(…or “What should I plant in my garden?”)
I live in Farm Country, so most stuff I could grow myself is plentiful and good at local farm stands. But some things are just soooo much better picked fresh from the garden.
Tomatoes, obviously. (pole/bush) Beans. Corn, if you can grow it (not me, I’ve got a brown corn-thumb and little room).
Celery, carrots, radishes, several other things are about as good from the garden as from the grocery store, IMO.
So, fellow gardeners: what veggies are just average from the farm stand but a delight grown fresh? Which ones are about the same either way?
Or: are there uncommon varieties of a common vegetable that can’t be had in from a produce stand that you feel are a must for growing at home? Heirloom tomatoes, of course; anything else?
Tomatoes, baby carrots, chives and corn.
Vine ripened tomatoes outshine all but the most expensive store-bought variety. Pasta sauce made with home grown tomatoes is nectar of the Gods.
Baby carrots are one of nature’s greatest delights. Most of the “baby carrots” at the store are lathed down nubs of broken up larger carrots. Real baby carrots are sweet as candy.
Chives are ridiculously expensive at the store and easy to grow. I’m going to start a pot in the very near future as they are my most favorite herb of all.
Corn begins to convert sugars into starch once it’s picked. Straight off the stalk is the only way to go. Remember, husk it when you get home, not at the store.
Zenster, I agree, home grown tomatoes are ambrosia. I have nine plants this year (5 varieties), enough to feed the neighborhood. My next door neighboor plows the back of my property for free in exchange for tomatoes all summer and fall.
And I didn’t even think to mention herbs! :smack: I do a several-windowbox herb garden out back, with basil, parsley, chives, cillantro, sometimes others. All definitely better grown at home.
Potatoes are really good when you dig them and cook them within an hour - you can grow them in a barrel if you don’t have much space.
Snap/sugar/Mangetout(!) peas are significantly crisper and sweeter than those in the shops, so are French Beans.
Almost any vegetable is going to taste better when you’ve grown it yourself, for several reasons including:
list][li]It can only be fresher[/li][li]It will have been picked at the absolute peak of ripeness, rather than ripened after picking.[/li][li]Many vegetables can be picked at a stage where they are smaller and more tender than you’d find them in the shops.[/li][li]You can choose varieties that are specifically selected for flavour or texture (as opposed to, say supermarket tomatoes, which are selected for uniformity and durability)[/li][li]You can take steps yourself to improve the flavour, for example tomatoes and capsicums will be tastier if you allow the plant to suffer a little bit of water stress when the fruits are nearly full size (you’ll get lower yields this way, but the fruit will be tastier)[/li][li]You expect it to taste better; yes, there is a significant psychological element, but the good news is that unlike the placebo effect, it still works even if you know about it.[/li][/list]
I just rototilled one former wild flower garden to be my permanent pumpkin patch. About 17,000 square feet. I’m thinking of selling them in the fall to my kids’ friends and classmates.
I just rototilled another former wild flower garden to be a veggie patch of higher maintence stuff ( tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic,herbs and a few perennial flowers.)
I had a friend rototill 1800 square feet of my regular garden which will be mostly corn and beans. I need to plant this weekend, but I need compost desperately. So that is on Today’s To Do list.
Yes, everything tastes better from the garden.
Oh, and I have strawberry plants in my outdoor cast iron, claw footed bathtub.
( If I had a spare toilet to use as a Red Neck Lawn Ornament, I’d grow something in it as well.)
Mangetout: your username is a pea? There’s gotta be a story there.
MangeTout is the name given to the peas where you eat the entire pod (usually before the seeds develop) because it means ‘eat all’ in French - I like food and I am always trying new things, hence ‘eat all’
Lemons! And Limes! Limes are expensive most of the year, and kind of iffy looking, but when I had lemon and lime trees, I’d have a bumper crop for a few months and get to think of wonderful new things to do with them. So what if I ruined them, there were more!
I grew my lemon tree in a big pot, and it moved with me several times. I eventually planted thinking I was going to stay there - oh, it hurt to lose my lemon tree in the divorce. The dwarf varieties don’t take up much space at all, and they’re SO worth it!
Pretty much anything that goes into salad is better grown at home, because instead of having to buy the entire head of lettuce or whatever, you can just go out and pick what you need for that evening; less waste. Also, greens are much better fresher. For me, this category includes lettuce, spinach, basil (growing basil at home is a must), and arugula.
I am jealous of those of you who have mentioned several hundred square feet or more to grow veggies in. We live in an apartment, so my gardening is confined to either containers (although I do have a good crop of Thumbelina carrots coming up in a pot out on the balcony) or to our 200 square foot community garden patch, which is where our salad greens are planted. Someday I hope to have an actual house with an actual garden…
I am all about the fresh garden peas. They’re mediocre to horrible when you buy them at the store, but when you pick them fresh from the vine and eat them, they’re goddam delicious.
If you do your zucchini and squash right, they’re far better than what you get at the store. Doing them right = picking them when they’re little more than squalling infant-zukes. If it’s longer than your hand, you’ve let it get too big. The size of a nice steak fry is perfect: then it’ll be tender and delicious.
Plus what everyone else said. My front yard now is about the size of a ping-pong ball table, not big enough for a garden. WHen burundi and I move, getting garden space is a priority.
Daniel