Vegetables To GrowDeciding Which Vegetables to Plant in Your Garden

Choosing which vegetables to grow is part of planning your vegetable garden. Your choice will depend on what you like to eat, your level of expertise, where you live, the time of year, the size of your veggie garden and your reasons for wanting a to grow your own food. Do you want to grow vegetables to save money or to improve or maintain your family's health? Or do you simply want to know which vegetables to grow for superior taste? Read through this page to get help in finding the best vegetables to grow.

Picture credit: wikipedia.

Most of the time you will want to be growing vegetables and herbs that you want to eat so obviously you will need to choose ones that you will actually use in the kitchen. That will be a good place to start when deciding what to grow. It's a good idea to make yourself a list of potential vegetables for your situation.

Table of Contents (clickable)

What vegetables to grow when?1) Easy to grow vegetables when you are just beginning2) First and last frost dates3) Vegetables to grow in Winter4) Vegetables to grow in Summer

What vegetables to grow why?1) for superior taste2) to save money3) for better health4) for wider choice5) for education6) to attract wildlife7) to preserve8) to enter in shows or county fairs

What vegetables to grow where?1) in the shade2) in a 4' x 4' vegetable garden3) in the desert

Other good stuffMore vegetable gardening informationHow do you decide which vegetables to grow?

What vegetables to grow when?

1) Easy to grow vegetables when you're just beginning

List of the easiest veggies to grow

Zucchini

o likes sunny positions, soil rich in organic matter, lots of water

o dislikes frost Peas

o likes sunny positions (but some shade is okay), fertile soil, regular water

o dislikes being waterlogged Radishes

o likes sunny positions (but some shade is desirable when the weather is hot), regular water during dry periods

Tomatoes

o likes sunny, sheltered positions, humus-rich soil, lots of regular water, support with stakes

o dislikes irregular watering Lettuces

o likes sunny positions (but some shade is desirable when the weather is hot), regular water preferably in the morning

o dislikes competing weeds

Beetroots

o likes open, sunny positions, moist soil

o dislikes inconsistent watering Peppers

o likes sunny, sheltered positions, well-drained, fertile soil, lots of water, support with stakes

o dislikes frost Green Beans

o likes open sunny position, well-drained, fertile soil, regular water, support with stakes

o dislikes frost Carrots

o likes open sunny position, light sandy soil better than clay soil, regular water

o dislikes stones and fresh manure in the soil Onions - green and bulb

o likes sunny positions (but some shade is okay), fertile soil with good drainage, water only in dry conditions

o dislikes competing weeds

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Starter Vegetable Gardens: 24 No-Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens

by Barbara PleasantBuy Now

2) First and last frost dates First get a rough guide of your frost dates. After setting your frost date, you can view a vegetable garden calendar or download a free trial of vegetable garden planning software which will allow you to plan your garden beds, enter your frost dates and then see when the vegetables you have selected can be planted and harvested in your area..

3) Vegetables to grow in Winter

Cool season veggies

Some vegetables are cool season vegetables which grow best when the air temperature is between 50°F and 70°F (10°C and 20°C). Cool season vegetables include broadbeans, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, peas, carrots, cabbages, beets, lettuces and spinach. These can usually tolerate some frost so it will be possible to plant them before the last spring/winter frost or to harvest them after the first fall/winter frost. These make ideal vegetables to grow in winter or fall, depending on your frost dates.

Picture credit.

4) Vegetables to grow in Summer

Warm season veggies

Others are warm season vegetables which grow best at temperatures above 70°F (20°C). Warm season vegetables include mainly the fruiting vegetables such as tomato, peppers, sweetcorn, cucumbers, zucchini and beans. They generally cannot tolerate frost. These will need to be planted after the last spring/winter frost

and be harvested before the first fall/winter frost.

Picture credit.

What vegetables to grow why?

1) for superior taste

This a matter of personal taste and if this is your reason to grow your own vegetables, you probably already know which vegetables and herbs you wish to grow. Tomatoes do taste significantly better when they are home-grown. This may be due to the fact that you can leave them on the vine until they are red.

