What We’re Growing in Our Garden This Year

This time of year, gardeners and homesteaders are starting seeds and getting their gardens prepped for the summer growing season. In this post, I’ll share what varieties we’re growing in our garden this year.

Spring is here! The trees are budding, the grass is growing and the soil is warming. I always love this time of year. I love seeing the new growth, noticing the days getting longer and smelling the fresh spring air.

For gardeners and homesteaders, it’s a busy time planning and prepping for the growing season ahead. It’s also exciting to think about what you can grow this year – time-tested family favorites and new varieties alike.

But for some (me included!), it can be overwhelming to choose which varieties you will grow this year. After all, for every vegetable, there are countless varieties to choose from!

I’m one of those people that reads the description of every single variety before choosing one. Yes, this is time-consuming…but each variety has it’s unique characteristics that may or may not fit our garden (and tastes!). It’s important to me to choose varieties that I think we’ll be happy with.

I also love hearing what other people are growing in their gardens, which is the inspiration for today’s post. I thought it would be fun to share what we’re planting this year.

If you’re stuck with which varieties to choose, haven’t put much thought into it, or just curious, read on to hear what varieties we chose and why!

A Note On Seeds

This year, we’ve become more aware of the benefits of heirloom, non-GMO and open pollinated seeds. That said, we do have some seeds from past years that don’t necessarily meet that criteria. While we really tried to purchase seeds this year that are heirloom, non-GMO and open pollinated, there is a mix on this list.

All of the seeds we purchased this year came from True Leaf Market. So far, we’ve been really happy with their quality, service and resources.

Vegetables and Varieties We Are Growing This Year

Artichoke

Green Globe – flowers in early summer, producing a harvest of 3-4 heads throughout summer. The artichokes are 3-5 inches in diameter and have fleshy hearts with good flavor.

While we love to eat artichokes, I also love the visual appeal of the artichoke plant. They grow 3-4 feet tall and about the same as wide. Their silvery green leaves look beautiful in a landscape setting. We are in Zone 8, so they are hardy as a perennial. In colder climates, they can be grown as annuals if started indoors.

Beet

Chiogga – Traditional Italian heirloom variety prized for it’s beautiful red and white striped roots. Unlike conventional red beets that are often messy, this variety grows a clean and crisp beetroot that can be sliced and eaten fresh or pickled.

Broccoli

Di Cicco – Another Italian heirloom variety, producing central heads 3-5 inches wide along with numerous shoots throughout the growing season. Claimed to be more productive than many hybrids and is great quality for preparing fresh or freezing.

Cabbage

Golden Acre – Hardy plant and the earliest round variety, Golden Acre produces heads 5-7 inches in diameter and 3-4 pounds. Tight, round heads that are almost golden in color and are sweet and tender. Also resistant to yellowing diseases.

Carrot

Rainbow Blend – this is our first time growing carrots, so we opted for a seed blend from True Leaf Market. The blend has five varieties of baby carrots: Atomic Red, Bambino Orange, Cosmic Purple, Lunar White and Solar Yellow.

We’re excited to try these carrots and see which is our favorite!

Cucumber

Marketer – Heirloom and open-pollinated variety. Produces dark green cucumbers with white spines, about 9 inches in length. These cucumbers have a mild flavor with a hint of sweetness and are great eaten fresh or pickled.

Kale

Red Russian – Flat leaf variety that grows dark green leaves with purple stems, having a mildly sweet flavor. Grows 2-3 feet tall and can be grown as a spring or early fall crop.

Dwarf Blue Curled, Vate’s Strain – Heirloom variety. Compact plants producing densely packed heads of curled, bluish-green leaves. Best grown in cool weather.

Lettuce

Heirloom Garden Mix – We chose a lettuce seed blend to save space in our garden. This is another mix from True Leaf Market, and it includes four varieties: Merville 4 Seasons, Silvia, Great Lakes, and Prizehead.

Melon

Early Crimson Treat Watermelon – Open-pollinated, heirloom variety. Produces melons 8-10 inches in size (icebox size) with bright red flesh and great flavor.

Tuscany Melon – Heirloom variety producing melons 2-3 pounds. Striped outer skin with thick salmon-colored flesh and small seed cavity. Bursting with flavor and aroma.

Onion

Imai Early Yellow – Open-pollinated, heirloom, intermediate-day variety. Hardy, overwintering plant that produces large, yellow-skinned onions over 1/2 pound in size with thick, crisp and mild flesh.

This is our first year trying onion seeds – I’m excited to sow them this fall!

Pepper

Shishito – Heirloom sweet pepper variety. This East Asian pepper is known for it’s mild, smoky flavor especially when grilled or roasted. The plant has a spreading habit and produces prolifically; peppers are 3-4 inches long. Most peppers are very mild, but will produce an occasional hot pepper.

Pumpkin

Sugar Pie – An American heirloom and culinary standard. Produces small, round pumpkins that are 7-10 inches wide. The flesh is sweet and fine-grained, making it the perfect pumpkin for baking.

Jack O’Lantern – Heirloom, open-pollinated variety that produces bright orange, 10-12 pound pumpkins. Thick-walled with smooth skin, these make ideal carving pumpkins, but can also be used for cooking and baking.

Snap Pea

Sugar Ann – stringless heirloom variety that is known for being one of the sweetest dwarf-type varieties and also one of the earliest. Produces plump 3-inch green pods that are delicious eaten fresh or cooked.

Summer Squash

Black Beauty Zucchini – Open-pollinated, heirloom variety. Vigorous plant producing well up until the frost. Produces tender and tasty fruits that are best when harvested at 6-8 inches long, but can grow much larger if left even for a few extra days.

Tomato

Gardener’s Delight Cherry – Open-pollinated, German heirloom variety. Prolific producer of cherry tomatoes with wonderful sweet flavor. Also known as Sugar Lump.

Beefsteak – Open-pollinated, Amish heirloom variety. Produces bright red fruits from 10 ounces up to 2 pounds! Great slicing tomato with meaty and juicy flesh; can also be used for cooking and canning.

Winter Squash

Waltham Butternut – Heirloom variety, the most popular butternut squash. Produces more uniform squash in shape and size, with fewer crooknecks. Excellent creamy, nutty flavor and rich yellow-orange color.

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Starting Seeds

If you’re starting from seed (which I highly recommend!), starting them indoors is essential in order to get the most out of your growing season. This year, we are using reusable seed starting trays. The bottom of each cell in these trays is silicone, so the seedlings will pop out easily when ready to transplant.

Don’t forget to harden off your seedlings before transplanting outdoors! This article is a great rundown of how to do that.

It’s always fun to try new varieties, so if you end up trying any of these in your garden this year, please let me know with a comment below! And if you’re new to gardening and not sure where to start, check out this post with my 5 top tips for getting started.

Thanks for reading and happy gardening!