® olllinka2 / Dollar Photo Club
Growing things is a passion of mine and over the years I’ve found that some things are just more enjoyable to grow than others. Of course my list will look different from someone else’s list, but today I’m going to share with you my top 5 favorite things to grow. Mostly, because we love to eat them and they are so darn tasty. Enjoy!
Potatoes
Root crops are fun to grow because of the anticipation factor. You throw a chunk of potato in the ground and don’t know what kind of crop you’ll get until you dig them up at harvest time. I love growing potatoes because they’re easy, we eat a lot of them and also you get to plant them pretty early in the season. Around here we plant potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day and dig them up on the 4th of July. If you plan things right you can plant a second crop midsummer to harvest in the fall.
Related Recipes:
Easy German Potato Salad
Slow Cooker Corn & Potato Chowder
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are another fun root crop that I grow every year. They do best in warm climates because they have such a long growing season. I love how they vine out all over the place and have pretty purple flowers. Some people have told me that they even plant them in their flower beds as a ground cover. I’ve found them to be extremely easy to grow as long as you get them in the ground on time. I plant mine in mid May and then harvest them in mid October right around or after our first frost of the season. Also, they enjoy sandy soil.
Related Recipes:
Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Sweet Potato Bread
Tomatoes
Like most gardeners, tomatoes are what started it all for me. You simply can’t compare the taste of homegrown tomatoes to store-bought. I also love how versatile they are in the kitchen.
Related Recipes:
How to Dehydrate Tomatoes
Fast & Easy Tomato Sauce from Dehydrated Tomatoes
Oven-Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce
Fruit
At our old property we had an Arkansas Black Apple tree that produced TONS of apples. We also had blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. We’ve already planted two apples trees, two blueberry bushes and several strawberry plants at our new property and I can’t wait until we have fresh, homegrown fruit again. I’ve also grown watermelon in the past, but I’ve found that my family doesn’t really eat enough of it to justify growing it. I may have to try it in again in the future.
Related Recipes:
Freezer Apple Pie Filling
Slow Cooker Apple Butter
Strawberry Freezer Jam
3-Ingredient Watermelon Slush
Sunflowers
I absolutely ADORE growing flowers. The only problem is that I’m not very good at it. The one flower that I can grow consistently are sunflowers. I’ve found them to be really easy and they look wonderful in the garden. Also, they attract tons of pollinators and give the birds a snack at harvest time. I really am going to work on growing more flowers because nothing beats a homegrown bouquet on the kitchen table.
What do you enjoy growing the most and why? I’d love to know!
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