Edible gardens are becoming more and more popular as people are trying to reduce their carbon footprints and embrace more sustainable lifestyles. Even if you’ve never tried to grow your own food, we can help! Visit our garden center for the following edible plants for Sussex County, NJ gardening.
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Endless oceans of grass are slowly becoming a thing of the past. It’s not that neighborhoods are going the way of WWII Victory Gardens, but people are becoming more conscious of the best uses for their land; and one of the top priorities for some homeowners is growing at least some of their own food.
If you’re new to gardening or starting again after many years, you’re in for a treat as you watch your plants grow and yield healthy foods right in the convenience of your own backyard.
Before planting a vegetable garden, consider two things: what you will actually eat, and how much space and care a type of edible plant requires.
We’ve all heard horror stories of people desperate to give away squash because they have so many - and while it’s wonderful to share the bounty of your garden, unless you want gardening to become a time-consuming job it’s good to plan ahead, so that you don’t overdo it with one type of plant and don’t leave enough space for others.
Whatever you plant, you can be sure that your vegetables will taste so much better when picked from your garden when compared to the bland supermarket variety - but to avoid trips to the supermarket for produce, make sure you stagger your yields. For example, you don’t want everything to yield food in July or August. Mix it up with early producers and late producers so you always have something fresh and seasonal to add to your dishes. Our experts will be happy to guide you in choosing crops that you can rotate throughout the season!
Many edible plants can be grown in container gardens, which is perfect for smaller spaces or if you want the flexibility of being able to move plants to a different location. Or, you may opt for a raised bed garden that will let you plant more delicious vegetables.
Herbs can easily be grown in small containers that can be kept in your outdoor kitchen (or even in a window planter outside your kitchen window).
Fruit-bearing shrubs such as blueberries and raspberries can be a delicious permanent feature in your landscape.
And don’t forget fruit trees! Not only are fruit trees beautiful in spring with their cheery blossoms, but they will reward you with edible goodness later in the season: enjoy cherries, peaches, plums, pears, nectarines, and of course many varieties of apples.
Vegetables that are easy to grow in New Jersey include tomatoes, asparagus, sweet corn, sugar snap peas, carrots, beets, cucumbers, kohlrabi, arugula, eggplant, peppers, summer squash, spinach, lettuce, kale, zucchini, pumpkins, potatoes, corn, and cabbage.
If your garden is in a sunny spot (with more than six hours of direct sunlight), you can expand your choice of vegetables to broccoli, brussels sprouts and radishes, which take longer to mature than fast-growing leafy greens and tomatoes.
You’ll also need to plan for a bit more space to grow corn (which requires many plants for pollination to occur); and the spreading quality of watermelons, honeydew, cucumbers and pumpkins. Planning for a small garden can often be much more challenging than planning for a large one, which is why you want to consider what you will really eat.
Our experts will be happy to guide you in planning out your garden, choosing the best edible plants, and caring for the plants to give you a gorgeous edible garden all season long.
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