I think many of us share this dream: growing the food we put on our table. Being able to establish our family’s health straight from the source, and knowing exactly where our food came from and what’s in it. As a society, we’re discovering just how dramatically our food supply has changed. And not always for the better.
Ready to start your gardening journey? Planning your garden is the most exciting first step! Remember, it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. If your space is small, it won’t prevent you from growing some of your favorite vegetables. You may just want to think vertically, depending on how adventurous you’re willing to be.
Start With Vegetables Your Family Will Eat
The best gardens are ones that bring joy to your dinner table. Before you buy a single seed, sit down with your family and make a list of vegetables, herbs, and fruits everyone enjoys eating. There’s no point in growing zucchini if nobody in your house likes it!
Consider keeping a garden journal to track what grows well and what your family loves most. This will help you plan even better gardens in future seasons. When I’m selecting vegetables to plant, I look at staple recipes in our household. For example, we eat quite a bit of Mexican food in my family, or at least Caucasian-Mexican fusion! So the first vegetables I map out in my garden are tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cilantro. These are the base ingredients for salsa, pico de gallo, ceviche, and pasta dishes.
Each year, the experience of growing these vegetables has been different, like all gardeners the crop has varied each year. There are a lot of variables when it comes to garden cultivation. Since moving in, we have focused on building up the soil and ensuring we have fertile ground. I’m very hopeful for this years crop and look forward to the experience gained each year.
Although I enjoy reading posts that tell you exactly when to plant your crops the information is not always reliable. It really depends on the sun exposure in your garden and the temperature of your soil. The layout of your garden will vary depending on sun rotation around your home, where your shady areas are, and when and how the sun hits these spots.
In our backyard, we have a fence, tall redwood trees, and our house; all of which affect when and where the sun reaches the garden. Half of my garden bed gets sunshine from February through October, while the other half won’t start getting significant sunshine until May. This impacts where and when I can start planting.
Tomatoes
Everyone I know plants tomatoes and I am no different. They are a staple in so many recipes; from pasta dishes, soups, salads, and salsa, it’s rare to see a garden without them. I have had the most success growing cherry tomatoes. You might be thinking, cherry tomatoes are only good for salad garnish. Well, I challenge you to take a second look. Using cherry tomatoes, I’ve been able to make several batches of tomato sauce, use them as snacks for my kids, and dehydrate them for soups. Cherry tomatoes have turned out to be one of the most versatile tomato varieties I have ever planted, and much easier to grow in my area.
“Tomatoes require a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight daily. They prefer daytime temperatures of 70 to 80°F and nighttime temps above 60°F. These heavy feeders love slightly acidic (pH 6.2–6.8), fertile, loamy, well-draining soil.” Penn State Extension, Tomatoes: From Seedlings to Fruit
Cherry tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes thrive in moderate temperatures, ranging from about 65°F all the way up to the low 90s. However, when temperatures climb into the high range, regular watering is a must, and a little afternoon shade won’t hurt either. The heirloom varieties I’ve planted have actually reproduced regularly for about three years. They’re most often an indeterminate variety and can produce all summer long with the right conditions and proper care.
It got to a point where I was weeding tomato plants from other areas of the garden, most often they are an indeterminate variety and can produce all through the summer with the right conditions and proper care.
Beefsteak Tomatoes
Beefsteak tomatoes are difficult to cultivate in my garden, they require a lot of care and attention, and if your growing any other vine variety around them they easily become overpowered. This plant does not like to be challenged when it comes to space. You will find your cherry tomatoes will overpower the beefsteak easily if planted in the same area.
Beefsteak tomatoes need warm, fertile soil with good drainage for healthy roots, at least 8 hours of sunlight (more is better), and plenty of room to grow. This tomato type is indeterminate and can grow continuously through the season.
Roma Tomatoes
Roma tomatoes are another common variety—great for sliced tomatoes on sandwiches, and my favorite tomato type for pico de gallo. These also require at least 8 hours of sunlight (more is better), along with fertile, warm soil and good drainage. While it may seem like all tomatoes need the same sun, nutrients, water, and general care, indeterminate and determinate varieties do vary slightly.
Roma tomatoes are determinate, meaning they grow more like a bush than a vine and won’t produce continuously. Proper pruning is important for better yields. They can be spaced a little closer than beefsteak varieties but will still be overpowered if planted near cherry tomatoes.
️Peppers
I have had more success with sweet peppers and hot peppers than large bell peppers, but all pepper varieties are used in our recipes. Both sweet and hot peppers are used in ceviche, salsa, soups, and pasta.
