The Best Vegetables For Your Urban Garden

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With the winter weather upon us, it is a good time to begin planning this year’s garden. I recently came across this article, which I would like to share, discussing the best vegetable for an urban garden. The vegetables on this list are perfect because they conserve space yet produce a bountiful harvest.

1) Potatoes

Potatoes are a staple of so many diets around the world, especially in the United States. While traditionally considered a difficult crop, potatoes are now fairly easy to grow thanks to modern developments. Potato seeds are no bread to withstand disease, particularly the blight that caused the Irish Potato Famine. Given proper care when picking, potatoes are a long-storing vegetable that can be canned or dried for later use.

2) Carrots

Carrots are a popular plant when it comes to saving space. The seeds should be sown about 2 inches apart in the ground, or 32 per square foot in the raised bed. They can also be grown successfully in containers. Fresh-picked carrots are truly a delicacy, with a flavor that cannot be found in store-bought carrots.

3) Peas

Peas tend to be the first crop to ripen in the Spring. They can easily be grown in containers: 9 pea plants in a five-gallon bucket trained to grow up any type of trellis (whether it is a balcony railing, tomato cage stuck into the pot, etc.) can produce a nice amount of peas for such a small amount of space. While peas are best grown during the Spring weather, they can also be successfully grown during the fall.

4) Onions

Onions are extremely versatile and easy to grow from onion sets — available in stores or seed catalogs. Onions are used in a number of different dishes, from stir fry to burgers to soups. You can grow onions almost anywhere, but they are best suited to fertile soil in the ground in direct sun.

5) Beans

Whether they are the bush or pole beans, the plants do not take up too much space and produce an abundance of beats if given the right conditions and placement in the garden. Bush beans can conserve space in a raised bed while pole beans can save space by taking advantage of vertical space. They can be eaten fresh, used in a number of dishes, frozen or canned for later use.

6) Hot Pepper

Hot pepper refers to any pepper with a high concentration of capsicum, the chemical which causes spicy flavor in the pepper. Cayenne is a small and easy to grow pepper, producing a good-sized crop. They can be used in salads or tacos, as well as frozen for later use in things like chili or spices.

7) Zucchini

Zucchini can be easily grown in a container, with quite similar results as one grown in the ground. The real benefits of Zucchini are its small size and versatility. It can be grilled, baked in bread, or frozen for later use. Despite its small size, zucchini produces quite a lot. It is often said that one zucchini plant is all the home gardener needs.

8) Kohlrabi

Contrary to popular belief, Kohlrabi is quite a versatile vegetable. It can be eaten fresh, either plain or with a good dip, or it can be added to different types of dishes, such as mashed potatoes or stir fry. Kohlrabi requires about one and one-half square feet per plant if grown in the ground.

9) Green Pepper

Green Peppers can easily be grown in a container, producing the similar results to what you would achieve growing the plant in the ground. The green pepper takes about one square foot of space to grow. You can use the pepper in a number of dishes, from tacos to stir fry. The green pepper is easily frozen for garden-fresh taste in the dead of winter.

10) Tomato

While it is technically a fruit, the tomato is the best ‘vegetable’ for your urban garden. The tomato can be found in many popular dishes across the globe. They are used in a variety of sauces, from pizza sauce to salsa, and they are used in chili, soups, tacos, and much more. Tomatoes are great to withstand many of the diseases that they used to be susceptible to. They are easy to grow in a raised bed, container, hanging basket, or in the ground.