Stores running out of food, prices soaring…gardening can come to the rescue! Take charge of your food security and grow your own delicious veggies! But how do you know what to choose? Here are Ben’s Top 10 inflation-beating crops. It’s the final countdown!
Binge watch these videos! Swat up and get more bang for your buck!
🌱 X 🤓 = 💰💰💰
Did somebody say raspberries and blueberries?! Yum! (Bat your eyelids at your fruit bush friends!) For our video on that, see this link:
For https://youtu.be/RgkC5I7NpUA
Water bath canning (dilly beans etc.): https://youtu.be/ABzE2jI3YpM
Grow your own super-fast mushrooms: https://youtu.be/8aouihUZOuw
Want to 10X your plants? See:
For more on how to maximise and multiply grocery-bought herbs see: https://youtu.be/jYNiCsfyrn0
Or to create your own herb garden, go to:
If you love growing your own food, why not take a look at our online Garden Planner which is available from several major websites and seed suppliers:
https://www.GrowVeg.com
https://gardenplanner.almanac.com
https://gardenplanner.motherearthnews.com
and many more…
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28 Comments
Just one thing I would add – rhubarb. So easy, comes back year after year, and (in my experience) very easy to to split to swap with other growers.
will you do a video on Sunflowers? they can be used for so many great things! We use the stems from the previous year for our beanstalks, we can feed left over seeds to birds and squirrels and replanting, we can use the fibers for mulch, if you are inclined to make oil you can do that with sunflowers, and also the juvenile heads pre bloom are a great veggie for the table! They have a long growing season, and are a great partner plant to other more tender plants that may need some protection.
They are great food for pollinators and create a wonderful and diverse biome for your garden areas for brining in other bugs like lady beetles.
Lol I've got potatoes potatoes potatoes everywhere. After planting for 2 years in a row I've got brown potatoes planted in my chickens yard. I've got yellows planted in a box and an area that's acrossed my yard just in the dirt. And reds planted in another box, both boxes are 15 ft by 3 ft. I tried to purposely let some tomatoes fall on the ground and rot last year to see if they would naturally plant them selves. I have a cilantro mother plant that throws seed everywhere that is now 3 years old and I grow at least 5 carrot mother plants that do the same. I have a enormous amount of chocolate mint plants, thyme, oregono, chives and other urbs I need to plant some garlic and I have about 10 onions fully growing.I also have black and red currants, blues berries which are crazy producers this year, raspberries andspinless black berries. I have a Bing cherry tree, an apple although really they are just crab apples but still make good for pies and other treats, and 2 pear trees. I would like a peach tree and maybe a Filbert tree. Of course the journey is different for each of us. I grow not only for the economy being bad but also for healthier foods and I can't help to admit that I am alittle worried about the pending war between NATO and China, russia.
In far south US the sweet potato 🍠 will grow like a weed but look like gorgeous ivy.
👏great tips and hints. As well as value for money home grown v shop bought its also a reminder of grow what you eat and not feel you need to grow a bit of everything
Grow kale Russian and curly
Where can I get the recipe for your dilly beans?
Sweet potatoes. Stores well and you can also eat the leaves
I live in New York and some other good ones are asparagus, peppers, onions and as far as fruit for me apple trees apples are super expensive over $5 each
In terms of bang for buck (labour), here is what I put into new gardens, in terms of priority: Much of these recapitulate yours, but bear with me. I'm in California climate.
(1) Oregano. Its easy, it grows anywhere, wild, and is so useful in the kitchen – and easily dried.
(2) Marjoram – its the gourmet Oregano. Fantastic floral aroma, looks after itself, drought-tolerant
(3) Tomatoes. I kickstarted my gardening when I bought a loose tomato for $1, tasteless, of course. I got into heirlooms. Top recommendations – black Krim, green zebra, berkeley tie-dye, Ananas noire, and lately, prairie fire (very sweet). Indeterminates last until the frosts. All are streets beyond what you can buy in the shops, and not harder to grow. But I usually put in an early girl also, just to get an advance on the season.
(4) Zucchini, of course. Nothing is more prolific. But why not try a better variety? I prefer Costata Romanesco. lower yield, but far better flavor. Mandolin lengthwise for raw salads. Also, Friuli rugosa. If you are growing yourself, why not grow the most flavorful?
(5) French breakfast radish, in season. Grow in cold weather to get crispy, crunchy and not too spicy.
