There are many advantages to growing your own food. It’s physically and mentally gratifying to get outside in the fresh air with your hands in the dirt. There’s also a sense of relief in knowing exactly what chemicals your food has been exposed to and how long it’s been sitting on a shelf. Then, of course, there are the cost savings. 

With the price of just about everything on the rise, grocery shopping can be a daunting task. That food budget simply doesn’t go as far as it used to. If you already love to garden, adding some vegetable crops to your repertoire feels like a no-brainer to lower grocery costs. If you’re just getting started, welcome to the family. We are here to help you grow!

‘Bloomsdale’ is one of our favorite heirloom varieties, dating back to the early 1800s. This open-pollinated variety has tender, tasty leaves with excellent flavor. It’s considered long-standing, so it tolerates heat better than other cultivars and gives an extra-long harvest period. You can grow it in the ground; it also performs well in containers. 

Carrot ‘Danvers 126’

Succession planting gives you a long supply of fresh roots.

Sweet, crunchy, and delicious carrots are candy from the garden. If you plant them in succession, you can harvest them over a long period. Plant a row of seeds every two weeks for a continuous supply. There are so many ways to enjoy these orange wonders. Cut them into sticks and pack them in a lunch box. They are ideal for soups and stews and any number of yummy recipes. 

‘Danvers 126’ is a heirloom from Danvers, Massachusetts, that dates back more than 100 years. It’s a tried-and-true cultivar with long, uniform, bright orange roots. Because of its high fiber content, this type is good for growing in heavy soils. Always sow carrot seeds directly in the garden, as they don’t transplant well.

Tomato ‘Glacier’

Small fruits with big flavor are perfect for any dish.

Sun-ripened tomatoes are a delight in summer. You can almost taste the sunshine when you bite into a fresh tomato. Growing your own can save on not just fresh tomatoes but sauces, soups, and more. They are easy to grow and love plenty of sun and heat, though they are not frost-tolerant. In climates with a short growing season, it’s best to choose a fast-growing variety. 

Given the lackluster flavor and elevated cost of tomatoes in store, it makes sense to add this to your vegetable crop list so you can lower overall grocery costs and enhance your meals.

‘Glacier’ is perfect for any climate. It’s a small to medium-sized plant that produces small fruits a bit larger than a cherry tomato. The fruits are bold and flavorful and taste great raw or cooked. They begin to mature about 55 days after planting and are semi-determinate. This means they will produce several spurts of growth over the season. 

Bell Pepper ‘California Wonder’

Harvest them green or let them ripen to red.

Bell peppers are another versatile vegetable that is easy to grow and produces a significant amount of fruit. They can be quite expensive in grocery stores, so growing your own crop lowers costs and ensures they’re available throughout the warm season.

I find peppers to be one of the easiest veggies to grow, as they have few pests and fewer diseases to contend with. They’re also one of the few vegetables that the squirrels won’t devour on the vine. 

‘California Wonder’ is a big, beautiful bell pepper. The consistent shape and size make them excellent for stuffing, and they make the most beautiful rings. You can harvest while they are green or hold off and let them sweeten as they turn bright, ruby red. This heirloom variety is about 100 years old! They take about 75 to fully mature.

Cucumber ‘Tasty Green’

Grow your own hydrating, crunchy treats all season long.

Do you love pickles? It’s so easy to grow your own cucumbers! Cukes are low in calories and carbohydrates, but they have a high water content. They are great for a little extra hydration and have a satisfying crunch. Chop them up in salads, slice them for sandwiches, or pickle and preserve them. 

There are a wide array of cucumber varieties, but I’m a fan of the Japanese cultivars. These long, thin cucumbers have thin, delicate skin and little to no seeds. ‘Tasty Green’ has no bitter taste, tender flesh, and sweet skin. It’s a great producer, and you can grow it on a trellis for space savings. 

Bush Beans ‘Jade’

Harvest tender, disease-resistant beans all season long.

Bush beans are a family favorite at my house. They hold up well to canning, and pickling, and who doesn’t like a creamy green bean casserole? The plants are attractive as well, with climbing tendrils and delicate white blossoms, you might want to grow these for their ornamental value. 

There are different types of green beans, and bush varieties are compact and great producers. ‘Jade’ has tender, beautiful, dark green pods that are straight and stringless. It’s a disease-resistant cultivar that’s heat—and cold-tolerant. 

Directly sow bean seeds in the garden. They don’t transplant well as their roots are sensitive. In mild climates, you can succession plant these from a week after your last frost date until early fall. 

Onion ‘Walla Walla’

A great harvest of sweet onions starts from seeds.

With all the recipes that call for onions, it definitely makes sense to add these to your garden this year. Depending on the type, some are more tolerant of cold weather than others. Long-day onions fare better in cooler climates. Short-day prefer warm climates. 

If you’re growing from seeds, they are tiny, so it’s best to start them indoors where they won’t get blown away. If you plant them from sets you’ll have a shorter wait. Sets are small, dormant bulbs. 

‘Walla Walla’ onions are famously sweet and juicy. The bulbs grow quite large, so you’ll have a great harvest. This heirloom traveled to Walla Walla, Washington all the way from Italy!

Broccoli ‘Belstar’

Heat-tolerant variety offers flavorful florets and great harvests.

If you love broccoli, it makes perfect sense to grow a crop of this tasty, grocery-cost-lowering veggie. It’s an incredible source of vitamin C and B6, and it contains tons of digestive healthy fiber. It’s also a great source of potassium and contains DIM (Diindolylmethane) which studies are uncovering the many health benefits of. 

Broccoli is a cool-weather vegetable. Start these small seeds indoors and transplant them a week or two before your last frost date. You can also plant it in the fall in mild climates for a winter harvest. It has great cold tolerance. 

‘Belstar’ is a compact variety that produces many side shoots, which means more tasty florets. The primary heads are large and dense. This cultivar is more heat tolerant than most, making it a great choice for warmer climates. 

With a name like ‘Early Prolific Straightneck,’ it’s no surprise that this heirloom variety has been popular for almost 100 years. The flesh is firm and fine-textured on this All-America Selections winner. 

Potato ‘Satina’

Grow potatoes in two months for a bountiful harvest.

Potatoes are another staple in my kitchen. My brother has always said, ‘I never met a potato I didn’t like,’ and the rest of the family echoes that sentiment. They are such a versatile crop, with endless possibilities for preparation. 

Potatoes don’t grow from seeds, so the term potato seeds refers to sprouted potatoes. You plant these in a trench, and in as little as two months, you’ll have a bountiful harvest. If you allow the skin to dry before storing, they have a long storage life. They also freeze well. 

‘Satina’ is a high-yielding golden potato with smooth, tender skin and creamy, yellow flesh. This cultivar is highly disease-resistant and tolerates sandy soil and dry weather. 

Garlic ‘Silver White’

This garlic variety stores well for up to a year.

Garlic is like onions in that it shows up in many recipes across a wide range of culinary styles. Growing your own crop can lower your grocery costs and significantly improve meal flavor. It needs some cold stratification, so it’s best to directly sow your seed garlic in the fall, about two months before your first anticipated frost date.