Have you ever cracked open a seed catalog? Page upon page of beautiful ripe fruits and vegetables eagerly calling out to you, "Order me. Grow me. You will love me." Geesh. If I ordered every seed I thought I needed I'd be able to open a seed catalog of my own.
This year I decided to pass on ordering seed catalogs. To simplify my life and my budget I opted to make a list of the fruits and veggies I buy the most and focus on growing those.
There are some ups and downs of this method, however, as much of what we like to eat take forever to grow here.
Our family favorites consist of:
Tomatoes (truth be told, we rarely buy tomatoes because no one eats them, but I want to grow a LOT because we eat a lot of spaghetti sauce & ketchup and I'd like to make my own.)
Broccoli (we can eat up to 2 lbs a day)
Lettuce (can't be grown in the Florida summer)
Spinach (had a good crop of this last year but it was so severely infested with aphids I finally pulled the crop)
Swiss Chard (a favorite green that tolerates both summer heat and our mild winters and doesn't have many bug problems in my experience)
Brussel Sprouts (I love roasted brussel sprouts but they cost an arm and a leg at the store so it's a rare treat for us)
Beets (Mmmm. Roasted or pickled are our favorite)
Carrots (we eat at least 1 lb per week)
Cucumbers (not something we typically buy or eat, but we love homemade pickles and I'd like to put up enough for a year)
Melons (We prefer watermelon, but occasionally buy a cantaloupe)
Pumpkin (I would like to have enough canned to enjoy pumpkin pie year round)
Peppers (Husband eats these, but no one else does)
So while it can get overwhelming to browse seed catalogs I'm focusing on amending the soil and growing the fruits and veggies my family truly loves.
What are you planting this fall?
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