This page is intended to help vegetable growers with planning decisions, including how much of each crop to grow, how much seed to order, and when to plant each crop.
The data in the tables below are based on seed company recommendations, Midwest variety trials, grower data from a variety of on-farm experiments, and interviews with farmers. The best yield data for your farm is your own data from previous years, so we recommend keeping good records and using them for future decisions. However, these tables can serve as a guide for growers who are just getting started or trying new crops.
Step 1: Decide what to grow
Labor and value
The ideal crop from a profitability perspective requires minimal labor and has high market value. Market value is the amount a farmer can receive for their crop, but crops with a high market value are not necessarily the most profitable when labor costs are factored in. Farmers generally undervalue their labor when deciding which crops will be profitable for their farm.
High-value crops
- Low labor: kale, collards
- Medium labor: arugula, mustard greens, leaf lettuce, spinach, garlic
- High labor: tomatoes; culturally specific leafy greens with regular, repeat harvests like managu, chinsaga, and jute mallow
Medium-value crops
- Low labor: radishes, peppers, eggplant
- Medium labor: melons, tomatillos, field cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower
- High labor: high tunnel cucumbers, green beans, carrots, onions
Low-value crops
- Low labor: winter squash
- Medium labor: potatoes, beets, summer squash
There are plenty of reasons to grow a low-value crop. If it also requires minimal labor, it may actually be more profitable than a high-value crop that requires significant labor. Often, customers expect crops like potatoes or pickling cucumbers at the farmers market or in their weekly vegetable boxes. So a farmer may decide it’s worth it to grow a less profitable crop as long as that crop keeps their customers happy.
When selling to wholesale markets, where margins may be tighter, and farmers tend to focus on a few crops rather than a wide diversity of crops, choosing crops based on profitability becomes more important.
Risk due to disease and insect pressure
Growers have different tolerance levels for dealing with insect and disease pressure. While insects and diseases can be managed, developing robust risk-reduction strategies takes time and experience. The following lists provide a general overview of insect pressure and disease risk for vegetable crops in Minnesota.
This information will not perfectly reflect everyone’s field conditions every year. For example, beets could become infected with a pathogen or suffer damage from flea beetles. We simply see fewer issues with beets than with potatoes during an average growing season.
High disease risk
- Low insect pressure: tomatoes (field)
- Medium insect pressure: melons
- High insect pressure: potato, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage
Medium disease risk
- Low insect pressure: tomatoes (high tunnel), garlic, carrots
- Medium insect pressure: winter squash, onions
- High insect pressure: cucumbers (field and high tunnel)
Low disease risk
- Low insect pressure: pepper, eggplant, spinach, beets, green beans, lettuce
- Medium insect pressure: tomatillo, managu, chinsaga, jute mallow
- High insect pressure: radish, kale, collards, arugula, mustard greens
Refer to our vegetable insect management and disease management pages for specific guidance on managing insects and diseases in each crop.
Step 2: Calculate how much to plant
Ideally, start with a total yield goal that matches your expected markets. For example, if you know you’ll sell 300 pounds of tomatoes, you can work backward to figure out how many tomatoes will yield 300 pounds.
The tables below provide expected yield per plant and 100-foot bed, along with recommended plant spacing. These tables assume a production system in which growers have beds approximately 3 feet wide, with 2-3 foot rows between beds.
Using a bed system allows for more efficient production of crops that require less space and reduces soil compaction. However, some growers do not use beds and instead make a walkway between rows of crops.
If your farm uses individual rows instead of beds, you can simply divide the expected yields per bed and plants needed per bed by the number of suggested rows per bed to figure out the expected yields and plants needed per row.
