Foods Everyone Should Be Growing In Their Backyard

1. Kale

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This leafy green superhero is all the rage and will perhaps remain so forever. It will not only help you look cool and healthy, but you can also wear it as a chic wig when your hair is not at its best. Kidding! (wink, wink.) Moreover, kale can withstand very cold temperatures and usually tastes better after being kissed by frost. Although regular watering will lessen the bitter flavor, it may grow more bitter throughout the hottest days of summer.

2. Radish

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Despite being so tiny, they have a big attitude. And just so you know, growing radishes will have you dance your "rooted" moves. As little as three weeks after planting, these resilient root vegetables are ready for harvest, making them an excellent last-minute crop. Even though they are famous for their bright roots, you can actually eat the entire plant!

3. Pumpkin

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Why hold out on having fun till Halloween? Plant pumpkins and organize a pumpkin bowling competition in your area! And when you have gourds, why would you need bowling balls? We have two words for you if you're weighing whether you should grow pumpkins in your garden: pumpkin pie. And while you'll need to make some room for this winter squash for the pie, if you've got it, definitely plant it!

4. Carrots

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Interested in enchanting your friends with your gastronomic prowess? Grow some carrots and announce you've found an underground treasure. Jokes aside, did you know that carrots harvested straight from the garden taste considerably sweeter? That's only one of the numerous benefits of growing this vibrant root vegetable in your backyard.

5. Melons

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Get ready to learn the art of juggling; your ability to balance will be tested when you try to bring melons inside without them falling on your toes. Let's be honest; without melons, summer really isn't summer. From late spring to early fall, the garden is a thriving place to grow honeydews, cantaloupes, watermelons, and other melon types. These vines produce a ton, and wow, it's worth it!

6. Tomatoes

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Ever wondered what it would feel like to be a tomato whisperer? Now you can do it, but just be careful not to be overheard talking with your plants; doing so could land you in the neighborhood gossip section! When the plants are established, homegrown tomatoes are significantly easier to manage and have superior flavor to those purchased at the shop. Tomato plants grow well in soil, pots, or vertical gardens and are incredibly versatile in food.

7. Strawberries

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When you plant strawberries, your backyard becomes a fruity treasure hunt. Just ensure you wear your camouflage, or the squirrels might get to them before you do! You should plant strawberries in your garden even if they aren't technically vegetables. Because strawberries are perennials, they will show up yearly; they are also excellent container crops.

8. Zucchini

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Tired of the same old pool toys? After your children learn to use zucchinis as floating devices in the pool, you will watch their eyes light up as you plant them. Those who grow them make jokes about dropping their extra zucchini on a neighbor's doorstep, ringing the doorbell, and running away because they are known for being so simple to grow and so prolific: A single growing season can provide six to 10 pounds of zucchini from a single plant!

9. Garlic

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You can fight off vampires by using the superpowers you gain from growing garlic. You're the real deal; forget the Twilight series! You won't believe how simple garlic is to cultivate, though. It emerges among the earliest things in the spring and comes in two varieties. The first type is dubbed "softneck," which has many cloves and lasts longer; the second variety is known as "hardneck" and yields curly "scapes" that can be harvested in late spring.

10. Onions

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The ultimate ninja veggie — like, the ultimate — is the onion. If you grow them, you'll have an effective defense against any unwelcome visitors: onion breath. Plant them in the springtime for a mid- to late-summer harvest (depending on the climate you live in). However, you can also sow them in the fall (they stay dormant and emerge when spring comes).

11. Potatoes

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In the vegetable world, potatoes are akin to MacGyver. You can turn them into chips, fries, mashed potatoes, or even a makeshift football in an emergency. They are such adaptable vegetables both in the kitchen and the backyard. Potatoes can be harvested six to eight weeks later after planting, or you can choose later harvest kinds that are ready to get out before the first frosts.

12. Peppers

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Beware! Growing peppers will transform into a fire-breathing dragon — figuratively speaking, of course. Peppers do nicely in beds, pots, or on bright patios and decks since they enjoy the heat. Unless you have the chance to start them indoors about six to eight weeks before the last frost, transplants are a better option. Make sure you leave them enough room because most pepper types require staking.

13. Mint

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Forget about purchasing chewing gum from the supermarket; just pick a leaf and become an environmentally responsible, minty-fresh expert! Mint is an incredibly resilient herb that can grow in almost any place — in my backyard, it is a perennial that I grow all summer long. Mint is also excellent for encouraging healthy digestion in addition to refreshing your breath.

14. Cucumbers

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Want to master the art of cucumber facials? You'll spend less on spa visits if you grow your own cucumbers, plus you'll have countless selfie opportunities. Since most cucumber varieties are vines that enjoy heat, you'll need some room to cultivate them. Give them a cage or trellis on which to climb vertically, and ensure to get the compact, round, yellow, or miniature kinds.