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Peas and sweetcorn contain sugars which begin converting to starch as soon as they are picked. So the sooner they are eaten after harvesting, the sweeter they will taste. Growing your own will enable you to pick, prepare and eat your produce within half an hour. You can't get much fresher than that!

Vote: Best vegetables to grow for superior taste Which home-grown vegetables taste better?

tomatoes

peas

bell peppers

strawberries

sweetcorn

something else ... tell us in the guestbook at the bottom of this page   Show the poll results

2) to save money

1. Choose vegetables which you use regularly but which are generally expensive to buy.If you only have a small vegetable garden, don't grow vegetables that you can buy cheaply anyway. If potatoes are often cheap in the stores, there is no need to grow them.

2. Don't grow too much of a vegetable that you can't easily store or preserve (e.g. don't grow too much lettuce - you can't freeze it or dehydrate it).

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3. Grow vegetables from which you can harvest leaves as you need (eg. there is no need to chop off the whole Swiss chard plant. Just cut off the outside leaves as you need them).

More ways to save money

Frugal Living

With the current recession, it's very important that we all learn how to spend less. The American dollar is at an all time low, but the cost of food and other...

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3) for better health

1. Giving your children responsibility for a veggie patch may encourage them to eat more vegetables since they can pick and munch on a snow pea when they are playing outside and also they may be more inclined to eat their veggies at dinner time if they have grown them. Easy veggies to pick and munch: sugar snap peas, snow peas, tomatoes, strawberries.

Picture credit.

2. You can choose what gets sprayed on your veggies. You can keep it completely organic to avoid any nasty pesticides or herbicides. According to The Environmental Working Group's research, the vegetables most contaminated by pesticides are:

1. celery

2. bell peppers

3. strawberries (okay, this is not a veggie but you can grow it in your veggie patch)

4. spinach

5. lettuce

6. cucumbers

(Source: EWG shoppers guide)

So if these are foods you regularly consume, and if you are concerned about nasties sprayed on your food, these could be the best vegetables to grow.

3. To receive the optimal amount of antioxidants, your fruit and vegetables need to be ripened on the plant. So if you are after a good source of antioxidants, you might like to consider growing some things from the following list of vegetables and berries.

Note: ORAC units = oxygen radical absorbance capacity (bigger is better). Recommend daily intake: 3500 ORAC units.

Fruit/VegORAC units per 3.5 oz (100g)

Blueberry2400

Watercress2200

Garlic1939

Kale1700

Strawberry1540

Spinach1260

Raspberry1220

Brussels sprouts980

Alfalfa sprouts930

Broccoli890

Beetroot840

Red Pepper731

Onion450

Pumpkin404

Corn402

Eggplant390

Sweet Potato301

Carrots

207

Tomato189

Source: The Australian Fruit and Vegetable Garden by Clive Blazy and Jane Varkulevicius

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4) for wider choice You may wish to grow exotic or unusual vegetables or herbs not readily available in the stores.

Organic Carrot Seeds Carnival Blend

Not all carrots have to be orange. How about red, purple, yellow, or white?

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Beans - Pole Tricolor

Not just the usual green beans - you also get yellow and purple.

Buy Now

Watermelon Seeds Moon and Stars Certified Organic Heirloom Seeds

This watermelon has just the most interesting skin - it looks just like the night sky.

Buy Now

Round French Zucchini Seeds - Ronde de Nice

Have you ever seen a round zucchini?

Buy Now

75 Exciting Vegetables for Your Garden

by Jack Staub

If you are looking for some decorative vegetables not usually found in your supermarket, this book will provide you with some creative ideas - Egyptian Walking Onion, Nutri-Red Carrot, Green Zebra Tomato, Painted Serpent Cucumber, Zebra Hybrid Eggplant and many more - all beautifully illustrated with pen, ink and watercolor.

