Ok so I talked about my top 6 items to grow in gardens, but I know there are many other things that are also great to grow. So, I’m going to talk about what I’m planning on growing in my garden this year. This is my plan, and I’m hoping my plans don’t change.
To start, this year I have a space of 20 feet by 50 feet to grow food. I’m a total newbie when it comes to gardening. I’m a bit nervous to start this and this space seems HUGE to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited too.
I am going to be planting my top 6 items to be growing but let’s also talk about what else I’m going to be planting.
I live in Utah, and we plant after Mother’s Day to avoid any potential frost. I will start some seeds indoors such as peppers, tomatoes and celery but I’m planning on planting directly in the soil in May.
What vegetables I’m planning on growing.
Carrots – I love carrots! We use them a lot in our dishes, usually more so in the fall. I also like to snack on them and use them to make broth. When I have planted carrots in the past, they aren’t pretty, but they are tasty so I’m excited.
Lettuce – My plan is to plant 3 types of lettuce/greens. Butter lettuce, romaine lettuce and spinach. I love butter lettuce for when I eat burgers. Romaine is use for my salads and tacos. Spinach I’ll use for salads and meals but I also like to dehydrate and powder it to be able to use it for many dishes.
Onions – Onions are a 2-year crop. Or so I’ve heard. I’ve never grown them before. Normally, people will plant them in the late summer to fall and then harvest them the following spring/summer. My plan will be to plant sometime later in the season and then be able to harvest them next year. Kind of a bummer for this year but I’m learning!
Pumpkins – I typically will grow pumpkins for my fall decorations. This year, I want to try my hand at making homemade pumpkin puree.
Cucumbers – I love fresh cucumbers to add to my salads. My husband loves pickles, and I’ve never made any before, so I thought we can try and make some together.
Celery – This is one I’ve never grown or thought of growing before. However, during the last few years I’ve some a bit of a shortage on them so I thought I would try to grow them myself. I’m hoping it works out!
What fruits am I’m planning on growing.
Strawberries – These are a staple in my home! We love them fresh, dehydrated, in salads, in desserts, jams and even in our drinks. To have enough for my family I think I would need 75 plants! Which, I won’t have close to that amount, but I’ll do my best with what I will have.
Raspberry – I know that it can take some time before raspberries start producing so I’m going to try to be patient.
Blueberry – Unfortunately, blueberries can take 2-4 years before they produce any fruit but you gotta start somewhere.
Watermelon – I’ve never been able to get watermelon to grow for me. Sad. But I’m going to keep trying and hope that one day it’ll work out.
Herbs I’m planning on growing.
I have never grown herbs. Ever. Not even in my house on by a kitchen window or anything. So, I feel like I’m starting small and with some pretty basic things.
I do plan on drying what I can in my dehydrator so that I can have some home-grown shelf stable herbs. I’ve heard that they taste so much better than store bought so I’m looking forward to this.
Mint – I want to make my own toothpaste. Weird right? I know but I’ve been getting into making a lot of things myself and toothpaste is on the list to try. I like the minty flavor. I also plan to make some mint extract as well. I use that for when I make mint brownies.
Basil – A very common herb. One that’s in a lot of Italian dishes and I’m hoping to make some of my own pasta sauce using grown tomatoes and basil.
Oregano – This has many uses. One of which took TikTok by storm this year. And that was Oil of Oregano. I didn’t make it but if I did, it would be handy to have home grown oregano to try it with. Also, I use oregano a lot in my cooking so that’s going to be an added bonus.
Cilantro – We love cilantro in our house! Fresh in salads, with dinners and my favorite cowboy caviar.
Parsley – I don’t use a ton of parsley in my home, but I do use it occasionally so it’s something I’d like to try and grow and then maybe dehydrate it and have it as a dried spice in my cabinet.
That’s it!
This is what I’m planning to grow, let’s hope they also agree and grow for me. I have a lot of learning and growing to do myself and I can’t wait to see how this year turns out.
Thanks for being here! I love that everyone is wanting to learn new skills to help them provide for their families. Find me on TikTok, YouTube or Instagram and let me know what you’re growing! Let’s be friends!!
