With so many options in the vegetable seed catalogues, you want to buy all the favorites! Don't be fooled by the mouth watering catalogue descriptions of choice vegetables. While we all want our vegetables to be tasty, today I am going to walk the reader through vegetable varieties that are the easiest to grow here in the 6B Missouri climate in order to have the greatest success.
Growing Vegetables in the Missouri Climate
Before I get into my choice seed varieties, I want to explain a little more about how I choose them based on Missouri Climate.
Plants grow well in climates to which they are suited. The humid-subtropical summers make Missouri distinct from more northern Midwest Gardens. The high temperatures, generally reaching the 90's in Fahrenheit, along with humidity last from mid-June on through about the first week in September (give or take).
Many typical summer plants of the North, such as tomatoes and peppers, will go dormant in that environment, and will stop producing until later in the year. Since many insects thrive in that heat, we also need to consider plants that are resistant to those insects so they can survive to maturity. Some northern favorites, such as corn and beans still thrive during this time, along with the southern favorites sweet potatoes and okra.
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| This Lemon Oregano perennial does just fine three of four seasons. It's a must have for your garden! |
Those nice and comfortable 70 - 80 degree Fahrenheit days occur for two short periods: mid-May through mid-June and mid-September through mid - October. Frost sensitive vegetables planted out in early May are often not mature before the real heat comes, so it may be best to consider transplants for this period. Cold hardy plants can thrive in this environment with protection; those such as broccoli and chard may be attacked by insects at this time if not covered.
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| These tomatoes go dormant in July and August, but start production as temperatures cool in fall. |
The cooler, mild weather of spring and fall I would consider from mid-March through mid-May and mid-October through mid-December. For the early spring period, I try to rely mostly on perennial crops and over-wintered vegetables protected with a cover. Since their roots are already developed, their growth accelerates more quickly in early spring. However, since hot weather comes so quickly, I focus on early maturing varieties for cool season vegetables sowed in spring. For vegetables with longer maturity dates, the fall garden is a wonderful time to plant.
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| Chamomile: A lovely flower and herb for harvest in late spring. This is one tea that tastes better when grown from your own garden. |
And of course, then the rest of the year is winter, where plants generally remain dormant unless protected by covers. Stridolo, below, is a perennial also known as Sculpit and will grow very early in Missouri spring. Give it a try!
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On to seed selection....
Lettuce, Spinach
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| Pablo lettuce: beautiful and delicious |
Baker Creek's Pablo Lettuce and Merlot varieties are personal favorite as they are tender, look attractive on a plate, and grow well for me. They also will survive overwinter under cover, by the way. I plant it every year. This year I will also try Sow Right Seed's Little Gem.
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| This was a fantastic plant to look at and kept growing strong all summer! However, uncooked the leaves were somewhat slimy. If I find a recipe the family likes, I'll post it. |
The Monstreuux De Viroflay Spinach variety is a good one for overwintering under cover for early spring growth. However, when sowing in early spring, you may find that the spinach matures only a week or so before the hot weather arrives and then bolts. Last year, I tried this Malabar Spinach, which had phenomenal growth July-September, however I am still working on its applicability in the kitchen. A new one for me, New Zealand Spinach (not a true spinach variety) should grow well in hotter temperatures, and I am always interested in greens for the peak summer months.
Brassicas
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| Pak Choy received a some bug damage last year, but removing outer leaves kept buts at bay through the summer. |
Brassicas are bug magnets, and there are huge quantities of bugs in Missouri. Not wishing to devote hours to battling insects, I prefer to grow brassicas when the bugs disappear in fall and early spring, and I have had the most success early maturing varieties. For planting in early spring, look for varieties that mature 60 days or earlier.
If you haven't tried growing asian greens, you should. They are so delicious and tender. One of my favorites is this Pak Choi from Gurney's seed. Baker's creek has an excellent collection of asian greens. Tatsoi and Winter Choy are also fabulous. Sow Right Seeds also sells an asian greens variety pack.
For overwintering greens, try Southern Collards. These are fairly spicy in the fall, but really sweeten up in spring after surviving the winter (covered). One early-maturing variety cabbage variety that I will try this year is the Tiara Hybrid from Gurney's.
Chard
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| You can see the outer leaves had a lot of damage, yet most of the inner leaves remained good to eat. Removing the outer leaves keeps bugs away. |
Bugs also love chard. In 2025, I tried an old favorite, Fordhook Giant. I was very impressed by this variety. Although there was some bug damage, removing the outer leaves periodically allowed meaningful harvests from this plant. I did not see that it was available at Baker's Creek this year, but you can find the variety also at Sow Right Seeds.
Beets
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| Growing a variety of beet colors really adds to the beauty of any plate. |
Did you know beets and chard are in the same plant family? I had good luck last year with Crosby's Egyptian Beets, but I couldn't find them for sale online this season. This year, I am going with Sow Right Seed's 4 collection beet pack. Includes two red varieties, a golden variety, and Chioggia beets, about 90 seeds per pack. Gurney's seeds often offer competitive prices per seed, but their 4-pack of beet varieties sells out fast.
