 Sept · summer
Shiso · Herb
Cinnamon, basil, mint, and cumin in one ruffled leaf. The herb that makes sashimi, umeboshi, and summer noodles taste like themselves.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 4 weeks ago
7 May – 7 Sept · summer
Shiso · Herb
Dark purple leaves with the same spice-basil perfume as green shiso, plus a berry-ink tannin used to color umeboshi.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 4 weeks ago
7 May – 7 Sept · summer
Tromboncino · Vegetable
A climbing moschata eaten young like zucchini — nutty, never watery, with a seed cavity in the bell so the neck is all flesh.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 4 weeks ago
23 Apr – 7 Sept · summer
Tulsi · Herb
Holy basil with clove, pepper, and a medicinal sweetness Thai basil does not have. Purple Krishna is the intense one — tea, tadka, and the plant many households keep by the door.
Outdoor
not now
3 Oct – 3 Oct · cool-season
Greenhouse
too late · closed 4 weeks ago
30 Apr – 7 Sept · summer