Asian Vegetables to Grow in Your US Garden
Asian vegetables you can grow in a US garden: edamame, luffa, ginger, turmeric, lemongrass and shallot, how long each takes and which suit pots.
These are vegetables that turn up often in Asian cooking and that you can grow in a US garden: edamame, luffa, shallot, and the rhizomes and stalks that flavor many dishes, ginger, turmeric and lemongrass. We keep this collection to what is common in Asian kitchens and what our extension sources document, with no claims about origin or authenticity. UF/IFAS describes luffa as an Asian vegetable emerging in Florida, which gives a sense of how new some of these are to American gardens.
What you can grow now
| Vegetable | What you eat | Time | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edamame | Green, full soybean pods | Pods 70–90 days after planting | When to harvest edamame |
| Luffa | Young gourds at 6–8 in. (15–20 cm) | Up to 200 days for mature gourds | Luffa from seed |
| Shallot | Green tops, then cured bulbs | 60–75 days (Virginia Tech) | Shallot planting time |
| Ginger | Rhizomes, young or mature | 8–10 months | Ginger in pots |
| Turmeric | Rhizomes | Dig when the leaves wilt in fall | Turmeric harvesting |
| Lemongrass | Stems about ½ in. (1.3 cm) thick | No day count in our sources | Lemongrass in pots |
Short season or long season
Edamame (70–90 days) and shallot (60–75 days) are quick. Luffa is the one that depends on your calendar: NC State says it needs a frost-free season of at least four months, so start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost (Illinois). Ginger, turmeric and lemongrass are frost-tender, and the realistic route in a cold climate is a pot, as in our guide to vegetables in containers.
What we have not written yet
Bok choy, napa cabbage, gai lan, daikon, bitter melon, yardlong bean and shiso appear below without links. They are in our plan, and we will not guess at their timing or zones before we have sources. Check back, or browse the spice garden collection for the herbs and spices we do cover.
How to choose
- Want the quickest harvest? Edamame or shallot, then see the fastest growing vegetables.
- Want to grow from the kitchen? Ginger, turmeric and lemongrass all start from grocery-store pieces: see regrowing vegetables from kitchen scraps.
- Have a fence or arbor? Luffa climbs a sturdy trellis (Clemson, NC State).
