I'm new to gardening (starting my first real garden this year) and am looking for good recommendations for veggies/fruits.

Thanks :)

Dave

Close second is cucumbers ... FLAVOR !! [roll my eyes up to heaven]

Well, I won't mention beets, green beans or home grown potatoes .... because you asked for only one.

Dale

...but tomatoes are King, any tomato you grow will be better than anything you get store bought.

Then of course a fig tree? Easy to grow, lots of fruit.

I've never known anyone to turn down a free bushel of figs, unlike free squash in season. >smile<

Anyway, lettuce is easy(ish) to grow from seed, you can often find transplants as well (beyond easy then, if you don't buy ones that are already rootbound), and its pests are pretty easily managed.

You know, it's really hard to pick just one veggie to recommend- now I want to sing the praises of beans, onions, garlic, peas, broccoli, potatoes, squash, melons, tomatoes (of course), and so on... :)

glad to hear beans, tomatoes and lettuce because I do have seeds for those!

I tried beets before (golden) and did not like them. I just can't do them.

I think I have 2 different kinds of cucumber seeds I'm going to try also this year, that way i can find a variety i like and do a taste-test. Pickling will be in the future...

Asparagus! Is that a bi-annual, right? So if I grow this year, I have to wait til next year to eat?

these are great, feel free to add more!!! thanks :)

Yes, artichokes are perennial and you get crops starting the second year. I just love them so much, I invest the time/space/effort. I believe the asparagus folks feel the same (about asparagus that is).

You need to ask for one summer crop and one winter crop. So artichoke as my sole winter crop........summer crop? just too hard to chose between nice tender green beans, juicy tomatoes, luscious peppers, creamy eggplants....I can't do it.

But considering the criteria given (prolific, tasted great, easy to care for, etc) I have to go with okra. All the others are prone to pests and diseases, especially tomatoes. Okra is about as fool-proof as any crop you can grow, except for cowpeas. Cowpeas are good, and absolutely trouble free, but not so great tasting as okra. But then, there are people who don't care for okra. :-)

Asparagus is a perennial and requires several years to get well established. After that it is trouble free.

Jim

Cherry tomatoes grow fairly well, but regular tomatoes like more summer heat than I can give them.

We grow lots and lots of citrus - in our zone - easily.

Bejay

In reality it would be tomatoes, but everyone's already extolled their benefits, so I'll throw out #2: swiss chard. Very easy to grow, long growing season (spring until hard freeze in fall), doesn't bolt in the heat, still tastes good if you forget to water, will grow in part shade, nutritious, very versatile... you can use it in pretty much any way you would use lettuce/spinach/collards--sandwiches, soups, pasta, tacos...

Now if you said top FIVE I would add peppers, strawberries, and peas as well =)

Jim

If you plant asparagus, do it soon, and choose one that likes warmer weather. Artichoke can go in soon, too.

Lettuce and peas (and carrots and radishes), plant now or very soon. They like cool weather.

Tomatoes and cucumbers (and squash and corn and pumpkins), plant after your average last frost, if you have any. Even warm season plants stop growing/producing for a while in the hottest part of the summer.

Then, as fall progresses and the highs are no longer in the 80s and 90s, start your fall garden of lettuce, peas, carrots, and other salad crops again, and some short-season potatoes. In zone 8 the cool season plants will take you all the way through the winter with lovely salads and root crops.

Oh, and I vote for blackberries as a fruit to grow.

Catherine

However, does anyone consider them easy to grow? In my experience tomatoes have more troublesome pests and diseases and require more attention than any other veggie in my garden. If I were asked to recommend one difficult veggie to grow, tomato would be the main contender.

Jim

keith

Baby lettuces are also towards the top of the list, as are pole beans and peas. Sugar snaps are expensive in the store, but easy to grow, and can also be used as snow peas. Fresh shelled peas are impossible to buy at the store, and are such a wonderful delicacy in spring. Pole beans are prolific, and very versatile in the kitchen. They can be grown on an attractive trellis, and take up very little square footage that way.

For fruit in warm climates, I'd have to agree with figs. When I lived in San Diego, they bore twice a year. Fresh figs are delicious, but too perishable for them to be carried in stores except during peak season. Beautiful trees, too. But then, if space is not an issue, there's always kiwi. Beautiful vines with few pests. OK, I know that's two... you choose. ;-)

In the Kale vs. Chard contest you compare one cup of kale with one cup of chard, equal volumes in other words. Do you know if the weights were equal also?

Jim

Kale, plain and simple, its super hardy, tasty in salads, on a sandwich or what I call veggie stew, most importantly its a powerhouse of vitamans and minerals!