The Best Zone 9b Vegetables to Grow

If you live in zone 9b, the growing season is long and the growing options are endless. So keep reading to learn all about the best zone 9b vegetables you can grow.  

I’ve lived in the same small town my entire life and we are a zone 9b growing zone.

And other than having to deal with really hot summers, it is a great place for a vegetable garden.

We have mild winters and a long growing season which allows you to plant multiple times a year and have extended harvests.

It’s also a nice growing zone because there really isn’t anything that can’t be grown here.

You just have to plant certain vegetables strategically that don’t handle the heat.

For more information specific to zone 9b, check out my Zone 9b Vegetable Planting Guide.

So first I’ll go over some of the best vegetables to plant and then go into all the details.

Best Zone 9b Vegetables to Plant

1.) Arugula

2.) Beans, Snap

3.) Beets

4.) Broccoli

5.) Brussels Sprouts

6.) Cabbage

7.) Carrots

8.) Cauliflower

9.) Celery

10.) Collards

11.) Corn

12.) Cucumbers

13.) Eggplant

14.) Kale

15.) Leeks

16.) Lettuce

17.) Okra

18.) Onions

19.) Parsnips

20.) Peas

21.) Peppers

22.) Potatoes

23.) Pumpkins, learn how to successfully grow pumpkins here.

24.) Radishes

25.) Spinach

26.) Squash

27.) Sweet Potatoes

28.) Swiss Chard

29.) Tomatoes, learn how to plant tomatoes from seed here.

30.) Turnips

As you can see, the list is long! There are so many options when it comes to what you can grow.

The important thing is just knowing when to plant everything.

So be sure to get my gardening schedule which will show you exactly when to plant each vegetable.

The only thing you will need to know to use the schedule above is your first and last frost dates. So go here to find the dates for your area.

Once you figure out when to plant everything, the next step is mapping out how often to plant each crop.

To get the most out of the growing season you can do succession plantings, meaning that you plant at various times to get a continued harvest.

For example, instead of planting a whole garden bed of carrots, you can plant one row every few weeks to space out the harvesting.

So below I go over each vegetable and approximately how many days it takes from planting to harvest, so that you can best plan your garden.

Crop Life Spans

Short season crops are great because they can be planted multiple times throughout the season since they are ready for harvest in such a short amount of time.

Half season crops take about half the growing season to reach maturity and can usually be planted twice a year. Once in spring and then again in fall.

Long season crops take a long time to mature for harvest and are typically planted in spring and harvested toward the end of the growing season.

Zone 9b is a great zone for long season crops because the plants have plenty of time to reach maturity.

Some growing zones do not have a long enough season for long season crops to fully mature.

Direct Seeded Crops

Short Season (in days to harvest)

• Arugula, 30-60 (days)
• Baby Mix Lettuce, 25-40
• Radishes, 30-60
• Spinach, 30-40
• Turnips, 30-60

Half Season (in days to harvest)

• Beans, Snap, 50-60 (days)
• Beets, 50-60
• Carrots, 50-80
• Peas, Snap, 50-65

Long Season (in days to harvest)

• Corn, 65-85 (days)
• Parsnips, 100-120
• Potatoes (from tubers), 70-120
• Rutabagas, 90-100
• Pumpkins, 80-120
• Winter Squash, 80-120

Transplanted Crops

Short Season (in days to harvest)

• Lettuce heads, 30-45 (days)

Half Season (in days to harvest)

• Broccoli, 60-75 (days)
• Cabbage, 60-90
• Cauliflower, 50-80
• Collards, 50-60
• Cucumbers, 50-60
• Eggplant, 55-75
• Kale, 50-60
• Okra, 50-60
• Summer Squash, 45-60
• Swiss Chard, 50-60
• Tomatoes, 55-85

Long Season (in days to harvest)

• Brussels Sprouts, 90-120 (days)
• Celery, 75-85
• Leeks, 70-120
• Onions, 90-110
• Peppers, 70-120
• Sweet Potatoes (from slips), 90-100

Of all the above vegetables some can be both direct seeded and transplanted.

But since zone 9b has such a long growing season you don’t have to be as concerned about starting all your vegetables early indoors.

For tips and tricks specifically for gardening in zone 9b check out Zone 9b Vegetable Gardening Tips.

Although, some vegetables will grow best from transplants and others will grow best directly seeded into the garden.

So check out my article 11 Plants That Are Best to Direct Sow.

And then check out this article, Plants to Transplant and Direct Sow in the Home Garden to learn which crops can be both transplanted and direct seeded.

Of all the vegetables listed just don’t plant the following vegetables as transplants. They are best planted from seed.

• Arugula
• Beets
• Carrots
• Baby Mix Lettuce
• Parsnips
• Potatoes
• Radishes
• Rutabagas
• Turnips

For more information on growing vegetables check out this amazing book High-Yield Vegetable Gardening (amazon). It is a book that I am always referring to and constantly learning from.

I recommend it to all whether you’re a beginner or expert gardener! It goes more in depth than any other gardening book I’ve read and it teaches so much more than what you expect.

It explains things such as:

• when to plant all vegetables plus herbs
• how much each plants yields
• how much to plant in order to harvest your desired yield
• when to harvest
• planning out garden design
• storing vegetables
• storing seeds
• grafting plants

And more!

So if you want a gardening book that can be your go-to for all concerns you’ll absolutely love High-Yield Vegetable Gardening!

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