| Crop | Expected yield per plant | Expected yield per 100-foot row | Rows per bed * | Within-row spacing | Plants needed per 100-foot bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beets | 1 beet per seed | 30-60 lbs | 3 | 3 inches | 1200 |
| Broccoli | 1 - 1.3 lb | 100 lb/~80 marketable heads | 2 | 12-18 inches** | 150-200 |
| Cabbage | 1 - 2 lb | 150 lb/~80 marketable heads | 2 | 12-18 inches** | 150-200 |
| Cauliflower | 1 - 1.3 lb | 100 lb/~60 marketable heads | 2 | 12-18 inches** | 150-200 |
| Collards | 0.75 - 1 lb | 75 lbs/ 225 bunches (repeated harvest) | 2 | 12-18 inches** | 150-200 |
| Cucumber (field) | 3-5 lb per plug (2 seeds per plug) | 200 lb | 1-2* | 12-14 inches / *2 seeds per cell | 85 - 100 plugs; 170-200 seeds |
| Cucumber (high tunnel) | 10-15 lb | 1000-1500 lb | 1 | 12 inches | 100 |
| Day-neutral strawberries (field) | 1/3 lb | 33 lbs | 2 | 8-12 inches | 200-300 |
| Day-neutral strawberries (high tunnel) | 1 lb | 100 lbs | 2 | 8-12 inches | 200-300 |
| Eggplant | 1.25 lb | 100 lb | 2 | 14-18 inches | 150-170 |
| Ginger (high tunnel) | 16:1 seed piece to yield ratio | 16:1 seed piece to yield ratio | 2-3 | 6-12 inches | 200-600 ~2 oz pieces |
| Kale | 2.75 - 4 lb (continuous harvest) | Single cut: 100 bunches Repeated harvest: 375 bunches |
2 | 12-18 inches | 150-200 |
| Melons | 1-2 fruit | 300-500 lb/60-150 fruit | 1 | 18 inches | 75 |
| Onions | ? - ½ lb | 130 - 175 lb | 2-3 | 4 inches | 600-900 |
| Pepper: bell | 1.25 - 2.5 lb | 100 - 200 lb | 2 | 14-18 inches | 150-170 |
| Pepper: bell (high tunnel) | 3-5 lb | 200 - 450 lb | 2 | 14-18 inches | 150-170 |
| Pepper: jalapeno or serrano (high tunnel) | 2.5 lb | 200 lb | 2 | 14-18 inches | 150-170 |
| Summer squash & zucchini | 3 - 3.5 lb | 250 lb | 1 | 18 inches | 75 |
| Tomatillo | 1.2 - 2 lb | 150 - 200 lb | 1 | 14-18 inches | 100-150 |
| Tomato: cherry (field) | 2 - 6 lb | 150 - 450 lb | 1 | 18 inches | 75 |
| Tomato: cherry (high tunnel) | 8 - 13 lb | 500 - 1000 lb | 1 | 18 inches | 75 |
| Tomato: slicer / Roma (high tunnel) | 8 - 20 lb | 800 - 1500 lb | 1 | 18 inches | 75 |
| Tomato: slicers / Romas (field) | 2-6 lb | 150 - 450 lb | 1 | 18-24 inches | 75 |
| Watermelon | 3 - 10 lb | 300-500 lb / 70 fruit | 1 | 18 inches | 75 |
| Winter squash | 4 - 12 lb | Smaller types: 200 lb Butternut: up to 600 lb |
1 | 24 inches | 50 |
*Cucumbers can either be grown with 1 or 2 rows. Typically, when trellised, growers plant one row, but if not, they often plant two rows. Good canopy cover is critical for cucumbers, and seedlings are prone to die-off, so a higher plant population may improve survival. Regardless of system, 300 pounds per bed is likely a good yield estimate (very experienced growers may get closer to 500 pounds in a year without major disease issues).
**Crops are sometimes planted with 24-inch spacing in fields with a history of disease pressure.
Many of these crops can be grown in high tunnels, but we do not necessarily see higher yields; we simply see faster production windows. For example, a carrot grown in a high tunnel will not produce significantly more pounds of yield, but it will mature much more quickly, freeing up space for another crop.
| Crop | Yield per 100-foot row | Rows per bed* | Within row spacing | # seeds per 100-foot bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arugula & mustard greens or salad mix | 45 lb multiple cuts |
6-12 | 5 seeds per inch | 2000-3000 |
| Beets | 30-60 lb 35 bunches |
3 | 15 seeds per foot. Thin to 1 plant per 3-4 inches after germination. | 3000 |
| Carrots | 115 lbs | 3 | 9 seeds per ft | 1800-2700 |
| Chinsaga | 25-30 lb 100 bunches |
2-3 | 2-3 inches for 1x harvest 6-12 inches for repeated harvest |
200-300 |
| Garlic | 22-30 lb 150-200 heads |
3-4 | 6-8 inches | ~600 cloves |
| Green beans bush type | 80 lb | 2 | 1-3 inches | 60-200 |
| Green beans pole type | 90 - 115 lb | 1 | 3-4 inches | 25-30 |
| Molokhia / jute mallow | 20-30 lb | 2-3 | 2-3 inches for 1x harvest 6-12 inches for repeated harvest |
200-300 |
| Pea - snap | 20 lb | 2 | 4-6 inches | 400-600 |
| Potato | 1:6-1:10 ratio lbs planted vs harvested | 1* | 6-12 inches | 100-200 |
| Radish - cherry and salad | 25-65 lb 35-50 bunches |
3 | 0.74-1 inch | 3600-4800 |
| Radish - storage | 100 lb | 3 | 10 seeds / ft Thin to 4-6 inches |
3000 |
| Spinach (full size) | 40 lb multiple cuts |
3-4 | 10 seeds per foot | 3000-5000 |
| Sweet corn | 10 dozen | 2 | 8-10 inch | 240-300 |
Step 3: Determine the best time to plant
Many growers use succession planting to produce more crops in a small area and to keep the soil covered throughout the growing season. Succession planting involves planting a new crop in the same field once the first crop is mature. By identifying how much time a crop needs to remain in the field and when it can be planted, you can piece together a succession plan for the growing season.
Season length
In general, the following crops fit the following categories.
