11 Vegetables to Plant in 2025

New vegetable varieties tantalize the senses with exquisite colors, bold flavors, and sensual textures. I’m not saying to get rid of your favorite heirlooms! Consider trying a new cultivar alongside your existing favorites. Who knows—the new kind may grow into your favorite vegetable!

A cluster of long, green chili peppers hanging from vibrant green stems with pointed leaves, growing in soil.

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Sometimes, I grow stuck in my ways. I’ll plant the same vegetables, fruits, and herbs year after year. My favorites are reliable, delicious, and easy to grow. Crops like leaf lettuce, peppers, and tomatoes offer bountiful harvests with little maintenance. 

It’s especially easy to forget that new vegetables exist if you save seeds! You’ll likely grow all the seeds you need in a year and find it difficult to add new ones to your roster. So, what’s the benefit of trying new vegetables in 2025?

For one, they can bolster the genetic diversity of your existing crops, especially if you save seeds. A new plant or two adds unique pollen to the garden, which boosts the health of next year’s seeds. Fresh cultivars offer colors and flavors that may be impossible to grow on your own, as they’re often the result of years of breeding by professional cultivators.

No matter your reasons for considering which vegetables to plant this year, this list offers plentiful options for experienced or beginner gardeners. Join the Epic Gardening team in growing a few of these special vegetables for 2025. 

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Lettuce

Australe Butterhead Lettuce Seeds

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Australe Butterhead Lettuce Seeds

Tomato

Beefy Purple Bush Tomato Seeds

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Beefy Purple Bush Tomato Seeds

Squash

Mashed Potatoes Acorn Winter Squash Seeds

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Acorn Winter Squash Seeds

Acorn Winter Squash ‘Mashed Potatoes’

Small round squashes with creamy white rinds, displayed on a wooden surface.
‘Mashed Potatoes’ sports creamy flesh as the name suggests.
common-name common name Acorn Winter Squash ‘Mashed Potatoes’
botanical-name botanical name Cucurbita pepo ‘Mashed Potatoes’
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 1-4’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 2-11

Delicious, decadent, and sweet, this winter squash is a must-have for squash lovers. ‘Mashed Potatoes’ sports creamy flesh, as the name suggests. Slice mature squash in half, bake them until soft, then fluff the flesh with a fork. Add salt and pepper with a bit of butter, and enjoy!

This hybrid won’t grow seeds true to type, so it’s important to find seeds from a reputable source. Seedlings sprout into four-foot-long vines that grow three to four squash each. 

Harvest mature squash off the vine once their skin is hard but before the first frost. Slice their stems a few inches above the fruit, then place your harvest in a cool, dark location for long-term storage. 

Bush Tomato ‘Beefy Purple’

A large, round tomato with red and green stripes, resting on a white background with a small green stem.
‘Beefy Purple’ is a luscious bush-type tomato that forms red and green stripes.
common-name common name Bush Tomato ‘Beefy Purple’
botanical-name botanical name Solanum lycopersicum ‘Beefy Purple’
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 1-3’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 2-11

Although technically perennials, tomatoes grow as annuals in most of our gardens. They’re heat and sun lovers, producing dozens of ripe red vegetables per plant in warm zones. Grow them as summer annuals in zones 2 through 11 or as frost-sensitive perennials in warm winter climates. 

‘Beefy Purple’ is a luscious bush-type tomato with sweet and savory fruits. The tomatoes form red and green stripes, resembling heirloom favorites like ‘Cherokee Purple’ but with more distinct patterning. Grow seeds indoors a month or two before transplanting outdoors a week or two after the last average frost date. 

