It's 60°F in town today. (Nothing to get excited about—our last frost date is still months away.)

But the last few weeks of warm weather has meant many things are going off in my garden: rhubarb, walking onions, potato onions, garlic, and lots of leafy greens like bloody dock, garden sorrel, true French sorrel, salad burnet, and sea kale.

An entire spring and early summer food garden already growing, all without me doing a single thing. No seed starting. No transplanting. Zero work. (Not since last fall, when I covered all the plants with frost cloth.)

I got my first harvest of spring vegetables over 3 weeks ago, before I even sowed the first seeds for my annual vegetables.

That's the beauty of having a perennial vegetable garden—year-round food without needing to plant new plants each year. (In my zone 5 garden, all of these plants do die back in winter, but most of them can remain evergreen and productive if they're grown inside a heated greenhouse.)

​If edible perennials aren't a part of your garden plan yet, here's a list of 38 perennial vegetables you should grow.​

(Yep, I added a bunch of new ones I discovered in the last year!!)​

Many of these plants are hardy to Zones 4 and below. You just need to protect the roots over winter (with a thick layer of mulch) so they'll come back in spring.

Seasonal Tips

29 Perennial Herbs You Can Plant Once and Enjoy for Years Read more

An Easier Way to Grow Asparagus: Raised Bed Planting Read more

How Far Apart to Plant Strawberries for the Biggest, Juiciest Berries Read more

How to Plant Bare-Root Perennials in Pots Read more

21 Perennial Ground Covers for Shade Gardens (In Every Climate) Read more

When and How to Divide Perennials for a Healthier Garden Read more

If you're a student of Lazy Gardening Academy or have been following me for a while, you know I'm a huge fan of "lazy gardening," a method I teach that produces more food with less work.

And part of that method includes planting perennial vegetables, herbs, and flowers throughout your garden to take the pressure off spring planting (and increase your harvests).

Spring becomes a wildly delightful time once you start growing perennial edibles!

P.S. Get an instant food garden every spring without having to plant something new each year. Grow one of these 38 perennial vegetables!​

P.P.S. Looking for high-quality gardening tools that actually last? I've put many through the wringer and these items pass the test in my own yard.