15. Spinach

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Popeye spoke from experience: Plant spinach and watch yourself grow into a superhero that flexes in front of mirrors. This iron-rich food thrives in cool climates, so plant the seeds immediately as the ground can be worked. Don't wait too long to plant it since it will "bolt" or quickly go to seed. If you live somewhere hot, search for spinach kinds that can withstand that kind of weather.

16. Herbs

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Fresh herbs can even be grown on a balcony, no matter how small it is! Snipping off a few leaves for each meal is so much more enjoyable and far more affordable than purchasing those expensive packets from the shop. Herbs that grow nicely in beds or containers include coriander, chives, sage, thyme, basil, etc. Also, several of these herbs are perennials, so they will return in the spring.

17. Caneberries

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Be ready for the backyard birds' onslaught! Your garden will become an avian paradise if you grow caneberries, with you as the center of attention. Caneberries, like raspberries and blackberries, produce delicious fruits for you and your family, as well as for insects like butterflies and birds.

18. Peas

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Peas are the best food choice to hone your pitching abilities: Plant them, then bring some buddies around for a game of pea shooting. Safety glasses are advised! Jokes aside, if you put peas in the ground too late, they will grow but not produce (since they enjoy chilly weather). Ensure you plant successive rows to be able to gather them for a few weeks before it gets scorching hot and the plants fade. Give them something to climb on, too.

19. Lettuce

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Planting lettuce in your backyard is like having your own little green, leafy carpet to pose on. You can also host elegant dinner parties and act like you're having supper in a fine establishment. Lettuce thrives nicely when planted as seeds in cool climates. Harvest once the leaves are a few inches long.

20. Broccoli

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Let your children see the uglier side of the vegetable kingdom, and tell them they're eating little trees from the enchanted forest! This "well-liked" vegetable sells for about $1–$5 a head at retail stores, but depending on how often your household consumes it, it may be a cheap food to grow yourself. Think about it.

21. Beets

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Beets are a simple and sweet food option that can also contain sugars, besides being a source of vitamins. Depending on the kind you have in your garden, you can find both savory and sweet purposes for them. The greens are also edible, so there you go; you have a secondary food supply from the greens that very few other root crops give!

22. Eggplants

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Oh, the drama queens of the vegetable world! Plant these royal veggies and watch how their stunning purple apparel makes them the center of attention. What's best, newer varieties of eggplant are more compact and bushy, so they can be planted in containers or beds. Look for intriguing cultivars that give long, thin, or even ball-shaped produce.

23. Celery

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Looking for even simpler foods to grow in the backyard? Planting celery will have you enjoying fresh, pesticide-free produce. Whether you want it for its crunchy texture made for salads or enjoy its distinct flavor in soups and stews, this is a vegetable you can grow with just a few easy steps. It is also one of the few bizarre foods that will reproduce itself if you submerge its roots in water.

24. Corn

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Corn is like an edible fireworks display of nature, so get ready for a ready-made light show if you grow this vegetable. Your corn can be dried, nixtamalized to boost its nutrient richness, and milled into flour once it is ready for harvest (which stays fresh in an airtight container). Another advantage of corn is that it makes a fantastic trellis for bean plants.

25. Apples

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An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but growing apple trees will keep your backyard lively with squirrels honing their tightrope-walking skills! Apple trees are undoubtedly the greatest fruit trees for everyone to grow. They are also relatively low maintenance once established, but it's crucial to know when to prune them to get the best produce possible.

26. Sweet potatoes

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Why did the sweet potato go to the gym? Because it wanted to become a "yam"azing fitness spud! On a serious note, a single sweet potato can yield up to 16 plantable branches, known as slips, and is simple to propagate. With good care, each plant can yield 10 to 20 sweet potatoes, and they can be harvested 100 to 150 days after planting. Way to go, sweet potato!

27. Cabbage

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Need a workout partner? Plant cabbage, and when it's ready to harvest, start practicing your wrestling moves. It's a wonderful workout session and a good excuse to don a superhero cape! Seriously now, if you want to cultivate cabbage, make sure to set aside a sunny place in your garden since this sturdy, green crop grows with six to eight hours of bright sunlight per day.

28. Grapes

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Who needs a vacation in Italy or France when you have your very own vineyard in your backyard? Invite friends over for wine tastings under the mighty vines, and they'll feel as though they traveled through time and space to a European country. The "It's like I've never tasted a grape before" flavor and the old-world beauty they add to the yard are enough to make you want to plant some.

29. Beans

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Beans are prolific and available in a huge variety; additionally, the more you harvest, the more they grow! Look for bush beans or pole beans, which grow in a more compact form and may be cultivated in containers. Side note: pole beans require a lot of space and a trellis to climb.

