How To Decide What To Grow

I really enjoy choosing what to grow. It is a task I do in winter, often at Christmas or soon after, a period where there is very little work to do outside, allowing me to enjoy sitting inside, in the warmth, and picturing in my mind hot summer months and harvesting crops.

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There are many things to consider when creating a growing plan, and on this page I have compiled a list of what I find most helpful when deciding what to grow.

Keeping Things Simple

The most basic point, but one that I have failed to heed many times, is to only grow crops that I will enjoy eating. When looking through seed catalogues, I am often tempted by the gorgeous photography or a variety of vegetable I have never seen before. It is all too easy to give in to temptation. The trouble is that whilst I may enjoy the first turnip, or swede, I am highly unlikely to want to eat a whole row. The same can apply to fruit too, perhaps goji berries or cranberries are examples not enjoyed by the many. At the end of the day, there is more satisfaction in eating nice things, than growing crops that looks nice.

It is even better if the crops I enjoy eating are easy to grow. There are many that fall into this category, such as potatoes, shallots, onions, beetroot, chard, or squash. This is where I like to innovate and try new varieties. Gardening is hard work, and if I am investing my time, I like to have a reward that I am confident I will enjoy. This is not to say there is not a place for experimentation, but I've learned to double check my growing list to see that the majority of crops, and the space they will need, is dedicated to plants that are likely to grow well and that I will enjoy eating.

Novelty Growing

One of the wonderful aspects of growing fruit, vegetables, herbs, and flowers, is discovering the great range of varieties there are available to grow. Taking the humble carrot as one example, they come long and short, round, thin, or fat, and in many different colours.

It is not only the physical appearance that differs. The growing characteristics vary as well, whether they can be planted early or late in the season, their tolerance to disease, drought, and speed of growth.

Most important of all, a gardener can experience a great difference in taste between the same crop. For fruit, these differences are commonly referred to by grouping varieties into culinary use, for example dessert apples or cooking apples. However, even where groupings don't formally exist, there can be great differences in taste. Sweet cherry tomatoes really are much sweeter than plum tomatoes.

Fruit and vegetable breeders are constantly innovating to improve the characteristics of plants. I never appreciated just how much innovation is taking place until I started to grow my own crops and began to see the differences first hand.

Grow Crops Not Available In Shops

One of the reasons why I applied for my first allotment was that I wanted to experience eating fresh gooseberries again. I had a childhood memory of eating gooseberries, and I wanted to enjoy again the wonderful sharp sensation of biting into their green flesh. I also wanted to remember what white currants and redcurrants tasted like.

There was also a greedy motivation as well. In my teenage years I worked in the holidays as a fruit picker on a local farm, and I learned that it is possible to enjoy eating many more strawberries or raspberries than are typically sold in a normal sized punnet (that are expensive to buy!). Related, I had an ambition to make my own wine which requires a large quantity of fruit, and buying this quantity in shops was too expensive.

Aside from fruit, what I have learned over the years is that my favourite homegrown varieties of potatoes, tomatoes, squash, peas, and chard (to name a few) are simply not sold in shops. This is one of the main reasons why I continue to grow my own, as I look forward to when my favourite varieties will be back in season.

Harvesting Month By Month

I think there is nothing more motivating for a home grower than the feeling of success gained by eating what they have grown, and with planning, it is possible to experience this all year round.

A quick summary of what is available by season is:

Spring
Vegetables including broccoli, leeks, asparagus, and spring greens, whilst for fruit, it is the start of the rhubarb season.

Summer
The peak time for the majority of crops. The difficulty is avoiding a glut in any week or month, which is possible to achieve by successional sowing and choosing different varieties that mature at different times.

Autumn
A polytunnel is an excellent way of extending the harvest season for crops like tomatoes, chillies, peppers, and cucumbers. Traditional tree fruit like apples and pears are in peak season. With correct storage, crops like potatoes, carrots, shallots, onions, and winter squash will last for many months.

Winter
The peak time for vegetables like leeks, brussels sprouts, and parsnips (grown in the summer, but dug up as required in the winter). These complement the other stored vegetables from autumn. Fruit can be enjoyed from the freezer, or perhaps even as jams or jellies.

Planning is the crucial step for success. For an experienced gardener who has learned the rhythm of the gardening year, innovation in crop varieties is always creating new opportunities to grow fruit and vegetables for earlier or later harvests. For a new starter to growing, the amount of decisions to be taken (as well as the thought of all the work that needs doing) can be overwhelming.

For more information of what crops are available when, see the planning tools section harvesting month by month.

Vitamins & Minerals

Fruit and vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals which are essential to the growth and functioning of our bodies, and the only way of meeting our vitamin and mineral needs is to consume them in our diet.

Whilst a garden or allotment is most likely to supply only a part of a gardener's diet, it can be helpful to consider the nutritional content of each crop for a balanced intake of nutrients. For example, carrots and chard are very high in vitamin A, garlic and beans provide B vitamins, spinach and kale are rich in folic acid, whilst chillies and blackcurrants are full of vitamin C.

For a full breakdown of vitamins and minerals in fruit and vegetables, see the planning tools section growing for nutrition.

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