20 Best Perennial Vegetables to Grow in Zone 5 Easily

There’s nothing better than having a garden of fresh vegetables that come back every year. But when you live in temperate areas like hardiness zone 5, most veggies refuse to thrive in the short growing season. If you’ve been having trouble finding some hardy perennial veggies, look no further than this list!

If you’d like to see what else can grow in Zone 5, check out these articles:

26 Best Garlic Varieties to Plant in Zone 5 Easily

13 Attractive Semi-Dwarf and Dwarf Ornamental Trees to Plant in Zone 5

Here are various perennial vegetables you can grow easily in zone 5:

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1. Asparagus

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 8 or more hours of exposure to full sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, loose, and well-draining soil such as loam or sand with a pH of 6.5-7.
• Water: Every 2-4 days.
• Fertilizer: Yearly feeding in spring with compost or an all-purpose fertilizer.
• Special Care: Mulch around the plant to prevent weeds and retain moisture in the soil.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? 

• Harvest your asparagus 3 years after planting them. Yes, it’s a bit of a long wait. But once they’ve rooted and grown in nicely, they’ll stick around as long as 15-30 years! 
• During the first harvest, stick to gathering just a few asparagus in a 2-3 week timeframe. The slim pickings are necessary to allow the plant to grow more foliage and get stronger for next year’s growth. Consecutive years after that, you can harvest them for as long as 2 months.

2. Rhubarb

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 or more hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, well-draining loamy soil with a pH of 6-7.
• Water: Every 3-5 days.
• Fertilizer: Yearly feeding in spring with compost.
• Special Care: Divide and propagate your rhubarb every few years to prevent overcrowding. After a while, the center of the plant is unlikely to produce any more stalks and may become susceptible to diseases. You might as well create another rhubarb patch from the original.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Only harvest your rhubarb in the 2nd or 3rd year after planting it. Like Asparagus, they take a while to get settled in. But they’re there to stay for years after that.

If you’re looking to grow thicker rhubarb stalks, you can read: 7 Tips on How to Grow Better & Thicker Rhubarb Stalks

3. Ramps/Wild Leek

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: Dappled shade with minimal exposure to direct sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, well-draining, and moist soil.
• Water: Every 2-5 days.
• Fertilizer: Yearly feeding in spring with compost.
• Special Care: Mulch around the plant with dried, shredded leaves. Not only will these add nutrients to the soil as it decomposes, but they will also help keep the ground damp and cool. 

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Start growing Ramps from young plants. It takes almost 2 years for the seeds to germinate and another 7 years before there’s plenty of the plant around to harvest. Unless you don’t mind the wait, get some cuttings and plant them instead.

4. Good King Henry

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 2 to 6+ hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, well-draining, and moist soil.
• Water: Every 3-4 days.
• Fertilizer: It is not necessarily needed.
• Special Care: The plant will benefit from shade if grown in warmer climates as the afternoon sun can be too hot for it.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Good King Henry’s raw leaves contain oxalic acid. It’s advisable to only eat a small amount or cook them thoroughly before consuming.

5. American Groundnut

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 2 to 6+ hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, wet soil of any type. 
• Water: Every 2-3 days.
• Fertilizer: It is not necessarily needed.
• Special Care: 
  • Train the vines to grow on a trellis so it doesn’t grow everywhere.
  • Alternatively, you can trim the vines back from the tip down to a manageable height.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? You’re better off growing this plant from cuttings rather than its seeds. The germination rate is pretty low and will only sprout in the most optimal conditions. Fussy seeds, I know.

5. Egyptian Walking Onion

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 or more hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, well-draining loamy or sandy soil with a pH of 6.5.
• Water: Every 3-5 days.
• Fertilizer: Yearly feeding in fall with compost.
• Special Care: None!

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? You can harvest both the top set of bulbils, i.e., small onion bulbs, and the mature bulb underground. However, it is said that the underground bulb is HOT! Tread carefully with your tastebuds here. 

