With Spring right around the corner, it is time to start thinking about whether or not to start a garden this year. It can range from a deck garden to an extravagant backyard garden! It is always a great addition to your life for many reasons! Studies have shown that growing a garden is good for your mental health.
The National Library of Medicine says,
“There is increasing evidence that exposure to plants and green space, and particularly to gardening, is beneficial to mental and physical health, and so could reduce the pressure on NHS services.”
In addition to mental health, the other benefits you receive from it are having fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs readily available, helping the planet, a built-in workout, and being an immunity buster. There are endless tips and tricks when it comes to starting a garden, this list is by no means conclusive.
If any of these reasons have convinced you to look into starting a garden here is a user-friendly list of fruits, vegetables, and herbs that you can grow from a seed based on personal experience.
Vegetables are a great place to start!
Tomatoes – Tend to be the most frequently living in gardens and constantly producing more tomatoes during their growing season. Tomatoes come in so many variations from big slicer tomatoes, and sauce tomatoes, down to little cherry tomatoes! All are a great option to grow.
Peppers – Whether it be bell peppers or jalapeno peppers they grow fairly easily.
Potatoes – Take one potato from the store and plant it deep within the ground and in a few months you will have an underground patch of potatoes.
Garlic – Used in many dishes and is surprisingly easy to grow, they grow very similar to potatoes in the aspect that you have to use one to grow more.
Cauliflower & Broccoli – Takes a tad longer to grow than some other items in your garden but the reward of it is worth the wait.
Fruits are a great sweet colorful treat to add to your garden!
Strawberries – Once one is planted years maybe even months to follow it will grow into a big strawberry patch.
Blackberries & Raspberries – Grow to be a plentiful source of nutrients for butterflies and birds.
Grapes – The first year or two of growing a grape vine it will be unlikely to receive any grapes but once they come in you will have so many bunches!
Cherries – Your very own grown dessert topping.
Lemons – Lemon trees are challenging to grow from a seed but once you get one going a few short years from the initial sprout you will have lemons ready at your disposal!
Blue Berries – Similar to a grapevine it takes a while to get going but once it does get ready to have so many you will not know what to do with them.
Once you start growing your own Herbs you will never want to go back to store-bought!
Basil – Grows nonstop during its growing season and repels harmful insects.
Oregano – Used in many recipes around the world.
Mint – A perfect garnish for any dessert!
Cilantro & Parsley- Both have such unique flavors that add that little extra missing flavor to any dish.
Dill – Commonly added when pickling and canning foods also makes a nice finishing touch to a plate.
Rosemary – Has a very aromatic flavor nicely added to butter and bread.
Chives & Green Onions – Perfect to add to your very own dips and as Cassie Yeung from TikTok would say a nice “razzle-dazzle” to any dish.
Fun Fact For Cat Owners:
Growing cat nip is not only a great fresh source of fun for your feline friend but also repels certain pests from your garden and does not require a lot of attention while possibly attracting some new cat visitors.
Happy Growing!