- Short season:
- Cold-tolerant crops: leafy greens like spinach, arugula, leaf lettuce, as well as radishes and peas. These crops can be grown in the “shoulder seasons” of early spring and fall before planting a long-season crop or after harvesting a medium-season crop.
- Heat-tolerant crops: managu, chinsaga, jute mallow, green beans. These crops are not cold-tolerant, but can be planted in short successions throughout the summer for regular harvests.
- Medium season: Crops like broccoli, cauliflower, beans, beets, carrots, and cucumbers require about half of the growing season in Minnesota.
- Long season: Heat-loving crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, tomatillos, winter squash, melons, and onions generally take the entire growing season to mature and are not planted in succession with other crops.
Frost tolerance
In addition to season length, consider frost tolerance.
- Frost-tolerant crops: spinach, mustard greens, arugula, broccoli, kale, cabbage, collards, radish
- Tolerate frost at maturity: carrots, beets
- Do not tolerate frost: tomato, pepper, eggplant, potato, managu, winter squash, onions, green beans, chinsaga, jute mallow
- Extremely sensitive to cold temperatures: cucumbers, melons
Crop specifics
The tables below provide more specific information on when to plant, days to maturity, and harvest windows. Day-neutral strawberries are included because they are grown like annuals.
| Crop | Days from seeding to transplant | First date to transplant outdoors | Days from transplant to first harvest | Harvest window |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beets | 24 | April 20 | 40 - 55 | 1x, 2 week window |
| Broccoli | 21-28 | May 15 | 55-65 | 3x per week for 1-2 weeks for 1 cut 3-4 weeks for side shoots |
| Cabbage | 21-28 | May 15 | 50-100 | 3x per week for 1-2 weeks for 1 cut 3-4 weeks for side shoots |
| Cauliflower | 21-28 | May 15 | 75-80 | 3x per week over 1-2 weeks |
| Collards | 21-28 | May 1 | 75-80 | 1x for bunching weekly up to 12 weeks for continuous harvest |
| Cucumber (field) | 28 | June 1 | 40-60 | Daily over 3 weeks |
| Day neutral strawberries (field) | N/A | May 15 | 65 | Daily over 12-14 weeks |
| Day neutral strawberries (high tunnel) | N/A | May 15 | 65 | Daily over 16 weeks |
| Eggplant | 28-35 | June 1 | 50-70 | Biweekly over 8-10 weeks |
| Kale | 21 | May 1 | 40-50 | 1x for bunching weekly up to 12 weeks for continuous harvest |
| Melons | 14-21 | June 1 | 70-85 | Daily over 2 weeks |
| Onions | 10-12 weeks | April 15 | 90 | 1x, 1 week window |
| Pepper: bell | 35-50 | June 1 | 50-70 | 3x per week over 6-8 weeks |
| Summer squash & zucchini | 21-28 | June 1 | 50-55 | 4x per week for 3-4 weeks |
| Tomatillo | 28-35 | June 1 | 50-70 | 2x per week over 4 weeks |
| Tomato: cherry | 28-35 | June 1 | 50-70 | Determinate: daily over 3-4 weeks Indeterminate: 4x per week over 8-10 weeks |
| Tomato: slicers / Romas | 28-35 | June 1 | 65-85 | Determinate: daily over 3-4 weeks Indeterminate: 4x per week over 8-10 weeks |
| Watermelon | 21-28 | June 1 | 85-90 | 3-4x per week over 2 weeks |
| Winter squash | 14-21 | June 1 | 75-80 | 1-2x per week over 2 weeks |
| Crop | First seeding date | Days to maturity | Harvest window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arugula, mustard greens or salad mix | April 15 or as soon as able | 25 - 45 | 1x or multiple cuts over 2-3 weeks |
| Beets | April 20 | 50-55 | 1x over 2-3 weeks |
| Carrots | May 1 | 35 baby carrots, 55-75 full size | 1x over 2-3 weeks |
| Chinsaga | June 1 | 20-30 | 3-4 weeks |
| Garlic | Sept. 15 - Nov. 1 | 10 months | 1 week |
| Green beans bush type | June 1 | 50-55 | 3-4 weeks |
| Green beans pole type | June 1 | 50-55 | 5-6 weeks |
| Molokhia / jute mallow | June 1 | 30-40 | 3-6 weeks |
| Pea - snap | May 1 | 50-65 | Every other day for 1-2 weeks |
| Potato | May 15 | 50-100 depending on variety & size at maturity | 1x, can be harvested over many weeks |
| Radish | April 15 or as soon as able | Cherry 20-25 Watermelon 50 |
1x over a few days |
| Spinach | April 15 or as soon as able | 30-40 | 1x or multiple cuts over 3-4 weeks |
| Spinach (winter HT) | Last date: Oct. 31 | Overwinters, first harvest around Feb. 1 | 1st cut early Feb., 2nd cut late Feb., 3rd cut mid March |
| Sweet corn | May 20 | 70-85 | 2x over 1 week |
Reviewed in 2026