What is your Favorite vegetable to grow? and eat?

[Mare Owner]

I grew up not eating a lot of veggies, we ate spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, and pizza a lot. So here I am trying to learn to grow veggies and I don't know what any of them taste like! I know I like a few, and did grow some last year, but I want some new things to add to our plates this year. There are SO many in the catalogs, I don't even know where to start.

So can you all share your favorite veggie to grow? And what is your favorite to eat, how do you prepare it?

[mrmushypeas]

I grew up not eating a lot of veggies, we ate spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, and pizza a lot. So here I am trying to learn to grow veggies and I don't know what any of them taste like! I know I like a few, and did grow some last year, but I want some new things to add to our plates this year. There are SO many in the catalogs, I don't even know where to start.

So can you all share your favorite veggie to grow? And what is your favorite to eat, how do you prepare it?

When I started my patch, I found it helpful to go to a web site of some garden centre/chain that has a garden calendar advising what to plant for the month (sorry I can't recommend one for your part of the world) Pick a couple of the vegies you think you'll like, and one you like the sound of.

You'll soon learn what grows best for your location, what you like etc.

Good luck & Happy growing.

[Peggy Sue]

When I first joined this forum I had just got an allotment and some kind soul recommended the real seed company (try to google it) for really good quality and value organic seeds, lots of unusual stuff, heritage varieties but really easy to grow and selected for gardeners not shops!

I bought some carrots which even though they didn't get planted til July have been really easy and am enjoying them now. Also really easy from them was Pak Choi. It looks a bit like a cross between celery and lettuce and I've eaten it as salad, stir fried as sort of chinese style, or just chopped up as green veg. It was amazingly hardy and for an oriental veg it has survived -3C and still going strong!
Spinach (Perpetual spinach / swiss chard) is very very easy to grow- make sure you really like it as it will really grow!!
Remember to plant stuff that comes at different times of the year so you get something freah all year- I overdid the stuff ready in August and just couldn't eat it all!

Onions are easy, especially if you get sets, and you can put them in anything (including Pizza!) so is garlic, just get a clove and put it in and wait!!

ISomething else I had which was quick to grow and easy was turnip greens, if you like green leafy veg with a strong taste they shot up quickly, if you want something a bit more subtle then try the poiny cabbage. I found the taste of alot of veg is more powerful when you grow your own to beware taste buds!

Have fun discovering and don't be afraid to try new stuff its just so much fun. get down the market and try that veg, fall in love and grow it, fall in love all over again!!

[QuakerBear]

Best to grow: tomatoes and onions.

Best to eat: aubergine. Eat it griddled (hot or cold with good oil drizzeled over it), turned into chutney, sliced and grilled, fried as rings, curried, oooh and stuffed with rice, tomatoes and meat and baked in the oven. Mmmm, feeling hungry now.

[multiveg]

I recall my father, silly so and so, once sowed 3 rows of lettuce on the same day. Webbs Wonderful was wonderfully perfect. Apart from eat it in salads (and burden neighbours with some), there's not a lot else to do with them. I've heard of lettuce soup. Can't really freeze lettuce (freezer also wasn't big enough!).

Peas - just love them on the plot. Unfortunately, eating them straight away isn't good for working out yield! Suppose it could be calculated by counting the number of pods strewn along the row...!

[old tree man]

My favourite veg is swede (they call it turnip localy "why i d'ont know)
steamed and then mashed with real butter salt and black pepper
its a serious yum moment

[mrsflibble]

grow: tomatoes, so easy and so satisfying
eat: hmmm.... think I have to either side with my soph and say Brocolli, or maybe spinach. it's just so versatile, i whack it in everything while it's cheap and in season.

[Esther.R]

Peas! Beth (2) and I love eating peas from the garden. Tomatoes are very good too and both are nice and easy which suits me!

[Green Rosie]

or maybe spinach. it's just so versatile, i whack it in everything while it's cheap and in season.

In fact even easier than spinach (IMHO) is Swiss Chard- and you get 2 plants for the price of one - leaves you use like spinach plus stems you can use like celery or thrown into virtually any stew/stir-fry/pasta sauce/pizza topping etc. Plus you can eat the thinnings raw in or cooked.

Yum yum

[red]

I dont think i can decide....

[Wombat]

Broccoli!!!!!!

Harvest the main head then all the side shoots progressively. My favourite way to eat it is stir fried with a bit of vegetarian oyster sauce, oh yeah!

Years ago I used to work in China and Taiwan, and when you ask for a plate of "vegetables" you get one type, usually choi sum. Anyway after several weeks of this I was in a hotel in Taiwan and did the usal veggie thing and they brought out a plate of broccoli, and it was WONDERFUL!

Nev

[Mare Owner]

Thanks for sharing! One of my problems is that I don't know how to cook veggies either, so I really appreciate you all saying how you like to eat them. Yummy!

[mauzi]

Gee mare owner, that is a hard question and I am having trouble deciding as well. I guess in Spring my favourite would be asparagus and globe artichokes along with peas and new potatoes in Summer it would be squash and corn in Autumn it would be brocolli and asian greens of various types and in Winter it would be Swede, Parsnip and Spinach. As you can guess I love veges

There are so many great ways to prepare veges as well - the best way is to find a couple of good, well explained cook books and work your way through it. My DH is a chef so he is a bit of a hard act to follow but I do love to quiz him.

[Helsbells]

I loved mu cougettes and cucumbers last year, cucumbers are sooo much better from the allotment that from the shops.
As for cooking steaming is probably the healthiest way, you lose the nutrients in the water if you boil them so avoid that. The best ways to eat veg are to cook them as little as possible as the more you cook them the more they lose their nutrients. Stir frys are great cos they are quick.
Have fun experimenting!

[Ellendra]

My favorites to grow are tomatoes and squash. There are more I'd like to try growing, but I lost my garden 7 years ago and haven't gotten another one yet.

To eat, I like tomatoes, squash, peas, carrots, parsnips, sweet corn, beets, and a whole bunch that I'm missing but I can't remember right now.

Most veggies work fine just tossed in a stew. Squash, while it makes an ok stew, works better by itself in my opinion. For winter squash, cut in half, scoop out the seeds, bake until soft, and eat with cream and cinnimon. For summer squash, slice or dice into chunks, heat a skillet with a bit of butter and olive oil, and when the oil is sizzling hot toss the squash in. You want it crispy on the outside but still a bit crunchy in the center. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and enjoy!

I recommend a good cookbook, like "From Asperigus to Zucchinni".

-Ellendra
PS: I'm from Wisconsin, just a few hours from you!

PPS: I knoow my typing stinks, you try typing with a cat wresting your arm!