Choosing Which Plants to Grow

People often ask us which vegetables are the best to grow. The answer depends on a number of factors. Watch our video or read on for our three-step process which will help you make the right choices for your garden.

1. Produce a shortlist

The Garden Planner has a handy Filter button at the left hand side of the Selection Bar – this enables you to ask the Garden Planner to just show plants that match your requirements.

For example, you can ask it to show only plants which are easy to grow – perfect if you are a new gardener or can't commit much time to your garden – or you can choose plants from a particular crop family, such as brassicas, which are often grown together so that you can place netting over them to prevent pests from destroying the crop.

You can also select several criteria at once, such as selecting herbs that are shade-tolerant, frost-tolerant and can be planted in May in your location.

Once you have your shortlist, click on the Information box for each plant to see what you need to do to prepare your soil and check whether the plant has any special requirements, such as needing supports or protection from pests.

2. Choose crops that are appropriate for the space you have available

If you have a small garden, space will be at a premium and you'll probably want to grow high-value vegetables such as tomatoes and climbing beans which have high yields and are expensive to buy at the grocery store.

On the other hand, if your garden area is large you may wish to concentrate on growing plants that need little maintenance and are easy to store, such as potatoes or squash.

In each case our Garden Planner will show you just how many plants can be placed in the area. Hover over a row or block of plants to view the quantity, or drag the handles to adjust the area for the size of harvest you want.

3. Select your favorites

Narrow down your selection to vegetables that taste wonderful when freshly harvested. For example, once picked the sugars in sweet corn start to turn to starches, so there's nothing quite like the taste of garden-grown cobs picked just before eating. The same goes for fresh peas, which make a delicious healthy snack for kids.

As home gardeners we have access to many delicious varieties that don't suit the requirements of supermarkets, and growing more than one type each year is a great way to experiment and learn what's best for you.

By double-clicking any plant and then clicking on the drop-down box you'll be able to browse varieties, complete with their catalog descriptions to help you choose.

Choosing the best crops to grow takes time – you need to consider the space you have, the soil and climate, your favorite vegetables and whether you want to concentrate on short-lived-but-tasty summer harvests, or long-lasting storage crops.

Are you going to grow crops that save a lot of money, or ones that don't require much time? What about delicious new varieties that you can't buy in the shops?

Having all the information you need at your fingertips makes it easier to plan the right crops for your garden. By following these three steps when browsing your favorite seed catalog you can quickly produce your shortlist and plan for a bountiful harvest!

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What's next?

Find out how to master crop rotation with our simple color coded system here.