30. Pineapple

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Last but not least, pineapples are the exotic VIPs of the fruit world. If you grow them, you'll instantly become the most well-liked person at your next luau. The pineapple plant itself is a charming subject for the landscape, even if it never yields any fruit. A loop of sword-shaped leaves that can spread out to be up to six feet wide makes for a stunning display, no?

31. Blackcurrants

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Blackcurrants may sound similar to blackberries, but they're not the same! Blackcurrants are definitely something you'll want to be growing in your garden - and it's very easy to do - if you want a huge, generous dose of vitamin C - because why wouldn't you? The blackcurrant has also been shown through some studies to be a good food for prevention of dementia, Parkinson's disease, certain cancers and heart disease. As well as having a richly striking color that will look good against any plants, in any garden! They're also anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory.

32. Runner beans

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If you want to grow another healthy food in your garden - and, bonus, runner beans are nice and green so they're always going to look good in any garden! - you definitely want to give growing runner beans a go. These beans are a huge source of healthy potassium for your diet, and they're also chock full of calcium, which is good news for your bones! Growing your own will save you stocking up on them from the supermarket, and you can also benefit from their levels of magnesium which will help your body's healthy function, too.

33. Plums

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Plums are another richly purple food you'll want to grow in your garden (and they'll look great against those blackcurrants!) that also have great health benefits. This is another food item that will not only look great in your garden, but is also full of all the right vitamins and minerals. Plums - or even dried plums, prunes - are known for their anti-inflammatory properties and their antioxidant properties. Plums have also been known for being linked with better memory function, as well as even helping to reduce allergies.

34. Foods you should seriously be eating right now! Chia seeds

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Chia seeds are such a simple thing to add to your meal plan, but will make such a huge health difference. You don't even need to do anything with them, you can just sprinkle them in your cereal, porridge, soup - any meal you make - and reap the benefits! Chia seeds are classed as a superfood because of the huge boost of health benefits you'll get: omega fatty acids, calcium, fiber as well as it being a complete protein ready to go for you to add to anything. You can buy big packs of chia seeds to just have ready to go in your kitchen!

35. Swiss chard

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Swiss chard can come in green, or it can come as bright colorful 'rainbow' chard. It's another leafy green that's hugely packed with nutrients to keep your body working as it should. The great thing about swiss chard is it's actually the perfect alternative for people who struggle with the taste of other popular leafy greens, like kale and spinach. While the latter too can be a little earthy and touch, swiss chard is basically just a lettuce-tasting vegetable, so it's less offensive! And it still has all the good stuff you'd get from spinach and kale.

36. Collard greens

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If in doubt of things you should be eating, always go for big leafy greens! Here's another you need to know about: collard greens. Collard greens are pretty much the lesser known cousins of kale, but they still have all the same nutrients and key vitamins like vitamin K and vitamin C. You also have the bonus of vitamin E with collard greens, and they're also packed with folate and magnesium. Collard greens have also been known to be a good food for fighting off cancers, due to the wealth of healthy vitamins and minerals.

37. Bee pollen

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Did you ever think you could eat bee pollen? While you might have a pot of honey on your shelf, not many people know you can actually use bee pollen to eat - and something healthy to eat at that. Bee pollen is actually considered a superfood, and its main focus for your diet is a whole load of protein. It's actually a better source of protein than a lot of animal products. You can use bee pollen in a lot of recipes, and to sprinkle over your food items. Or, you can buy products made with bee pollen, and reap the benefits of essential amino acids and vitamins A, C, E and B!

38. Moringa leaf

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The leaf of the moringa tree isn't well known as a food, and the moringa tree is mostly grown and used in the regions of south and southeast Asia. The moringa tree can be grown itself, but it's the leaf you'll want for you food. You can buy products readymade with moringa leaf, too, rather than the raw leaf itself. The moringa leaf is packed with nutrients, including calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium. It's also a great source of protein and iron, and boasts key amino acids. So as you can see, this leaf is a pretty big deal!

39. Cacao beans

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You might not have known that the cacao bean is actually a healthy food choice, and we understand why - when you think of the cacao bean, you of course think of chocolate, and we know that's a rocky road to stuffing our face! But the cacao bean itself - because the process that makes it unhealthy, like having a load of sugar and dairy added to it - is actually a healthy superfood. The best way to get the benefits of the cacao bean itself before it goes through the chocolate process is to add to a smoothie. This is why dark chocolate is also considered the healthiest, because it's closer to the raw cacao bean.

40. Blueberries

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Blueberries are extremely healthy, and they're such an easy snack, too. You can pop on top of yogurt, oatmeal, cereal or mix in a smoothie - or, just eat as they are! Blueberries are known particularly for being a brain-boosting fruit, as they can help to improve your memory. If you eat them consistently from your younger years, too, they could also help to support better cognitive function as you get older. If you're worried about your blueberries going off, you can also buy frozen blueberries to store which will still freeze the antioxidants they contain!

