14 Best Vegetables and Herbs That Will Self-Sow

By
Marie Iannotti
Garden Writer Marie Iannotti
Marie Iannotti
Marie Iannotti is a life-long gardener and a veteran Master Gardener with nearly three decades of experience. She's also an author of three gardening books, a plant photographer, public speaker, and a former Cornell Cooperative Extension Horticulture Educator. Marie's garden writing has been featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide and she has been interviewed for Martha Stewart Radio, National Public Radio, and numerous articles.
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Updated on 03/17/22
borage

The Spruce / K. Dave

Self-sowing vegetables and herbs provide a continual harvest without you having to sow new seeds yourself. Bolting, or plants going to seed, is often looked at as a bad thing. Plants that have bolted often aren’t of harvestable quality anymore. However, if you leave a bolted plant in place, it ultimately should ripen and drop its seeds, resulting in a new crop.

Here are 14 of the best vegetables and herbs to grow that can continue your harvest by self-sowing.

Tip

You can encourage leafy vegetables and herbs to go to seed by abstaining from harvesting their leaves. Harvesting promotes more leaf growth and delays seed formation.

  • 01 of 14

    Arugula (Eruca sativa)

    Arugula

    The Spruce / Marie Iannotti

    Arugula is one of the earliest vegetables to start growing in the spring. It will go to seed quickly as soon as the temperatures start to warm. New plants won't last long in the hot sun, but you can keep them going for as long as possible by placing taller plants nearby to shade them.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
    • Light: Full, partial
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, acidic to neutral
    • Mature Size: 2 to 3 feet tall, 1 1.5 feet wide
    • Days to Maturity: 40
    • Deer Resistant: No
  • 02 of 14

    Bok Choy (Brassica rapa)

    bok choy

    The Spruce / K. Dave

    Many people enjoy eating a lot of Asian greens, including bok choy and mizuna. These greens will continue growing if you use them as cut-and-come-again crops, meaning you only harvest what you need in that moment. But they will eventually go to seed. Let them. This will provide you with fresh, better-tasting plants.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
    • Light: Full, partial
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, acidic to neutral
    • Mature Size: 0.5 to 2 feet tall, 0.5 to 1.5 feet wide
    • Days to Maturity: 45
    • Deer Resistant: No
  • 03 of 14

    Borage (Borago officinalis)

    Borage

    The Spruce / Marie Iannotti

    Borage is a prolific self-sower. You not only will have new plants this season, but tiny seedlings also likely will pop up early next season. Because it is the flowers we harvest and use, you will need to ease up on harvesting if you want this perpetual sowing. There are usually plenty of flowers to go around.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
    • Light: Full, partial
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, acidic to alkaline
    • Mature Size: 1 to 3 feet tall, 0.75 to 1.5 feet wide
    • Days to Maturity: 56
    • Deer Resistant: No
  • 04 of 14

    Broccoli Rabe (Brassica ruvo)

    Broccoli rabe

    The Spruce / Marie Iannotti

    Broccoli rabe is actually more closely related to turnips than broccoli. It is the leaves and stems that we cook and eat. This is an extremely early-to-sprout vegetable, and it won't take much heat for it to bolt. The older plants will get tough, but the new seedlings will be tender. Note that the seeds from spring plants might not sprout until the temperatures cool down in the fall.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
    • Light: Full, partial
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, acidic to neutral
    • Mature Size: 1.5 to 2.5 feet tall and wide
    • Days to Maturity: 45
    • Deer Resistant: No
    Continue to 5 of 14 below.
  • 05 of 14

    Carrots (Daucus carota)

    harvested carrots

    The Spruce / K. Dave

    Carrots can have a long growing season, so not everyone will have enough time to see their self-sowers mature. But if you choose faster-maturing varieties—such as the small, round types—you will stand a better chance. A bonus of letting carrots go to seed is the beneficial insects that their flowers attract. Just make sure you have loose soil in which your carrots can grow.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 10
    • Light: Full, partial
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, acidic
    • Mature Size: 1 foot tall and wide
    • Days to Maturity: 50 to 75
    • Deer Resistant: No
  • 06 of 14

    Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)

    cilantro

    The Spruce / K. Dave

    Cilantro is another leafy green that prefers growing in cool weather. If you get your plants out very early in the spring, you might have time for some bolting and reseeding before the summer heat sets in. And the seeds that drop later in the spring might not pop up until the fall. Keep the soil moist but not soggy for the healthiest growth.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
    • Light: Full, partial
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, acidic
    • Mature Size: 1 to 2 feet tall, 1 to 1.5 feet wide
    • Days to Maturity: 45 to 70
    • Deer Resistant: No
  • 07 of 14

