Looking for veggies to plant on your next planting frolic? Here are seven vegetables you can easily grow at home. Though you might think that you’re already doing well in growing five different types of vegetables (and you are!), it is still much better to mix some things up and challenge yourself to try something new.
If you are still new to gardening, it is recommended that you slowly start adding one or two new ones to try in your home garden. Now, you don’t have to worry about pesticides downgrading the quality of your food. With fresh produce harvested directly from your garden, expect healthier and tastier dishes to serve at your dining table.
Leeks
A close relative of onions, scallions, and garlic, leeks are a good addition to several cuisines. Its tightly bound leaf sheaths, forming stalk-like bases, are the edible parts of the plant, which then transform into flat leaves. Though leeks are primarily recognized in leek and potato soups around the United States, they are still featured in a wide array of recipes and dishes.
Kale
Acclaimed by many as a superfood, this leafy green vegetable is high in fiber, vitamins A, C, and K, calcium, folate, iron, and antioxidants. You may blend kale into juice or toss a handful into your homemade smoothie. You can also make salads using it or sautee aside.
You have to transplant kale when growing them indoors. This vegetable is also great in handling frost, which improves its leaves’ flavor, but kale doesn’t thrive well under the summer heat. Too much heat may cause it to bolt, giving its leaves a bitter flavor. And it is relatively easier to harvest them; you only need to cut how much you need and leave them to regrow.
Brussels Sprouts
The bane of everyone’s childhood, this sweet and tender vegetable continues to have a bad reputation mostly because of overcooking. It is easier to grow Brussels sprouts indoors as long as you give them enough sunlight. But they have a longer growing season, with some of their varieties taking as long as 130 days before reaching maturity.
If you are mindful when growing them, Brussels sprouts’ flavor may actually improve if subjected to frost. You may start planting them early in the summer and expect a bountiful harvest in late fall. However, you have to harvest them as they don’t tolerate freezing weather immediately.
Green Beans
When your green beans are squeaky-snap, instead of being chewable and taste more like freshly-mown grass, it is much better to undercook them instead of food. Undercooked green beans also have a distinct green flavor, so it is best to drown them in fresh sauce to flavor them.
When growing them at home, you should know that green beans don’t thrive well in frost, causing their seeds to rot eventually. And harvesting them may take much of your time and effort. This is because the more beans you harvest, the more they will grow back, causing the mature beans to become more tough and stringy.
Peas
There is nothing more divine-like growing pear right in your home garden. With its tender and sweet snap pea freshly plucked from its vine, you no longer have any reason to run to the nearest supermarket.
Peas are a low-maintenance yet high-yielding garden vegetable, making them an excellent choice for beginners like you. You may place them in a container that is at least 10 inches deep. Then put the container in a cage so that the plants have somewhere to climb. Peas very much prefer colder weather because summer heat stops the plant from producing.
Leaf Amaranth
Leaf amaranth is a rare leafy green that tolerates mid-summer heat when others like spinach and lettuce will immediately start to bolt. Its leaves have this sweet and tangy flavor that is an excellent addition to many dishes. This less-common vegetable is actually easy to grow on your own.
You only need to scatter a leaf amaranth’s seeds in a container of at least eight inches deep and pluck the leaves after they grow for about two to four inches in size. Leaf amaranth is a veritable superfood and is an excellent source of iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, magnesium, and many more.
Radish
Though radishes are often overlooked in the health department, this tiny root vegetable is rich in vitamin B6, calcium, manganese, and fiber. You may put them together with hummus for a more nutritious snack or spice up your homemade salads with crunchy, peppery radishes.
When growing one at home, you may place them in containers throughout the summer season to progress crisp and colorful crops. You may choose among its many varieties, including French Breakfast 3 and Rainbow Mixed, to give your dining table a visual treat.
Takeaway
Growing vegetables on your own aren’t as difficult as you think it is. As long as you know what you want to plant at your home, you are already making significant progress. With the list of vegetables provided above, it must be easier for you to start your indoor garden.
