From Packet to Plate: What criteria I use for choosing which vegetables to grow in my garden

It's seed-starting time!

Although I have a good-sized backyard vegetable garden, I still need to be somewhat selective in what I grow, as space is not unlimited. I've come up with 4 rules for how to choose what to grow each year.

grow what I want to eat

I didn't say what I love to eat. There are foods that I want to eat for their wellness benefits. But I do think of these choices as what can I eat and at least mildly enjoy.

grow what grows in my area

I don't limit this to what grows best in my area. Otherwise, I might be eating nothing but kale. But if I can get a particular vegetable to grow modestly well, then it's a "go." I do have to say no to melons, eggplant, okra, and a few other veggies/fruit that I would enjoy having, as I just don't have the time, energy and resources to get those varieties to grow where I live.

grow what makes economic sense

I've discovered that cabbage grows well in our garden. So I grow green cabbage every summer. But green cabbage is a budget vegetable. So I'm really not saving all that much money by growing green cabbage. My family also enjoys red cabbage. And red cabbage is more expensive per pound to buy in the grocery store. So it makes sense to at least try to grow a few heads of red cabbage this summer. Kale may seem ordinary to my family because we've been eating it every summer for years. But kale is a pricey fresh vegetable to buy. I grow 4 types of kale and hope to add a 5th this summer. Salad, slicing, and Roma tomatoes are the standard grocery store varieties. They're the ones that I find for about $1/pound at WinCo all summer (and in winter sometimes, too). Less common tomatoes, like yellow pear, are also nice to have in summer but more expensive per pound than the grocery store standard varieties. I continue to grow salad tomatoes in my garden, but I've added yellow pear tomatoes to last and this year's gardens. 

grow what makes me happy

This final category takes into consideration what will please me just to see them growing. For me, this is pumpkins. There's something exciting about growing pumpkins for me. They're my babies. I practically skip out to the garden each day to check on them.

Keeping a vegetable garden isn't just about saving money on groceries. Having an abundance of fresh produce each summer and fall motivates us to eat a healthier and more varied diet than if I were to purchase all of our fruits and veggies. We eat what we grow, and we eat it freshly harvested, something not possible with supermarket veggies. Beyond these material motivations to garden, touching the soil, smelling the earth, and caring for my plants have a grounding affect on my mind. It's a therapy of sorts. 

I may be choosy in picking which seeds to plant each year. But once those plants are in my garden, I love and care for every one of them as if each is my very favorite.

If you plant veggies each year, how do you decide what you'll grow? Is there a veggie that everyone says grows really well in your area, but you just can't stand?

Okay, let's try this one more time . . .

So, a week ago I posted that I'd just returned from some time away with my family, that it was late, and that I was tired. I also said I'd be right back. Well, I woke up the next morning really sick. I spent all of last week recuperating. It wasn't until Saturday that I felt remotely like myself. I've still got a lot of congestion, but I am able to do a normal workload again. Fortunately my daughters pitched in with the cooking all last week. And more fortunately, I was the only one who got really sick. 

Sunday after church I made it to the grocery store. We were out of so much! When you're out of milk, peanut butter, cheese, and fresh fruits and vegetables, you know you need to get yourself to a store soon. Since I didn't want to tire myself so soon after being sick, I just did a small shopping at Walmart. I'll do a big WinCo stock-up in a few days.

Last Monday, we got home a few hours later than we'd originally planned, and perhaps that contributed to the degree of illness I experienced. Our flight was delayed due to a mechanical issue. I don't know if you know this, but if a flight is delayed 3 hours or more (not related to weather, however), most airlines will issue meal vouchers to passengers. Our airline issued these through the email used for making the reservations. I was checking my phone for emails, and there were the vouchers. Alaska's vouchers were for $12 per person. Unfortunately, airport food is expensive. For something non-junky, $12 doesn't go far. We found sandwich-chips-fruit meal bundles for $14 and entree salads also for $14. This meant we had to spend $2 per person to buy meals in the airport, which isn't too bad. Even though we would have made dinner at home if the flight had been on time, the food we would have cooked with would have cost something too, maybe not $8, but it would have cost something. I'm glad to say that it all worked out.

I don't know if you feel this way too, but when I return from a trip away I don't feel the blues or down that the trip is over. I feel grateful for the experience and energized to tackle daily life once more. Yesterday I was making plans for spring and summer in our yard. I'm excited to have home-picnic lunches on the lawn, enjoy quiet moments in the garden, and host fun cook-outs around the fire ring. I guess I truly feel there's no place like home -- my own bed, my own cooking, our good PNW water, the comfort of my own routines.

I'm glad to be back, glad to be feeling better, and glad to be back to connecting again with you. Tomorrow, I really will be back to regular posts! Have a great rest of your evening/day.