6 ms·

I focus on foods that are expensive or you simply cannot buy. For example, carrots straight out of the ground taste significantly different than store bought. D

by Cerium 7y ago

I focus on foods that are expensive or you simply cannot buy. For example, carrots straight out of the ground taste significantly different than store bought. Despite carrots being one of the cheapest foods I still grow some. Otherwise you nail it with herbs and berries. I estimate a couple basil plants save me at least $50 a year. Another good item I always recommend is to plant the green onion stubs. About 3 square feet of green onions is enough for my family all year.

close04 7y ago
> carrots straight out of the ground taste significantly different than store bought I'd grow a garden today just for the tomatoes. Store bought tomatoes are nothing like the ones I remember growing years ago. But another issue I noticed is that even with the best of soils and care, whatever grows from seeds and seedlings I can procure now still tastes closer to supermarket vegetables than home grown. I'm not sure if the genetic material is to blame or the garden/practices (from my perspective the same as in the past).
- mikepurvis 7y ago
  Which seedlings are you getting? If you're able, skip the ones at the building supply store's garden center and see if you have any heirloom seedling sales/exchanges in your area (though maybe not this year...). The fruit we get from the heirloom plants is head and shoulders above the others— Brandywine and Cosmonaut Volkov are two particularly delicious beefsteak-type "slicing" tomatoes. If you're up for starting your own seedlings, there are also obviously loads of places to order specific varieties of seeds online.
  - outworlder 7y ago
    > If you're up for starting your own seedlings, there are also obviously loads of places to order specific varieties of seeds online. Just be careful where you buy seeds from. I have ordered some lemongrass seeds on Amazon (before learning how to grow more from an adult plant). Those came from China, were seized by customs, sent to a lab, then promptly destroyed. I got a letter in the mail, with the results of the analysis. There was no indication anywhere that they would come from overseas. I shudder to think what would have happened if the supplier also sold something like marijuana and my packet was "contaminated".
    - AareyBaba 7y ago
      Lemon grass: go to your local asian market and get lemongrass stalks with the bottom bulb intact. It doesn't need to have roots showing. Place in a jar of water and they will sprout roots in a week or so. Then plant in a pot, it will grow into a big grassy plant.
      - outworlder 7y ago
        > It doesn't need to have roots showing Oh wow, I thought it would be worthless without roots! The more you know... Thank you!
        AareyBaba 7y ago
        As long as there is some woody material at the bottom it will work most of the time. So get a couple of stems in case a few don't root.
  - dhruvkar 7y ago
    Are getting seeds from seed exchanges also better than the seeds at the building supply store? I'm 5 days into gardening and that's where I purchased my seeds.
    - pvaldes 7y ago
      It depends. Some people know their plants; other just want your data (aliexpress, ahem...), and will send you anything instead to justify the order. You could end with invasive species (just because there is plenty of them), or sowing canary's food. For a newbie, is safer and easier to start with commercial packed seeds.
      - mikepurvis 7y ago
        Oh yeah, that's true. Even at an exchange, seed fair, whatever, I would probably still only buy seeds from an actual vendor. I'd never considered buying something like seeds from an eBay seller. But yeah, lots of organic heirloom varieties are packaged for commercial sale, eg: https://www.seedsofchange.com/seeds/vegetables/tomato/organic-brandywine-tomato-seeds https://www.seedsofchange.com/seeds/vegetables/tomato/organi... Seedlings are different since with a bit of experience you can tell what most plants are, at least within the broad family— you might end up with hot peppers when you expected sweet ones or something, but you're not going to get marijuana when you thought it would be tomatoes.
downerending 7y ago
Indeed, good tomatoes seem to be unavailable in stores at any price (even before all of this).
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-xpm-2012-jun-30-la-sci-tomato-taste-20120630-story.html https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-xpm-2012-jun-30-la-sci-tom... (Why supermarket tomatoes tend to taste bland [2012])
- notJim 7y ago
  FWIW, in the summer time you can usually get great tomatoes at farmers markets and produce stands. Though I haven't grown my own yet, so I can't compare.
  - downerending 7y ago
    My parents were freaks about growing their own. Yes, a good road-side stand could be just as good, but depending on where you are, harder to find. But as far as anything in any typical supermarket, well, there's just no comparison. Sometimes the "heirloom" tomatoes are less bad.
- maxerickson 7y ago
  Of course they don't substitute for fresh, but canned tomatoes are pretty good for a lot of cooking. They are harvested relatively ripe compared to store fresh.
  - downerending 7y ago
    I shall work on my bacon and canned tomato sandwich recipe... ;-) (My wife claims that canned San Marzano tomatoes are the bomb, when cooked tomatoes are needed.)
    - Sophistifunk 7y ago
      Be warned that for all intents and purposes "San Marzano" has become a meaningless phrase that people slap on their random tinned tomatoes because they know food network audiences are looking for it.
mrob 7y ago
I recommend chard (a.k.a. Swiss chard, beets bred to produce a lot of greens instead of large roots). Chard is expensive and hard to find in shops because it has short shelf-life once harvested, and because you need to harvest individual leaves as it grows instead of cutting the whole plant at once. But it's easy to grow, and the drawbacks are no problem to a home gardener.
- kyuudou 7y ago
  It's also nutritionally dense, if I recall correctly. Iceberg lettuce, not so much.
y-c-o-m-b 7y ago
Store bought carrots are almost tasteless. We grew carrots for the first time last year and I was amazed by how much flavor they packed.
- Cerium 7y ago
  Same thing happened to me. I used to think carrots were useless - just filler for dishes that need some color and volume.
UncleOxidant 7y ago
I grow shallots and garlic as well. Very easy to grow and both kind of pricey in the store.