6. French Sorrel

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 or more hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Well-draining soil.
• Water: Every 3-7 days.
• Fertilizer: It is not necessarily needed.
• Special Care: Remove weeds growing around the plant every week.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Raw sorrel should be eaten in moderation as it is rich in oxalic acid. This may cause problems for people with gout or kidney problems. 

7. Sunchokes/Jerusalem Artichokes

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 2 to 6+ hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Well-draining, moist soil with a pH of 7-7.5.
• Water: Every 4-7 days. 
• Fertilizer: It is not necessarily needed.
• Special Care: None!

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Sunchokes are prolific growers, self-seeding anywhere to the point they can become invasive. Where possible, grow them in raised beds or containers to restrict their spreading.

8. Crosnes/Chorogi/Chinese Artichoke

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 or more hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, loose, and well-draining soil.
• Water: Every 2-4 days.
• Fertilizer: It is not necessarily needed. 
• Special Care: Trim the foliage back when it reaches 1 ft. in height to prevent flowering and redirect its energy down to develop big tubers.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? You’re unlikely to harvest all of the Crosnes each time, but that’s ok. Whatever is left in the ground will grow into another set of plants for next year.

9. Horseradish

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 or more hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, well-draining, and moist loamy soil with a pH of 5.5-5.7.
• Water: Every 5-7 days.
• Fertilizer: Yearly feeding in spring with compost or an all-purpose fertilizer.
• Special Care: None!

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Remove the entire plant during harvest to prevent it from aggressively spreading. Even just a tiny piece leftover is enough for horseradish to take root and grow unprompted.

10. Daylily

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 or more hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, well-draining, and moist soil with a pH of 6-6.5.
• Water: Every 3-5 days.
• Fertilizer: Yearly feeding in spring with slow-release fertilizers high in Potassium and Phosphorus.
• Special Care: Divide the plant after it has stopped blooming every 3-5 years to prevent overcrowding.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Daylily flowers are edible for humans, but it’s toxic for cats. Keep your feline friends away from this plant at all costs. 

11. Turkish Rocket

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 2 to 6+ hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Preferably damp soil but will thrive almost anywhere.
• Water: Once a week.
• Fertilizer: It is not necessarily needed.
• Special Care: None!

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Turkish Rocket is impossible to get rid of once you plant them. It is considered an invasive weed in some states, such as Wisconsin. Where possible, plant them in a container to control the spreading. 

12. Watercress

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 2 to 6+ hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, wet soil with a pH of 6.5-7.5.
• Water: Every day.
• Fertilizer: It is not necessarily needed.
• Special Care: Mulch around the plant to prevent weeds from popping up.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Watercress is primarily a non-native aquatic plant in the US. Don’t plant them near a body of water to prevent it from spreading and choking out native plants. Keep it restricted in a container instead.

13. Ostrich Fern

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: Dappled shade, away from direct exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Well-draining, moist soil.
• Water: Every 3-5 days.
• Fertilizer: Yearly feeding in spring using slow-release fertilizers.
• Special Care: None!

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? The only edible part of this plant is the fiddleheads, i.e., the young shoots that sprout up in spring. It is the coiled tip of the fern and is safe to consume after thoroughly boiling and cooking it further. 

14. Black Salsify

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 2 to 6+ hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Loose, well-draining, and moist soil with a pH of 6-8.
• Water: Every 4-7 days.
• Fertilizer: Yearly feeding in the middle of summer with fertilizers high in Nitrogen.
• Special Care: Ensure there are no large rocks or compacted soil in the ground to avoid the tubers growing distortedly.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Let Black Salsify experience some light frost to help sweeten the taste of the roots. 

15. Lovage

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 2 to 6+ hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Well-draining, moist soil. 
• Water: Every 3-5 days.
• Fertilizer: It is not necessarily needed.
• Special Care: None!

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest only ¾ of lovage and leave the rest to flower and self-seed. This way, you’ll have more batches to grow from your first plant.

16. Duck Potato

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 or more hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, wet loamy, or sandy soil.
• Water: Every day. 
• Fertilizer: It is not necessarily needed.
• Special Care: Grow this plant from corms transplants, i.e., their bulbous stems rather than seeds. The latter takes about 2 years to germinate.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? The edible part of this plant is their tubers, which are loved by ducks. Try to not piss off Donald when you harvest them, maybe don’t do it in front of him.