(6) Spinach and Chard are workhorses, but for me, they get leaf-miner. Chard looks great, but I'm not personally sold on the taste. But it certainly produces like crazy. Saute in a good-quality olive oil. Buy a bottle for $20. Cook quickly and serve immediately. Using cheap oil is not savings, because you dont need a huge amount.
(7) Not on your list – fruit. Whatever grows in your area. Once planted, forget it. In my area, persimmons, lemons, peaches are a must. In the UK, apples, pears, raspberries. Value? Once planted, no work, $hundreds per year.
(8) Kale of many different varieties. Especially Russian and Tuscan.
(9) Runner beans. Prolific producer.
(10) Lettuce, picked leaf by leaf, not as heads = long season for one planting.
(11) BASIL (nearly forgot)
Those are what I would prioritize for saving money, eating better than from the shops, and with the least work needed.
Buy carrots, celery, potatoes from the store – unless you want to expand your gardening. I used to like throwing a few spuds in the lawn and elsewhere if they sprouted in the kitchen, then digging up 2-3 fresh spuds after the spring rains. Basically a convenience crop of something that would have gone in the bin, but not doing the whole earthing up thing. Harvesting early before the summer drought got going.
Specialize on perennial plants that look after themselves. This is where herbs are in their own. Lovage is vastly underutilized. Mint grows itself. Also, lemonbalm and/or lemongrass. Dont worry about mint and lemonbalm spreading – thats what the lawnmower is for. Also, tree-fruits. The bigger variety the better, and spread it out across the season. Apricots in May, then grapes, peaches, then apples, then persimmons and pomegranates in december. Whatever works to stretch the season in your area. Some fruits have early and late varieties.
Work out what YOU like to eat. Work out what grows well in your garden. If it doesnt work, try something else. Aim to fill in the gaps in time so that something is in season most of the time. Try asparagus for early spring. Favor perennials so you dont have to resow-replant every season, if possible. Raspberries, gooseberries, apples, kale, and in the right area, others like some chillies and so on.
Grow things that cost the most in the stores, or where the store varieties are tasteless.
When I buy spring onions, I plant the last inch in the ground. I use the leaves in stock (they can be coarse), and I chop the florets off the heads to use in salads or anywhere to substitute for chopped onion. I also leave some for the pollinators.
Grow what you like to eat. Grow what is not cheap in the stores. Grow what you cant find in the stores. Grow what grows best in your soil and climate. Grow such that you have food all year long. Grow what you have the space for. Grow stuff that is perennial.
Gardening is all about trying to satisfy as many of these simultaneously as possible.
Could you make bourbon from that corn
Great video. Thank you so much for sharing ❤
I excited to plant my garden
You should be on the BBC's Gardener's World. In fact, they should dump their people and most definitely have you! You give more and better advice than I've ever seen on that BBC program, and I've only just found your channel and seen 3 video's so far!
Thank you.
Lynn From East London UK.
Gord from Wellesley Ontario. You inspire me to grow my own. May I say I'm well on my way! Cheers
Thanks for the video! That was great. I would add sweet potatoes to the list. Not for the tubers but for the leaves. I’ve grown them last year and they were more prolific than spinach and with no risk of sprouting. The leaves are bigger and easier to harvest than spinach and they keep growing the whole summer.
Top!
If you like them chillis are a good bet if you've got a greenhouse. The plants can be over-wintered with care, bringing red chillis from June onwards.
Just what i was looking for, cheers mate. I have garden space, and have been prepping for weeks wondering what to grow.. Now i know ❤
“ dilly bean recipe”… that’s when I clicked on subscribe.
Would love to hear from you… I have some curiosity
I have 4 small raised beds so space is limited. I’m growing lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, spring onions, zucchini and walla wallas. Next year I may try some blueberries and strawberries.
I like to have a good crop of turnips which for me are a great alternative to potateoes.
I always learn something from each video. Comparing grow of certain crops to where mine are in summer.
First time corn grower. Here’s hoping. I’ve been self pollinating so we both see won’t we. MP
Very interesting videos, however, the text is written in such large characters that it hides nearly half of the screen and so many things potentially very useful are missed because of the text band.
Nope, on 🌽 for me. Cheap, cheap, cheap in Ohio, US. I’m surrounded by it! Yes, on the 🫑! However, I have 5 pepper plants this summer and they all love me right now. 😂😀🥰 My family is probably pretty close to complaining about eating too many pepper dishes! Lucky for them – the tomatoes are about to come in! 😅
I love you, and your channel. Thank you
Wish I had that much space to grow plants in
Great vid. Thanks.