    Collards (Brassica oleracea var. viridis)

    collard greens

    The Spruce / K. Dave

    Collard greens are popular in the Southern United States, but they can be grown just about anywhere. And they like to go to seed, especially if you limit how much of the leaves you harvest. Collards can be large plants, and you might not have the room to let one idle until it drops its seeds. But if you do, it can reward you with several new plants.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
    • Light: Full, partial
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, acidic to neutral
    • Mature Size: 2 to 3 feet tall and wide
    • Days to Maturity: 80
    • Deer Resistant: No
  • 08 of 14

    Corn Salad/Mâche (Valerianella locusta)

    Mache (Corn Salad)

    The Spruce / Marie Iannotti

    Corn salad is so cold hardy that you can winter sow it in many climates. However, like arugula, it tends to go to seed as soon as the first warm spring days arrive. You might not get new plants during the spring, but keep an eye out. They could come back in the fall or even next year. Consider mulching seeds planted in the fall, so they're protected over winter.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 10
    • Light: Full, partial
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, acidic to neutral
    • Mature Size: 1 to 2 feet tall and wide
    • Days to Maturity: 40 to 70
    • Deer Resistant: No
    Continue to 9 of 14 below.
  • 09 of 14

    Dill (Anethum graveolens)

    dill growing

    The Spruce / K. Dave

    Dill is a prodigious self-sower. You might even find new dill plants coming up all over your garden. Although it is tempting to harvest every last seed, let a few fend for themselves. The more plants you let grow, the more you'll have to harvest. For best results, aim to keep the soil consistently moist but never soggy.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
    • Light: Full
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, acidic
    • Mature Size: 3 to 5 feet tall, 2 to 3 feet wide
    • Days to Maturity: 90
    • Deer Resistant: No
  • 10 of 14

    Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

    fennel

    The Spruce / K. Dave

    You will have better luck with the leafy fennel herb self-sowing than the bulbing variety. Like carrots, fennel has flowers that beneficial insects adore. And as with dill, though you might want to harvest every last fennel seed, let a few escape to reseed and provide you with new, fresh plants.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
    • Light: Full
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, acidic
    • Mature Size: 4 to 6 feet tall, 1.5 to 3 feet wide
    • Days to Maturity: 90
    • Deer Resistant: No
  • 11 of 14

    Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)

    lettuce growing

    The Spruce / K. Dave

    Lettuce will continue growing throughout the summer if you give it plenty of water and harvest it as a cut-and-come-again crop. However, sooner or later, a plant will manage to bolt. Leave it in place even though the leaves are no longer good for harvesting; you'll be rewarded with a fresh new crop.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
    • Light: Full, partial
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, acidic to neutral
    • Mature Size: 1 foot tall and wide
    • Days to Maturity: 30 to 50
    • Deer Resistant: No
  • 12 of 14

    Mustard (Brassica rapa subsp. narinosa)

    mustard greens

    The Spruce / K. Dave

    Mustard greens are quick growers, and most can handle the heat as long as you provide them with enough water. The most prodigious self-sower is 'Giant Red Mustard.' This mild leafy green will pop up everywhere for years to come if you let it go to seed. But some of the Asian mustards, such as tatsoi and mizuna, are eager volunteers, too.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 7
    • Light: Full, partial
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, neutral
    • Mature Size: 1 foot tall and wide
    • Days to Maturity: 40 to 50
    • Deer Resistant: No
    Continue to 13 of 14 below.
  • 13 of 14

    Radishes (Raphanus sativus)

    French Breakfast Radishes

    The Spruce / Marie Iannotti

    Radishes need to grow quickly, or they can get woody or unpleasantly hot. Most gardeners lose a few radishes to bolting and quickly pull them out. If you let the seeds fall, you will get volunteers. But you will need to keep them cool with plenty of water to have the bulbs grow well. However, if you are growing edible-podded radishes, you don't have to worry about the timing or the heat because your new plants will keep bolting and producing new pods.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
    • Light: Full
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, sandy, moist but well-drained, acidic to neutral
    • Mature Size: 2 to 3 feet tall, 1 to 2 feet wide
    • Days to Maturity: 22 to 60
    • Deer Resistant: No
  • 14 of 14

    Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)

    spinach greens

    The Spruce / K. Dave

    Another cool-season vegetable, spinach plants are one of the fastest to go to seed. If you have a long, cool spring, you might get volunteers to enjoy right away. But you also might have to wait until the fall to see new plants emerge. Aim to keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy to encourage good-tasting growth.

    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
    • Light: Full, partial
    • Soil Needs: Loamy, moist but well-drained, acidic to alkaline
    • Mature Size: 6 to 12 inches tall and wide
    • Days to Maturity: 40
    • Deer Resistant: No
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