17. Common Camas

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 or more hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, well-draining, moist soil.
• Water: Every 3-5 days.
• Fertilizer: It is not necessarily needed.
• Special Care: None!

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? The bulb-like root of this plant is the edible portion of Camas, which is best eaten as soon as it is harvested because it does not store very well for long periods.

18. Garlic Greens

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 or more hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Preferably fertile, well-draining, and moist loamy soil. But it will grow in clay and sandy soil too.
• Water: Every 4-7 days.
• Fertilizer: Monthly feeding with compost.
• Special Care: Use hardneck garlic to plant instead of softneck as they are more suited to growing in temperate climates.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Garlic scapes, i.e., the flowering stalk, are edible provided it hasn’t started blooming yet. However, you can also let this be, giving you a set of bulbils at the top. When this dries in the fall, you can use the individual garlic cloves for cooking or let it become garlic seed for the next growing season!

19. Scallions

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: 6 or more hours of full exposure to sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, loose, well-draining loamy soil.
• Water: Every 5-7 days.
• Fertilizer: It is not necessarily needed.
• Special Care: Regularly pull out any weeds that pop up while the plants grow. 

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Let your scallions get established during the 1st year and start harvesting by the 2nd year by cutting some leaves. You can technically harvest them in the 1st year, but you’ll have to gently remove them from the soil as it hasn’t grown fully just yet.

20. Radicchio

What are its basic care needs?

• Sun: Dappled shade with minimal exposure to direct sunlight.
• Soil: Fertile, loose, well-draining loamy soil with a pH of 6.5.
• Water: Every 2-3 days.
• Fertilizer: It is not necessarily needed.
• Special Care: Use row covers to protect your radicchio during a frost, especially if it is still a young plant.

Any precautions or notes on growing this vegetable? Harvest the vegetable before the weather gets warmer. This will cause the plant to bolt, i.e., start flowering and become extremely bitter.

References:

https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-asparagus

https://extension.unh.edu/resource/growing-vegetables-asparagus-fact-sheet

https://plantvillage.psu.edu/topics/rhubarb/infos

https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-rhubarb

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/ramps-allium-tricoccum/

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/cultivation-of-ramps-allium-tricoccum-and-a-burdickii

http://temperate.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Chenopodium+bonus-henricus

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/apios-americana/

http://temperate.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Apios+americana

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/egyptian_walking_onions_what_are_these_strange-looking_plants

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/egyptian-walking-onions/

https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-sorrel

https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/herbs/sorrel/

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/jerusalem_artichokes_tasty_and_versatile

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/helianthus-tuberosus/

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/growing-jerusalem-artichokes

https://temperate.theferns.info/plant/Stachys+affinis

https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/learn-all-about-crosnes-zmaz04fmzsel/

https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-horseradish-home-gardens

https://extension.psu.edu/growing-horseradish

https://extension.umn.edu/flowers/daylilies

https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/daylily/

http://tcpermaculture.com/site/2014/02/12/permaculture-plants-turkish-rocket/

https://ipcm.wisc.edu/download/weeds/Hill%20Mustard.pdf

https://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/research/watercress-in-the-garden

https://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/alphabetical-index/watercress/

https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/hardy-ferns/

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/onoclea-struthiopteris/

https://www.uaex.uada.edu/publications/PDF/FSA-6094.pdf

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/MV/MV13100.pdf

https://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/research/black-salsify-in-the-garden

https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/herbs/lovage/

https://web.extension.illinois.edu/herbs/lovage.cfm

https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/sagittaria-lancifolia/

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AG403

https://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/alphabetical-index/arrowhead/broadleaf-arrowhead/

https://www.uwb.edu/wetlands/plants/camassia-quamash

https://nhmu.utah.edu/common-camas

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/camassia/

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/allium-sativum/

https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/2021/02/growing-scallions-scraps

https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-scallions-home-gardens

https://horticulture.oregonstate.edu/oregon-vegetables/radicchio-0

https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-lettuce-endive-and-radicchio