What Fruits and Vegetables to Grow Yourself!
Whether you are new to gardening or a pro, here are 5 fruits and vegetables to grow yourself you have no excuse to not grow yourself! These ‘superfoods’ are super easy to plant, grow, and even better to eat!
What do I mean by superfood? They are very healthy for you, the more natural or as close to their original state you can eat these foods the more that the catchy name ‘superfood’ reigns true. If you see that term on a packaged/processed food…it is more of a marketing ploy than anything else. And all vegetables are super and but really benefit the most from any one aspect of your diet, you need to be eating a balanced diet. Just one of the benefits to growing these fruits and veggies yourself is that you KNOW that they are organic! To receive the most nutritional content from your veggies as possible you should do one of the following: eat raw, sauté, or steam. Eating raw is the best, I love snacking on a peeled raw zucchini while cooking dinner (it’s an acquired taste though). It fills you up and is PACKED with nutrients! Eating raw provides your body with all of the nutrients from that food. Sautéing is the next best if you cook it dry, you can add a splash of olive oil after cooking. Steaming is the third best. Steaming keeps a significantly higher amount of nutrients than boiling does. This is true as long as you use the least amount of water as possible while steaming. When you’re done steaming, incorporate the water from the steamer into your meal or use later as vegetable stock. Get creative! Try not to boil, microwave, or fry anything if possible…kills the nutrients! My family had a medium sized garden on our property when I was a young girl that was left from the previous owners and I was the only one interested in maintaining it…if I could do it at 8 years old (with no instruction), you can too!
5 Fruits and Vegetables to Grow Yourself!!
1. Edamame (name meaning young soybeans)!
Superfood Qualities: Protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants.
Tips: Summertime crop (for warm weather), takes about 90-100 days to mature. Once mature, pick immediately! Their window for picking is about 1 week, so when you see the pods plump and green pick the whole thing! Cook and freeze whatever you won’t be eating that day.
2. Bluberries!
Superfood Qualities: Antioxidants, vitamin C, and vitamin K.
Tips: Grow in average soil, not alkaline. If needed grow in a container. You can now grow different types of blueberries that grow best in all different types of climates, check to see what kind you have and what the recommended conditions are for it.
3. Goji Berries!
Superfood Qualities: Vitamin A and antioxidants.
Tips: Grow in warm weather and grow in areas where it will have some room, these tend to expand. Prune as necessary to control the size. Once picked, let dry until they’re wrinkly like raisins. Great as salad toppings!
4. Kiwis!
Superfood Qualities: Major vitamin C!
Tips: Kiwis do best as two, plant a male pollinator and a female vine.
5. Kale!
Superfood Qualities: Major amounts of vitamin K and vitamin A.
Tips: Cool-season crop. Tip for serving: Can be hard to chew, cut in to small pieces, add a small amount of salt and massage in a separate bowl before serving.