by Cerium 7y ago

close04 7y ago

> carrots straight out of the ground taste significantly different than store bought I'd grow a garden today just for the tomatoes. Store bought tomatoes are nothing like the ones I remember growing years ago. But another issue I noticed is that even with the best of soils and care, whatever grows from seeds and seedlings I can procure now still tastes closer to supermarket vegetables than home grown. I'm not sure if the genetic material is to blame or the garden/practices (from my perspective the same as in the past).

mikepurvis 7y ago
Which seedlings are you getting? If you're able, skip the ones at the building supply store's garden center and see if you have any heirloom seedling sales/exchanges in your area (though maybe not this year...). The fruit we get from the heirloom plants is head and shoulders above the others— Brandywine and Cosmonaut Volkov are two particularly delicious beefsteak-type "slicing" tomatoes. If you're up for starting your own seedlings, there are also obviously loads of places to order specific varieties of seeds online.
- outworlder 7y ago
  > If you're up for starting your own seedlings, there are also obviously loads of places to order specific varieties of seeds online. Just be careful where you buy seeds from. I have ordered some lemongrass seeds on Amazon (before learning how to grow more from an adult plant). Those came from China, were seized by customs, sent to a lab, then promptly destroyed. I got a letter in the mail, with the results of the analysis. There was no indication anywhere that they would come from overseas. I shudder to think what would have happened if the supplier also sold something like marijuana and my packet was "contaminated".
  - AareyBaba 7y ago
    Lemon grass: go to your local asian market and get lemongrass stalks with the bottom bulb intact. It doesn't need to have roots showing. Place in a jar of water and they will sprout roots in a week or so. Then plant in a pot, it will grow into a big grassy plant.
    - outworlder 7y ago
      > It doesn't need to have roots showing Oh wow, I thought it would be worthless without roots! The more you know... Thank you!
      - AareyBaba 7y ago
        As long as there is some woody material at the bottom it will work most of the time. So get a couple of stems in case a few don't root.
- dhruvkar 7y ago
  Are getting seeds from seed exchanges also better than the seeds at the building supply store? I'm 5 days into gardening and that's where I purchased my seeds.
  - pvaldes 7y ago
    It depends. Some people know their plants; other just want your data (aliexpress, ahem...), and will send you anything instead to justify the order. You could end with invasive species (just because there is plenty of them), or sowing canary's food. For a newbie, is safer and easier to start with commercial packed seeds.
    - mikepurvis 7y ago
      Oh yeah, that's true. Even at an exchange, seed fair, whatever, I would probably still only buy seeds from an actual vendor. I'd never considered buying something like seeds from an eBay seller. But yeah, lots of organic heirloom varieties are packaged for commercial sale, eg: https://www.seedsofchange.com/seeds/vegetables/tomato/organic-brandywine-tomato-seeds https://www.seedsofchange.com/seeds/vegetables/tomato/organi... Seedlings are different since with a bit of experience you can tell what most plants are, at least within the broad family— you might end up with hot peppers when you expected sweet ones or something, but you're not going to get marijuana when you thought it would be tomatoes.

downerending 7y ago

Indeed, good tomatoes seem to be unavailable in stores at any price (even before all of this).

toomuchtodo 7y ago
https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-xpm-2012-jun-30-la-sci-tomato-taste-20120630-story.html https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-xpm-2012-jun-30-la-sci-tom... (Why supermarket tomatoes tend to taste bland [2012])
notJim 7y ago
FWIW, in the summer time you can usually get great tomatoes at farmers markets and produce stands. Though I haven't grown my own yet, so I can't compare.
- downerending 7y ago
  My parents were freaks about growing their own. Yes, a good road-side stand could be just as good, but depending on where you are, harder to find. But as far as anything in any typical supermarket, well, there's just no comparison. Sometimes the "heirloom" tomatoes are less bad.
maxerickson 7y ago
Of course they don't substitute for fresh, but canned tomatoes are pretty good for a lot of cooking. They are harvested relatively ripe compared to store fresh.
- downerending 7y ago
  I shall work on my bacon and canned tomato sandwich recipe... ;-) (My wife claims that canned San Marzano tomatoes are the bomb, when cooked tomatoes are needed.)
  - Sophistifunk 7y ago
    Be warned that for all intents and purposes "San Marzano" has become a meaningless phrase that people slap on their random tinned tomatoes because they know food network audiences are looking for it.

mrob 7y ago

I recommend chard (a.k.a. Swiss chard, beets bred to produce a lot of greens instead of large roots). Chard is expensive and hard to find in shops because it has short shelf-life once harvested, and because you need to harvest individual leaves as it grows instead of cutting the whole plant at once. But it's easy to grow, and the drawbacks are no problem to a home gardener.

kyuudou 7y ago
It's also nutritionally dense, if I recall correctly. Iceberg lettuce, not so much.

y-c-o-m-b 7y ago

Store bought carrots are almost tasteless. We grew carrots for the first time last year and I was amazed by how much flavor they packed.

Cerium 7y ago
Same thing happened to me. I used to think carrots were useless - just filler for dishes that need some color and volume.

UncleOxidant 7y ago

I grow shallots and garlic as well. Very easy to grow and both kind of pricey in the store.