“Peppers require plenty of sunlight to produce quality fruit. Full sun requires direct light at least 6 hours per day; they prefer 8–10 hours per day. Planting before soil temperature reaches 65°F will cause plants to just sit there.” University of Maryland Extension
Peppers are susceptible to shock after transplanting so ensure the soil is warm before transplanting to reduce this risk. A late frost will damage your plant and affect its growth and production. Fertilize after the plant begins to flower, if you fertilize to soon the plant will produce more foliage than produce. This is another full sun vegetable at least 6-8 hours of sunlight.
Pruning the pepper plants helps with stability and fruit production. Pinch of the top of the plant after the bottom leaves have established to create a bushier more productive plant. (Allison Kostovick, 2023).
Onions
There are several types of onions used regularly in our dinner dishes, and they provide a variety of flavors. White, yellow, and red onions all have different flavors and levels of potency. There are also sweet onions, which are a welcome addition to meals made for my kids. They tolerate sweet onions much better than “spicy” onions.
Onions are quite different from tomatoes and peppers in that they’re a root vegetable, and the scraps can actually be used to reproduce more onions. Bunching onions (also called green onions or scallions) are the easiest to regrow.
Bunching Onions (Green Onions)
These are very common in pasta dishes, soups, and salads. They can be regrown very easily by cutting and using the green tops and saving the white root. Place the root in shallow water, allowing just the very top of the root to stick out—they’ll start to regrow their vtops right away. You don’t want to cover the whole root in water or it will develop mold and rot. Just the root hairs need to be submerged. Once they have about an inch of new growth, you can replant them in your garden. You can repeat this process continuously and have a regular supply of green onions.
Bulb Onions
These are your white, yellow, and red varieties used in salsa, ceviche, and soups. They require a little more maintenance to reproduce, although you would still save the root end of the bulb and place just the root hairs in water. If too much of the onion bulb sits in water it will grow mold and rot. The middle of the bulb will start to grow, when the growth reaches about 1/2 an inch you can transplant back into the garden, the growth on the bulb can be covered, it will continue to grow with regular watering dependent on temperature. If weather is mild once a week will do, but if its hot every other day may be needed, monitor the soil because they are prone to root rot when over watered. You will need to trim back the tops to promote the growth of the bulb. These bulbs may not be ready to harvest till the next season, and its possible the bulb may split and turn into multiples.
When planting from seed plant in bunches and harvest one bulb at a time allowing the others to grow. Onions need fertile soil and room to grow. According to Allison Kostovick, you will want to trim onion seedlings when they reach about 5 inches to encourage a bigger stronger plant and keep it from flopping during transplant. Fertilize throughout the growing season and stop watering when the tops flop around mid-summer when they no longer require water or you may find the bulb will start to rot and the leaves will turn yellow. She reports sweeter onion varieties have a shorter storage time but typically onions can be stored in a cool dry place, they can be stored for about 6 -12 months.
Selecting Seeds
Selecting the right seeds is just as important as selecting the right vegetables for your family. Look for non-GMO seeds—this means the seed has not been genetically modified. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been looking at a lot of food labels lately and have noticed a surprising number of genetically modified ingredients.
When I choose seeds, I look for organic options, but I also seek out heirloom varieties. Check out the article, on the difference between organic seeds and heirloom seeds.
“Heirloom varieties are open-pollinated plants that breed true from seed, meaning they reliably pass their characteristics to the next generation. This makes seed saving practical and helps preserve agricultural biodiversity.” Seed Savers Exchange
The beauty of heirloom seeds is that you can save seeds from your harvest and replant them year after year, maintaining the same variety. With hybrid seeds, this isn’t possible; saved seeds from hybrids won’t produce plants with the same characteristics.
This link will take you to the seeds I used in my garden, that produced great results and the seeds lasted multiple years.
References
Cornell Garden-Based Learning. (n.d.). Tomato growing guide. Cornell Cooperative Extension. Retrieved from gardening.cals.cornell.edu
Kostovick, Allison Vallin (2023). Garden Maker’s Book of Wonder
Old Farmer’s Almanac. (2025). Growing bell peppers: From planting to harvest. Retrieved from almanac.com
Penn State Extension. (n.d.). Tomatoes: From seedlings to fruit. Retrieved from extension.psu.edu
Seed Savers Exchange. (n.d.). Heirloom seeds and plant varieties. Retrieved from seedsavers.org
University of Maryland Extension. (n.d.). Growing peppers in a home garden. Retrieved from extension.umd.edu
University of Minnesota Extension. (n.d.). Growing peppers. Retrieved from extension.umn.edu
USDA National Organic Program. (n.d.). Organic regulations. Retrieved from ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic
Photo Credits
Photos by Elly M., Dan Gold, Huma Kabakci, Priscilla Du Preez, Anna Evans, and Ellienore B. on Unsplash
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. All opinions expressed are my own.
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