What you'll make

Collard greens, fried okra, black-eyed peas, and sweet potatoes for the winter.

When to plant

Okra, peas, sweet potatoes, and peppers need warm soil and a long summer. Collards go in early spring and again in late summer; they're sweeter after a frost.

What to plant in a 4 × 8 ft bed

Tall crops go along the north side, so they don't shade the rest. It also comes in 4 × 12 ft versions.

Tips

• Pick okra every day or two, at 3 inches: it gets woody fast.
• Southern peas feed the soil and don't mind heat or poor soil.
• Plant sweet potato slips once the soil is above 65°F, and cure the roots somewhere warm for a week after digging.
• Pack hot peppers into a bottle of vinegar for pepper sauce to shake over greens.

More themed gardens

• Salsa garden Tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, onions, and cilantro for fresh salsa all summer.
• Pizza garden Sauce tomatoes, peppers, onions, basil, oregano, and garlic for homemade pizza.
• Three Sisters garden Corn, pole beans, and squash grown together, the way Native American farmers have for centuries.
• Pickle garden Pickling cucumbers, dill, garlic, hot peppers, and beans for dilly beans.
• Stir-fry garden Snap peas, bok choy, peppers, scallions, and carrots for quick weeknight stir-fries.
• Salad garden Lettuce, spinach, arugula, radishes, carrots, and cherry tomatoes for salads all season.
• Soup garden Potatoes, carrots, onions, leeks, celery, kale, and parsley for soups and stews.
• Herbal tea garden Chamomile, lemon balm, lavender, and stevia (and mint in a pot beside it) for tea you grow yourself.
• Pollinator garden Flowers and herbs that feed bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds from spring to fall.
• Kids' garden Fast, fun, and easy: sunflowers, radishes, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, beans, and nasturtiums.
• Cut flower garden Zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, snapdragons, dahlias, and strawflowers for bouquets.
• Small-space garden A 4 × 4 bed (or a few pots) of cherry tomatoes, peppers, basil, lettuce, and herbs.
• Ratatouille garden Eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, onions, basil, and thyme for a Mediterranean summer stew.
• Hot sauce garden Hot peppers from mild to fiery, plus garlic, onions, and cilantro for homemade hot sauce.
• Pesto and Italian herb garden Lots of basil, plus garlic, parsley, oregano, and arugula for pesto and Italian cooking.
• Fall and winter garden Cold-hardy kale, spinach, leeks, garlic, mâche, radicchio, and turnips, planted in late summer.
• Root cellar garden Potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, parsnips, garlic, and winter squash that keep for months.
• Smoothie and juice garden Kale, spinach, beets, carrots, cucumbers, and parsley for green smoothies and fresh juice.
• Kimchi garden Cabbage, daikon radish, bok choy, scallions, garlic, and carrots for homemade kimchi.
• Pumpkin and melon patch Pumpkins, watermelons, and cantaloupes (with nasturtiums between): sprawling vines that need room to run.
• Ballpark snack garden Popcorn, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and ground cherries: snacks you grow yourself.
• Edible flower garden Nasturtiums, calendula, borage, pansies, and lavender for salads, drinks, and cakes.
• Berry patch Blueberries and raspberries: plant once, and pick for 15 to 20 years.
• Mediterranean herb garden Rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, marjoram, and lavender: drought-tolerant herbs that come back every year.
• Butterfly garden Milkweed for monarchs, dill and parsley for swallowtails, and zinnias and coneflowers for nectar.
• Shade garden Lettuce, spinach, chard, parsley, kale, and arugula: what still grows with 3 to 4 hours of sun.
• Plant once, harvest for years Asparagus, rhubarb, artichokes, sage, thyme, and oregano: food that comes back every year.