Buy Now

5) for education

Periodic Table of...Naomi Weissman

Buy This at Allposters.com

If you have enough space, you could give your child a garden patch of his own where he can grow his favorite vegetables.

Peas and bean seeds are interesting to watch germinate, by placing them between some paper towel or blotting paper and the inside of a glass jar. Pour some water into the jar so that it is in contact with the paper. Within a few days you should be able to see the seeds germinate. Once they have developed leaves, they can be transplanted into the garden.

If you have the right growing conditions, you could try something a little novel, like growing peanuts.

6) to attract wildlife

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7) to preserve

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How would you like to preserve your harvest?

bottling

freezing

dehydrating / drying

pickling (vinegar based)

in oil

jams and jellies

a combination of the above

a different way   Show the poll results Add a Comment

8) to enter in shows or county fairs

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My reason to grow my own vegetables

Your chance to put your view across.

Click next to your reason then vote

To save money

Superior taste

Healthier for my family

Educational value for my children

Better for the environment

Wider choice of vegetables

To attract wildlife

To preserve

Add to the value of your property

To enter into shows

Good Exercise   Show the poll results Add a Comment

What vegetables to grow where?

1) Vegetables to grow in shade

Most vegetables will do better with more sunshine, but if your yard is in dappled shade or receives only a few hours of sunlight per day, there are still vegetables you can try. The best vegetables for shady positions are

leafy vegetables (lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, beet greens, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens)

brassicas (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower)

some from the onion family (leeks, shallots, green onions)

some herbs (chives, mint, sage, coriander, basil, parsley).

2) in a 4' x 4' vegetable garden

Visit vegetable garden plans to see a variety of ideas for planting vegetables in a 4' x 4' (roughly 1 metre square) garden. This may seem like a small space, but you'll be amazed at how productive even a small space can be.

3) in the desert Click on the picture or link below for a new page giving ideas and methods for growing gardens in the desert, including a section on how to grow veggies in the desert.

Growing Plants in a Desert Garden is Easy

I have lived in the Phoenix, Arizona area for about 4 years now. Yes, you do get used to the "dry" heat of the summer. Actually, I feel the winter can be mo...

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How do you decide which vegetables to grow?

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JimHouston33 Apr 02, 2014 @ 10:02 am

Very informative lens. JimHouston33

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growownfood6 Jan 09, 2014 @ 3:55 am

Our little greenhouses allow us to plant vegetables and fresh flowers all year and protects them from bad and the bugs.

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BowWowBear Apr 21, 2013 @ 11:20 pm

Love homegrown carrots. So many varieties to choose from which taste nothing like you can find in the stores. Great lens! You have inspired me to start some container gardening!

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suepogson Jan 05, 2013 @ 10:58 am

I like growing colourful veg! Luckily most colourful veg is also delicious.

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RyanBlock Oct 02, 2012 @ 3:07 pm

I really like the layout of this lens, seasonal but also based on obvious gardening factors like shade or no shade. I am definitely going to try to do some garden lens structured similarly.

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New Table of Contents

1. Table of Contents (clickable) 2. What vegetables to grow when?

3. 1) Easy to grow vegetables when you're just beginning

4. Book to Help When Starting a Veggie Garden

5. 2) First and last frost dates

6. 3) Vegetables to grow in Winter

7. 4) Vegetables to grow in Summer

8. What vegetables to grow why?

9. 1) for superior taste

10. Vote: Best vegetables to grow for superior taste

11. 2) to save money

12. More ways to save money

13.

14. 3) for better health

15.

16. 4) for wider choice

17.

18. 5) for education

19. 6) to attract wildlife

20. 7) to preserve

21.

22. 8) to enter in shows or county fairs

23. My reason to grow my own vegetables

24. What vegetables to grow where?

25. 1) Vegetables to grow in shade

26. 2) in a 4' x 4' vegetable garden

27. 3) in the desert

28. More vegetable gardening information

29. How do you decide which vegetables to grow?