Vegetable Garden Plant Identification

Identify vegetables by their seeds, roots, leaves and flowers.

Remembering what you planted where in the vegetable garden can be a challenge because so many vegetable varieties exist. Two strategies can help -- use labeled markers to identify plants and group similar varieties together. Plant all the greens in one area and melons in another, for example.

Seeds

Consider the seeds when identifying vegetable plants. Cool-season vegetables, such as lettuce, carrots, radishes and broccoli, grow from tiny seeds that grow quickly. These seeds are usually planted directly in the ground in early spring. Warm-season vegetables, such as corn, beans and pumpkins, have large seeds that are planted after the last frost. Some slow-growing crops, such as tomatoes and peppers, are usually grown from transplants, rather than seeds.

Leaves

Identify vegetables by their leaves. Vegetables with leaves that emerge directly from the ground are eaten as greens and include lettuce, cabbage, kale, spinach and endive. They have large, succulent leaves. Fruiting vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and melons, produce clusters of leaves on stems. Root vegetables, such as carrots, onions and fennel, produce tall shoots of leaves.

Fruits

Look for fruits as the final way to identify vegetables. Fruiting vegetables, such as melons, squash, beans, tomatoes, eggplants and peppers, produce flowers, followed by fruit. Melon and squash flowers are large and yellow or orange. Other plants produce small, white flowers.

References

• Cornell University Home Gardening: Plants and Planting
• University of Minnesota Extension: Planting the Vegetable Garden

Resources

• Ohio State University Plant Facts: Photos of Fruit and Vegetable Plants