41. Turmeric

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Turmeric is well known for being a spice in powder form (and it's also kicked off in the skincare world for being a good face care mask!) and it's one that's most likely found in a lot of your favorite curries. This spice has a lot of health benefits, including the fact it helps to target free radicals, protect against inflammation and also help with functioning memory. It's known for its bright yellow/orange color, but you might have just thought it was something to add a kick and color to curries! You can buy it in its root form, too.

42. Acai

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Acai berries are known for being small and purple-blue colored (kind of like blueberries, but a little bigger). They're known for being great antioxidant foods, so if you're a fan of putting berries in your smoothies, on your cereal or on your porridge, this is a healthy berry you'll want! Acai is also known for combatting aging, heart disease and helping to fight against cancer. It also includes something called oleic acid, which is a healthy fat that your body needs. It's also great for muscle support because it has the right amino acid complex.

43. Lingonberries

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Lingonberries are another berry superfood, known for their bright red color - but they're most known in Sweden, because they're locally grown there, meaning a lot of Swedish recipes use these berries. That isn't to say the rest of the world can't benefit from the health perks, though! Lingonberries can help to reduce inflammation, give antioxidants a boost, increase red blood cell count and also support your liver enzymes. This is all because lingonberries contain a huge amount of plant polyphenols, which is a good thing!

44. Beets

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We all recognize beets for their bright red-purple color, and they're easy to grow in your own garden, or buy if you're not green fingered! Either way, you'll want to make sure you're stocking up on beets, because they're very healthy. Beets are known for being messy (you best not eat them while wearing a white top!) but it's worth it to get a dose of betalain, a phytonutrient that can help to keep you healthy by fighting against tumors. You can also eat (and benefit from) the beet greens, which contain something called lutein.

45. Black beans

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Black beans are a great source of protein, and especially if you're vegetarian or vegan these should be a key part of most of your meals! They're so easy to throw into any recipe, and you can then enjoy around 15 grams of protein for every cup. The reason this is also a good option for meat-eaters if you want to switch out red meat from time to time is that it's still a high source of protein, but you won't get any of the saturated fats that you get from red meat. For those who don't eat meat anyway, it's a win win with being protein and no saturated fat! Black beans also don't have a strong taste, so they pair well with anything.

46. Green tea

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We know this isn't a food, but it's definitely worth mentioning for something you need in your kitchen! You might have heard on the grapevine that green tea has a wealth of benefits, and it's true - so you'll definitely want to get at least one cup a day in! One of its biggest health benefits is boosting your metabolism and speeding it up, so you can burn more calories during the day - perfect if you're on a special diet plan to maintain weight. Its other health benefits include keeping the brain youthful, regulating glucose levels and reducing bad cholesterol!

47. Walnuts

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Most nuts will have a wealth of health benefits, so if you prefer other nuts to walnuts, make sure you're getting them in your meals, too. Most nuts will provide a healthy dose of protein and often zinc. With a special mention for walnuts, these in particular will give a big dose of zinc, copper and manganese - and, another great thing about walnuts, is they're the 'happiest' nuts around. That's because they're known for being a huge serotonin booster, so you'll definitely feel good and positive when you eat a bunch of these!

48. Coconut oil

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In this day and age, more and more people have moved to the benefits of coconut, whether oil or water. Coconut oil in particular is a good switch up for cooking instead of olive oil, or just to add to your recipes. It's a popular choice for those looking for alternatives to butter for cooking and baking, too. Coconut oil contains lauric acid, which can help to regulate blood pressure and cholesterol levels. While coconut oil does have some saturated fats, it's the better option compared to processed oils which have a higher saturated fat content.

49. Cayenne

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You can eat cayenne as the pepper itself, or you can get cayenne spice/powder - whichever you'd prefer! Either way you'll get the health benefits - and here's what you need to know. As well as being a tasty spice, it also has the vitamins K, A and C - all good news for your body - as well as capsaicin, which helps to fend of inflammation. Cayenne is also known for stopping you from feeling too hungry, so it's a good choice for those people on a diet. Because of its spice, it's also known for raising body temperature, which is another good thing for burning calories!

50. Papaya

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Papaya is a delicious fruit, and it's also a good alternative if you're bored of oranges and other citrus fruits. While you might think oranges and orange juice are what you need for the flu when you're feeling run down, papaya is actually a better choice, because it has a whopping three times as much vitamin C as you should have daily. It also has vitamin B, magnesium, potassium, flavonoids, and is a great source of fiber. Its overall health benefits promote a healthy cardiovascular system, and you might even reduce the chances of colon cancer.