Want a Healthier Life? Start by Growing Your Own Vegetables

Is there anything that can beat homegrown vegetables? Growing your own vegetables is part fun, but it’s also good for your health. According to the Community Activation for Prevention Study from 2023, people who participated in growing their own food in a community garden increased their fruit and vegetable intake. Community and home gardens provide delicious, fresh ingredients for whatever you are cooking, plus there’s this rewarding feeling that comes when you cook with the food you grew yourself.

There are a few staples that every kitchen needs, and they are easy to grow. You can easily create a kitchen garden with easy-to-grow, easy-to-store, and easy-to-use vegetables.

If you’re new to gardening, there are a few easy-to-grow crops you might want to start with. These crops will grow plentiful, and could even give you more than you can use in the growing season. You can preserve that harvest for later use and enjoy fresh, organic veggies throughout the year.

It’s time to get our hands dirty for some fresh, healthy veggies.

Onions Are Versatile and Delicious

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Onions are probably the kitchen base of most recipes; fortunately, they are easy to grow. You can buy onion sets, which are small onion bulbs that you simply place root ends down, up to their necks, in soil.

The soil doesn’t need too much work, as onion roots don’t go too deep into the ground. Just a dressing of well-rotted manure or garden compost, followed by a mulch later in the year, would be perfect.

Onions are easy to store; simply pick them when their stems are bending and place them on a rack to dry. Then, they can either be strung or laid on an open shelf in a frost-free, well-ventilated shed. Although they will store all the way until your next harvest is ready the following year, you can also plant overwintering onions that can be picked much earlier.

If you use three onions per week, it is suggested that you plant 100 in the spring and another 100 in the fall. With losses, this should last the year. If you are also planting bumper crops to turn into soups and preserves, add another 100 to your spring planting.

Garlic for Healthy Meals

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Garlic requires soil similar to that of onions. However, garlic likes its bed to be free-draining, so if water is an issue, either use grit under each clove or dig in plenty of organic matter. Garlic also requires a sunny position, so remember this when planting.

The hard neck types are planted in the autumn, as they like a few months of cold weather to help bulb growth. When ready, they are racked and dried before plaiting and hanging in a cool, dry, and frost-free shed.

Fifty garlic bulbs should be enough for most kitchens. Since most bulbs contain 6 or 7 cloves, you’ll need to buy seven or eight bulbs to plant.

Homegrown Potatoes Are The Best

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What kitchen can go without potatoes? If you’re hoping to plant some, make sure you buy seed potatoes in January and start the chitting towards the end of the month. Chitting is just another name for sprouting.

There are three types of potato: first early, second early, and main crop. However, this is not complicated as it only refers to the time they are in the ground.

The first earlies will be ready first and tend to be smaller; the main crop is last and largest. We chose the first earlies for summer salad potatoes and the main crop for large storage potatoes. The only thing you’ll need to remember about potatoes is to give them plenty of manure or compost. Line the potato trenches with seaweed, which is a great fertilizer and keeps slugs away.

Dig up potatoes on a warm sunny day and allow them to dry before storing them in paper sacks.

A Few Herbs to Add to the Garden

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Many herbs are permanent crops that need a sunny location, preferably near the kitchen for convenience. They tend to be used year-round and, other than soft-leaf herbs, are usually always available.

Herbs produce a lot in the summer, and it’s a good idea to save some for winter. A great way to store herbs is to chop them into ice cube trays, top them with water, and freeze them. Then, simply drop an ice cube with your chosen herb into whatever you are making. Herbs can also be dried, and soft-leaf herbs such as basil and coriander can be made into a pesto.

Grow Lettuce for Lots of Salads

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It’s so good to have lettuce growing in your garden since it can be used in so many dishes. We grow several varieties in our garden so we can mix and match the varieties and not get bored with our salads.

Lettuce is not fussy as long as you give it some shade (this will keep it from going to seed fast) and a well-draining spot to grow.

Every Garden Needs a Few Tomato Plants

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While onions, garlic, potatoes, and herbs are the easiest to grow, you could still grow many other vegetables in your garden without getting a headache. Tomatoes are just one example! There are so many types of tomatoes that it might be hard to choose which ones to plant. It might help to think about how your family consumes tomatoes and which ones would be eaten the most in your household.

If you have never grown tomatoes, start small, maybe with two types. I love all kinds of cherry tomatoes: they are less acidic and sweeter. If you have kids, get a plant and get them involved.

Grow Luffa to Eat

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Luffa plants grow several feet tall and like to spread, so plan for that if you plan to grow some. It also has a slow start germinating, but once it does, it grows fast.

Pick the fruit early and small, and cook it just like zucchini. Luffa vines are very prolific, so you can eat many and still enjoy a few luffa sponges at the end of the season.

Radishes That Grow Fast

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One of the easiest and fastest-growing vegetables, radishes, can be planted among other vegetables in your garden. It’s best to plant radishes in the spring or late summer, going into the early fall months.

Did you know you can eat radish seed pods? Talk about getting the most out of your vegetables. 

More Vegetables You Can Grow in Your Garden

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There are many more delicious vegetables to try. For example, there are bell peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers, which grow pretty easily throughout the summer.

I hope you’ve learned how to grow your own vegetables and are inspired to get started. You’ll have a blast (and some delicious veggies).