Cucumbers
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| This beautiful cucumber plant performed beautifully for me in early autumn. The back leaves drooped a bit that day in the hot sun. |
Cucumbers have not presented any growing difficulties for me here in Missouri. This Early Fortune variety can be eaten fresh and used a pickle. I like to grow these Lemon Cucumbers for added color in my salads.
Radishes and Carrots
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| The most famous inter-sowing of vegetables: carrots and radishes. |
I find it odd that some people relish radishes as a stand alone vegetable. I do not. However I do like their color and find it a refreshing garnish for salads. One that I had fun with last year was Malaga. They are traditionally interplanted with carrots as their fast growth tracks the rows for slower growing carrots.
Transplanted carrot roots often split, so carrot seed needs to be planted directly into the soil. With the compacted soil on the parsonage property, the shorter carrots are recommended. I had a lot of success last year with the Danvers Half Long. I have found that carrot seedlings really do need loose soil, but that soil often dries out and the plants die out when young. To address this, just prior to a rain, I hoe a tiny trench to place the seed, then I add overtop potting soil.
Read more on from my April 2025 post found here:
Peas
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| Peas grow stronger for me every year. |
Over the years as my soil has improved through no-till or no-till gardening, I have noticed that peas in particular have really started to take off. They clearly prefer looser soil. I am not one to collect peas and de-pod them, so I prefer the snap peas that can be placed directly in the salad. This year, I am sowing varieties I have tried in the past, Sugar Daddy and Green Beauty. This year I will try a new variety: cold hardy Telephone.
The mice really love to eat my pea seeds, so I always plant them in seed trays and then transplant them.
Beans
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| Fava or Broad Beans |
A fantastic spring vegetable to grow is Fava Beans, also known as broad beans. Unlike most bean varieties, these ones are winter hardy. I find growing them earlier preferable to later plantings. They really do prefer the cooler weather. I have gone with the Broad Winsor variety.
I have also found any summer bean variety to be easy to grow in my garden. Some varieties that I like and add interest include this Thai Soldier Long Beans that may grow 1-2 feet in length and yellow wax beans for color in my soups. This year I am adding this Golden Sunshine runner variety to add interest to the garden; it's red flowers are striking. While I like the wax beans, pole beans are easier to pick for those who prefer not to squat.
Shallots and Onions
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| Egyptian Walking Onions |
I love having shallots on hand that were grown from my garden, and this is my splurge crop! I buy them as sets, since I have greater success with those.
For compact soil, also try the onion sets. Again, with soil improvement, I have also had greater success with onions started from seed. In previous years, I would only get tiny plants that didn't amount to much. However, this previous year I actually got some onions that formed bulbs from this Texas Early Grano variety.
Fall of 2024, I also planted the perennial "Egyptian Walking Onion," and I am still waiting for the baby onion tops to multiply into an onion patch. Hopefully one day I will never have to plant an onion again.
Sweet Potatoes
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| Sweet potatoes are yummy and make excellent ground cover in late summer. Plus they yield plenty of organic matter after the harvest to recycle back into your garden. |
For Northerners, Missouri is the gateway to the South! While I have time and again had issues with disease for regular potatoes, I have had huge successes with sweet potatoes. I also enjoy that they provide plenty of ground cover for my garden in the middle of summer.
The Murasaki Sweet Potato has a distinctly sweet flavor that my friends and family have enjoyed. I have found the Covington Sweet Potato to produce higher yields in my garden and is also resistant to disease. My only issue with buying these varieties is that they are somewhat expensive and patent protected, so gardeners are not supposed to save some of the crop for next year's seed.
Since I am not interested in chemicals in my garden, I have shied away from regular potatoes. Perhaps some day I will look into them again.
Corn
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| Corn:Very Heat Tolerant |
Most varieties of corn grow fairly well here. To be honest, corn takes up a lot of space, but my son really loves growing it. Since we are rather busy in the summer, I choose this sweet white variety that matures later in the year. Raccoons got into ours this year: the battle is on!
Peppers and tomatoes
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| Got peppers? |
Last year was the first year that I successfully grew peppers and tomatoes from seed. I can't grow seeds inside because my kids would destroy them. Instead, last year I started a number of frost sensitive seeds over a covered hotbed, where they were kept warm and frost free outside in early winter.
Of the varieties that I grew, I really enjoyed the Txorixero Pepper and San Marzano Tomato. This year I will also be adding more yellow tomato varieties to my garden.
Squash and Pumpkins
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| Despite this plants vigor as a stray in the compost heap, eventually the bugs did get it. I have had success with a very few bug resistant varieties. |
One would love the freedom to grow any and all of the crazy squash varieties in Missouri. Sadly, without protection, most varieties will be eaten alive by bugs. I am not interested in covering my garden all summer with cloth, and I really am adverse to using chemicals in the garden.
However, there is hope. One variety that stands up to bugs is the Seminole Pumkin, which actually grows natively in Florida. For summer squash, try Zucchini Rampichino, a variety I will be trying this year for the first time. However, local friends have successfully grown this crop without protection, and I have read reviews online that promote its resistance.
Okra
Other vegetables
While I am growing a number of other vegetables this year, such as celery, celeriac, rutabaga and parsnips, I haven't perfected the art of growing these vegetables into meaningful crops and I won't bother you with their details. It's always fun to experiment, but it takes a lifetime to master this hobby!