Where does half the world’s refined sugar come from?
Sugar beets!
Sugar beets have 20% sugar, which is more than double the sugar content of normal red beets. These sweet root vegetables are the driving source of some of our favorite treats.
It’s crazy to think that a vegetable is helping meet our nation’s sugar demands.
However, vegetables have so many versatile uses that they can be used for meals, health aides, and even in desserts. If you want your life to explode with flavor and nutrients, then you should start a garden.
What are the best vegetables to grow as a beginner? Read on to find out!
1. Lovely Lettuce
First, on our list of the best vegetables to grow, let us talk about lettuce. As you’re ready to grow lettuce, you’ll want to make sure you’re planting your seeds at the right time of year. We find that lettuce does the best implanted in either the spring or fall. As long as you plant your seeds in an area that receives plenty of sunlight you should be good to go.
It’s also a good idea to choose an area that has at least some shade to protect the baby cabbage heads from the heat. Are you planning on planting in the late summer? If yes, then planted an area with more shade than sunlight. As the summer begins to cool down, you can find ways to reduce the shade, so the plants can thrive.
If you’re noticing that your lettuce doesn’t seem to be grown as fast as you’d like it to, it could be your soil. Go ahead and get a soil test kit from your local hardware store to check the ph levels.
2. Iron Packed Spinach
After your lettuce is all set and ready to go, you can begin to plant your spinach seeds! Spinach prefers neutral or alkaline soil so the pH levels should be at 7 or higher. If you have sandy soil, you may need to get a soil kit before you can begin planting. Spinach plants have a voracious appetite, so you’ll need to use a lot of fertilizer. We suggest using at least 4 lb of fertilizer for every 100 ft of planting area.
Whatever you do, keep the fertilizer at least 6 in away from the base of the spinach plants. If the fertilizer touches the spinach plants, it could burn them, and stop them from growing at all. Since spinach plants do the best and cool weather, you’ll want to wait until the fall season to begin planting.
As you begin putting your seeds in place, keep the rows about 14 to 18 in apart. Next, cover the tops of the seeds with about half an inch of soil. You want the soil to be moist, to give the seeds the best chance of germinating.
3. Heart-Healthy Tomatoes
Next, on our list of the easiest vegetables to grow, we have tomatoes. Did you know that tomatoes are packed with vitamins k, c, as well as folate and potassium? As if their nutrient value wasn’t enough, tomatoes are also a wonderful source of antioxidant lycopene. It’s believed that eating tomatoes can help reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease at the same time!
Since there are so many different types of tomatoes out there, you’ll want to refer to specific planting directions for the plant species you’re choosing. For instance, did you want to plant tomatoes that you could use for a pasta sauce? If yes, we suggest trying your hand at planting Roma’s, since they’re perfect for cooking.
Beefsteak tomatoes are thick and juicy which makes them a wonderful addition to any burger. Whereas, cherry tomatoes have a sweet and delicate taste, which makes them a big hit for kids! When it comes to choosing the best fertilizer for tomatoes, you’ll want to buy from a reputable source. Next, once you know the type of tomato you want to plant, you can begin to find the perfect growing habitat.
Why Cage a Tomato Plant?
If it’s going to be a bush variety of tomato, you can expect the plant to get around 3 ft tall. Oftentimes bush tomatoes do well in a cage environment. However, certain determinate tomato plants can be some of the best vegetables to grow in pots. If you’re not using a bush variety tomato, the plant could produce fruit the entire season.
Indeterminate varieties of tomato plants can get as tall as 5 ft! You’ll want to cage these fruity stocks while they’re young. Another advantage of staking or caging your tomato plants is that you’ll be keeping them safe from diseases that ground plants are prone to.
4. Vision Enhancing Carrots
Last but not least, you owe it to yourself to include carrots in your garden. Similar to tomatoes, you’ll have a lot of different carrot plants to choose from. If you want small and thin carrots, then look into Amsterdam plants. Were you interested in long, traditional-looking carrots? If yes, then Thumberline could be a perfect carrot choice.
As far as planting goes, you’ll want to wait till early springtime to put your carrot seeds in the soil. If it’s too hot the carrots could be stunted, or have an unpleasant flavor. Whereas if it’s too cold, the carrots could be pale and tasteless. Before you plant your seeds, make sure that your soil is healthy.
The best soil will be moist and have at least one foot of death. After planting the seeds, you’ll want to water them every week. Carrots need about 1 in of water a week to thrive. Keep in mind that if there’s heavy rainfall, you won’t need to water them as much.
Start Exploring the Best Vegetables to Grow
There you have it! Now you know about a few of the best vegetables to grow in your garden. From nutrient-packed leafy greens to flavorful carrots, there are so many different vegetables that can enhance your life.
Look at the different flavors of Roma tomatoes versus beefsteak tomatoes, and consider which ones will work best for you. Finally, go ahead and get some seeds and start preparing your soil. For more tips like these, look at the rest of our site.