Gourd ‘Luffa’

Long green luffa gourds hanging from a trellis with thick, dark green vines and heart-shaped leaves.
The ‘Luffa’ gourd grows edible squash-like vegetables that mature into spongy, fibrous crops.
common-name common name Gourd ‘Luffa’
botanical-name botanical name Luffa aegyptiaca ‘Luffa’
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 1-20’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 5-11

Replace those plastic, synthetic sponges in your home with all-natural vegetable sponges in 2025! The ‘Luffa’ gourd grows edible squash-like vegetables that mature into spongy, fibrous crops. Harvest the young gourds to eat fresh or cooked when they’re a few inches long, or let them mature into footlong gourds and use them as sponges

‘Luffa’ gourds grow off vines that reach 20 feet or longer! They’ll appreciate a large garden bed, a tall trellis, or an arching arbor to latch their tendrils onto.

I always struggle to plot out my garden layout, and the ‘Luffa’ variety is a vegetable I strive to create space for. This year, I used a new garden planner that showed me I have plenty of space for growing it along an existing fence. I’ll use this software each season to track the vine’s progress!

Specialty Lettuce

Close-up of bright green, textured nasturtium leaves with a slightly glossy surface and circular shape.
‘Australe’ features maroon speckling on light green, ruffly leaves. 
common-name common name Lettuce
botanical-name botanical name Lactuca sativa 
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
height height 6-12”
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 2-11

You should grow lettuce if you aren’t already cultivating it! It tastes delicious, is simple to grow, and the leaves have a wide range of applications in the kitchen. Harvest them individually for garnish, or chop down entire heads to make salad bowls.

If you’re new to lettuce growing, consider an old, reliable heirloom that survives harsh conditions. Curious growers should try a new sweet-tasting butterhead type like ‘Australe.’ It features maroon speckling on light green, ruffly leaves. 

Lettuce is great for small beds, containers, or balcony gardens. It functions well in full sun or partial shade, and hundreds of varieties offer reputable performance in hot, cold, wet, or dry regions. Choose those that work best for your climate. 

Nasturtium

Bright yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers of the peanut plant, surrounded by rounded green leaves.
‘Alaska Variegated’ sports white-green leaves with orange, yellow, or red blooms.
common-name common name Nasturtium
botanical-name botanical name Tropaeolum spp.
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 1-10’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 2-11

Why are we growing nasturtiums near our vegetables in 2025? They attract bees, birds, and butterflies, offering delicious nectar, pollen, and seeds. They’re also entirely edible, with spicy-savory seeds, leaves, flowers, and stems. Pickle the young, green seeds before they ripen for a crunchy, peppery treat you won’t find available in grocery stores.

These perennials grow year-round in warm climates, although most gardeners treat them as reseeding summer annuals since they readily self-sow. My favorite type is ‘Alaska Variegated’—it sports white-green leaves with orange, yellow, or red blooms. It’s an heirloom, meaning you can save its seeds, and they’ll sprout true to type!

Peanut

Harvested peanuts
There’s nothing like the taste of a homegrown peanut.
common-name common name Peanut
botanical-name botanical name Arachis hypogaea
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 1-2’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 2-11

Peanuts are actually vegetables, and we are stoked to try them out in our 2025 gardens! Although they appear like nuts, they’re technically legumes like green beans and peas. Most gardeners treat them as heat-loving annuals, although they’re herbaceous perennials in warm zones. 

There’s nothing like the taste of a homegrown peanut. Sow seeds in the spring after frost danger passes, and keep their soil moist, not soggy. You’ll have ready peanut pods in four to five months. 

Peanuts have a wide range of applications. Shell, dry, and roast them to make snacking peanuts, or blend roasted peanuts to make homemade peanut butter. Some peanut lovers prefer breaking the seeds free of their pods as they eat them. Simply leave the peanuts in their pods and roast them whole if you prefer eating them this way. 

Pole Tomato ‘Pork Chop’

A white bowl filled with round, yellow tomatoes, some sliced to reveal soft, juicy flesh and small seeds.
‘Pork Chop’ grows savory-sweet yellow fruits off long, indeterminate vines.
common-name common name Pole Tomato ‘Pork Chop’
botanical-name botanical name Solanum lycopersicum ‘Pork Chop’
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 3-6’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 2-11

Unlike ‘Beefy Purple,’ this tomato is a pole type. ‘Pork Chop’ grows savory-sweet yellow fruits off long, indeterminate vines. They’ll extend six feet or longer! Let them ramble along the ground or stake the vines with supports for maximum yields in small spaces. 

