Common bean

A warm-season annual vine in the cucumber family grown for its sweet, aromatic netted melons - one of the six broadly accepted edible groups of the polymorphic Cucumis melo. Stiff-haired, rough-textured trailing stems climb 6 to 9 feet with the help of unbranched tendrils, carrying funnel-shaped yellow flowers that draw bees. Native to the Old World (Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India, New Guinea, and Australia) and intolerant of frost, it is grown as an annual on the ground or on cages and trellises.

A warm-season annual vegetable in the nightshade family, grown for fresh summer fruit. Tomatoes need full sun, consistent moisture, slightly acidic soil, and night temperatures above 50°F. Larger fruits like beefsteaks can struggle in extended hot southern summers because flowers drop without setting fruit.

A tall, warm-season annual grass grown for its sweet kernels - one of the largest crops in the home vegetable garden at 4 to 5 feet. Corn is wind-pollinated, so it must be sown in a block of several rows rather than a single line for the tassels to set a full ear. A heavy feeder that wants full sun, fertile soil, and steady water; some sweet-corn types are spoiled by cross-pollination from other corn varieties, so isolation and harvest timing matter.

A fast cool-season annual of the mustard family grown for its peppery, mustard-like salad greens - irregular, pinnately-lobed basal leaves in a low rosette, each with 4 to 10 small lateral lobes and a large terminal lobe (Missouri Botanical Garden). First cultivated by the ancient Greeks and Romans and still widely grown across Europe, it is best grown in the cooler spring and fall months rather than summer heat; leaves are harvested young and tender before they turn strong and bitter. Pale-yellow four-petalled flowers with dark brown or purple veins appear in corymbs if plants are left to bloom.

A cool-season vegetable grown for its large, tight, terminal head of green flower buds on a thick edible stem, framed by waxy blue-green leaves. Grown as an annual; it grows poorly once daytime temperatures consistently exceed 80°F, so it is timed for spring and fall. Harvest promptly while the head is firm and tight, before the buds begin to open.

A slow-growing, long-season cool-weather vegetable grown for the miniature cabbage-like buds (1 to 2 inches wide) that form in the leaf axils along a single 2-3 foot stem. It is the same species as kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and kohlrabi, differing only by cultivar group. Flavor improves after the first fall frost, so it is timed for a cool-temperature autumn harvest rather than summer heat.