What We’re Growing in our Garden in 2024

When I sit down to sort through my seeds every year, it feels so exciting to think about the possibilities of that year’s garden! My biggest piece of advice when it comes to deciding what you want to grow is to grow food that you like to eat. This will encourage you to spend more time out in the garden tending to the plants in excitement for your first harvest! I shared a post like this last year for our 2023 garden and I also love seeing what other people are growing. This will likely be a yearly post over here if you’re looking for inspiration for your garden.

What We’re Growing in our Garden in 2024

I love looking back at my garden from the previous year. It’s a great way to learn and look back to get inspired. Here are a few of my notes from last year:

I started my cosmos a little too early. They got tall and leggy and I lost a few because they got pretty tangled with each other. I will be starting them later in March along with all the other flowers.
Be mindful of where I plant cucumbers. I planted them behind the small tomato starts and they didn’t get enough sun once the tomatoes had grown.
Pruning the tomatoes helped with a larger yield. Especially with the larger varieties of heirloom tomatoes.
Soaking the sweet peas overnight really helped with their germination. Growing them in toilet paper rolls worked well.
Coffee grounds sprinkled over the soil helped get a higher blueberry yield.
Potting up the tomatoes and peppers helped them flourish before planting them out.

Vegetables:

For the most part, I grow the same types of veggies every year. The varieties vary but like I said, I grow what I love to eat.

Root Vegetables:

I love radishes and carrots and they are always a part of my garden. My husband likes beets and truth be told, I am not a huge fan but for him, I am going to try and grow them this year. They will be the beautiful red variety.

Last year, I grew two types of radish. One was a red with a white bottom that didn’t do well in my garden. I am using the leftover of those seeds to try growing some microgreens. The other type was a lovely purple kind and they did great. Those will be sowed out in the garden along with two other varieties. A new variety called a watermelon radish. It has a white outside but a beautiful reddish/purplish inside. The other is called French breakfast radish! These are long and red, not as bulbous as the other two.

For the carrots, I will be using up the rest of my rainbow carrot mix and another type of orange carrot seed.

Peas:

I did not get a great pea harvest last year. The bed I planted them in is one that I struggle with. I am going to try a different area this Spring and grow two types of sugar snap peas.

Onions:

I was not very successful with onions last year either. My bunching onions did okay but the white bulb onions I was trying didn’t do anything for me. But, I am not deterred, I am excited to see if I can get some to grow this year for us!

Greens:

I always grow a variety of lettuce in the garden. Last year was a great success and I’m just going to use the variety of seeds that I already have on hand. In one of my first-ever gardens at this house, I grew some kale. At the time I didn’t know that kale prefers cooler weather and I planted it for my Summer garden and the aphids went nuts. I am trying again this year by planting seeds directly in the ground in early Feb. The variety is Lacinato kale. We’ll see how it goes!

Peppers:

Last year was out best pepper year ever in the garden but it wasn’t as abundant as I had hoped. This year I am going to try them in some different spots to see if I can’t get some more to grow! We are sticking with varieties we love like jalapeños, cayenne, sweet banana, and bell peppers.

Tomatoes:

I don’t think I will ever have a garden without tomatoes. I was so proud of the tomatoes last year especially the larger varieties! This year I am trying an heirloom beefsteak variety for our large tomatoes. Then I loved the gold nugget bush variety from last year so those will be going in as well as my favorite Sungolds for our cherry tomato varieties. My favorite food is a homegrown tomato!

Cucumbers:

I got one singular teeny tiny cucumber last year before my plants were shaded by the tomatoes. This year I am trying two different varieties where they will get the correct amount of sun!

Squash/Pumpkins:

Last Summer, I grew 3 varieties of zucchini, a white patti-pan squash, and a gold nugget squash variety. It is always so fun to grow squash. The zucchini and patti-pan did great but I only got two small gold nuggets. This year, I have decided to cut out the patti-pan because I don’t love the taste. I am going to grow the same amount of zucchini and try the golden nugget again in a different spot.

I am also going to try and grow pumpkins for my Fall decor this year! The seeds for one variety are from a pumpkin we picked up at the grocery store last year. I also plan on picking up seeds for a smaller variety as well. Can’t wait to see how it goes!

Beans:

The beans did so well last year on my DIY trellis! I am growing the same two varieties this year along with another green pole bean variety!

Herbs:

In my opinion, you can never have too much basil in the garden. So, I will be starting quite a bit this year. Last year was also my first time being able to grow chamomile and I want to try and start more this year as well. Up until this cold snap, I had a nice looking flat leaf parsley plant in the garden still. I will be growing more of that this year as well as more dill and cilantro!

Flowers:

I am sticking with my tried and true loves this year. Zinnias, Marigolds, Cosmos, Calendula, Sweet Peas, and Nasturtiums! I hope to make more cut flower bouquets for the house this year and bring even more beauty to the backyard!