‘Pork Chop’ is relatively new to the market, as it’s a new cultivar from Wild Boar Farms. Try growing a vine or two this year to see if you like it. Its durability, reliability, and strong flavor make it a new favorite amongst tomato lovers. 

Pumpkin

A person holding a small, orange pumpkin with ridges, in front of a pile of similar pumpkins.
The cultivar ‘Jack be Little’ is a short vine type with miniature orange pumpkins.
common-name common name Pumpkin
botanical-name botanical name Cucurbita maxima
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 3-20’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 3-11

The ultimate vegetable of fall, pumpkins are must-haves for spooky lovers. Dozens of varieties offer warty, smooth, white, green, or orange vegetables with various use cases. Some are perfect for making pumpkin pie, while others are ideal for carving. Choose the type you’d like to watch grow in your garden with pumpkins you’d prefer to use. 

Gardeners with small spaces should opt for a dwarf variety with short vines. In our 2025 vegetable gardens, we’re prioritizing cute, small-space pumpkins with high yields. Consider ‘Jack Be Little,’ a short vine type with miniature orange pumpkins. This cultivar stays shorter than five feet long and grows well on trellises in containers.

Spicy Pepper

Unripe green bell peppers growing on a stem with surrounding green leaves in a garden.
Spicy peppers produce prolific amounts of their fruits, meaning you’ll have dozens to hundreds of chili peppers.
common-name common name Spicy Pepper
botanical-name botanical name Capsicum spp.
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 1-4’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 3-11

Spice lovers should grow spicy peppers! Hundreds of kinds exist, offering unique flavors, spice levels, and textures. Some grow thin walls with little flesh and are perfect for adding spice to soups, sautés, and chilis. Others have thick, plump, and juicy interiors that add depth and spice to prepared meals.

Spicy peppers produce prolific amounts of their fruits, meaning you’ll have dozens to hundreds of chili peppers to manage during harvest time! Freeze them, hang them up to air dry, or use a food dehydrator to flash dry them. 

Summer Squash

A green-striped, oblong squash lying on soil, attached to a vine with broad leaves.
Vining types may reach up to 25 feet long, so plant them where they have plenty of room to spread out.
common-name common name Summer Squash
botanical-name botanical name Cucurbita pepo
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 1-3’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 3-11

Summer squash is an essential vegetable for the warm months. Yellow crookneck squash, green zucchini, and patty pan squash are all summer squash types. They prefer warm temperatures, full sun, and regular water to grow their best.

Most squashes are vining or bushy types, with some resembling both forms. Vining types may reach up to 25 feet long, so plant them where they have plenty of room to spread out. Consider a patty pan type like ‘Gelber Englischer’ in small gardens, as a single vine produces dozens of squash on a short plant.

Sweet Pepper ‘Sweet Banana’

Thin, curved yellow banana peppers growing on green stems surrounded by leafy foliage.
‘Sweet Banana’ is a sweet pepper that’s been growing in gardens since 1941.
common-name common name Sweet Pepper ‘Sweet Banana’
botanical-name botanical name Capsicum annuum ‘Sweet Banana’
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 1-2’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 3-11

Some varieties last the test of time because so many growers love them. ‘Sweet Banana’ is one such sweet pepper that’s been growing in gardens since 1941. Many pepper merchants use the peppers for pickling, although they taste immensely sweet either fresh or cooked into recipes. 

This heirloom variety grows quickly from seeds and produces dozens of chilis on short, squat plants. It’s ideal for container gardens, raised beds, or for tucking in between other heat-loving crops. Pick the peppers when they’re yellow, or let them ripen to an orange-red color for more flavor.

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