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What I’m Growing in My 2020 Garden: Fruit & Vegetable Edition

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I thought this post listing what I’m growing in my 2020 garden would never get published. It seems like for weeks I’ve been preparing the garden, planting seeds, replanting seeds, and praying it all grows. Honestly, that has been happening for weeks.

This year was a BIG one for our homestead, because I have so far doubled the size of our garden to make room for even more plants! This is mostly because I want to grow a larger variety of fruits and vegetables and I needed more space to make that possible.

As you probably noted in the title, this post is going to cover fruits and vegetables in the garden. This is because I’m going to cover things I planted for my medicinal garden in a different post. I’ve yet to get them planted, so once they are all in the ground and sprouting, I will share that list with you as well.

So let’s dive into what I’m growing in my 2020 garden, shall we?

What I’m growing in my 2020 garden

To keep this simple to follow, this list is in alphabetical order according to vegetable, and within that list, I’ll name each variety I planted. I’m also going to link to where you can find the same seeds and seed companies I use.

Beans //

Blue Lake 274 – My husband loves a meaty green bean, and these are his favorite.

Henderson’s Black Valentine Bush – This is a new variety for our garden this year. I plant to try it both as a green bean and dry bean to see which is preferred.

Hutterite Soup Bean – Another new variety for us, but I’m honestly not sure I have that many that germinated. I’ll be curious to see what these are like! I don’t normally eat white beans, but I’m all about trying new things this year.

Jacob’s Cattle Bean – I am in love with the way these beans look and cannot wait to add them in to taco soups this winter!

Kentucky Wonder – I’ve grown these before and purchase them from a local feed store. These are tried and true for me that was also purchased out of fear of not having enough fresh green beans on hand this summer. I’ve linked to Baker Creek’s seed, which is called Old Homestead. They are the same variety, just a different name.

Purple Teepee – I’m in love with this plant’s blossoms! They are breathtakingly beautiful! I picked these for their slim shape because those are my favorite green beans. I do have to warn you that even though you harvest purple pods, these do turn green when cooked, which I think is a fun experiment when cooking!

Runner’s Bean Streamline – Another new variety to me [Are you getting tired of hearing that yet? Hopefully not!] that I picked to have a unique pole bean option. I also like the color and size of these beans, as they will work great in soups. I got these from Baker Creek, but they no longer carry the variety. They have others though!

Tendergreen – This was my first green bean to ever grow and I feel in love with it! The texture of the green bean is structured and doesn’t turn to mush when cooked. It is also really easy to grow, which is always a bonus.

Zuni Gold – These are another new to me bean that I am planning on using as a dry bean because it is beautiful! This is another I got through Baker Creek, but they no longer carry.

Berry //

Goji Berry – This is a variety that is new to me that I have big plans for in my garden! I’m going to use them as a privacy fence between us and our neighbors. I’m so excited for these to grow big, attract pollinators, and produce delicious and beautiful berries!

Corn //

This is my first time growing corn, so all of these are new to me.

Fisher’s Earliest Sweet – We don’t eat a lot of sweet corn, but enough to want to try growing my own. This is the only sweet corn I’m trying this year, at least at this time.

Chapalote – Not only is this variety of corn stunning, but it is also multipurpose! I haven’t decided if I only want to use it as popcorn or if I want to try other things. I guess that all depends on how well it produces ears.

Glass Gem – Of course, this variety has me swoon with its beauty and I wanted to see if I could put a dent in replacing chips with popcorn. I don’t like growing things for their beauty alone, but this is definitely the primary reason I picked this popcorn variety.

Cucumber //

National Pickling – This is the only variety I chose for cucumbers because I want to pickle all of it. Pickles are something I never get tired of eating and often choose to eat pickles in place of chips. If you couldn’t tell, I’m trying to decrease and hopefully eliminate my chip addiction with things I’m growing in my garden.

Gourds //

Bottleneck – I picked this variety because my grandfather used to grow it when I was a kid. He would let my sister and I use them as maracas as they were drying out [again we were kids haha!] and then he would make birdhouses out of them. I know there is a birdhouse variety, but I like to think that my grandfather would be proud of me for growing bottlenecks. I got the seeds from Clear Creek Seeds, but it appears the birdhouse / bottleneck cross is all they carry at this time.

Loofah or Luffa – Nature’s vegetable sponge! I have tried these before, but they didn’t produce well since I didn’t have them trellised. This year, my plan is to grow and dry enough for uses around my home and also give as gifts. It is my favorite thing to share with people who don’t realize a loofah is a vegetable!

Melons //

Hale’s Best Jumbo Melon – This is a cantaloupe melon, which is my favorite melon! I’ve yet to harvest any, as my fluffy rabbits get to them before I do, but this year, I will enjoy my melons!

Honey Rock – This is probably the most common cantaloupe sold in stores and what I grew up eating. It will be nice to actually harvest some this year!

Jubilee – This is the heart of Arkansas watermelons! In fact, if you didn’t know, Hope, Arkansas hosts the Watermelon Festival each year in August to celebrate harvesting jubilee watermelons. I’ve grown and actually harvested several of these before and love how big they get! It makes working in the hot summer worth it! I’m never without Jubilee seeds, so I actually have some from Baker Creek and MIgardener.

Okra //

Okra is my FAVORITE vegetable to harvest! If I grow nothing else, I’m going to grow okra!

Clemson Spineless – I’ve grown this variety from several companies and it is very prolific. The very first time I grew it, my plants grew so tall we couldn’t harvest them without breaking the plants, which impressed me and made me love okra even more.

Long Green Pod – This is my first year with this variety. I’m excited to see how it does. So far, it is slow to take off, but I know that once it does, it should really produce well.

Stelley – This is another first for me. The description on Baker Creek’s website says it is a Louisiana variety and since I am in Southern Arkansas, I knew I had to see what it was about! It is supposed to be a long tender pod, which means more to cook! Since receiving these, Baker Creek has stopped carrying them.

Peas //

I’ll be honest. It was a rough start for my peas, and I’m not quite sure what germinated and didn’t. I did a second planting because of the poor germination [my fault], so here is what I planted.

Blue Shelling / Snow Pea – I love the idea of a royal purple shell pea! I really hope this is one that germinated because I’d love to snack on these.

Garden Pea – I chose this variety specifically for full size peas to add to different soups and dishes.

Sugar Snap – It feels like a crime to plant any kind of pea without sowing in sugar snap peas as well! I mean, if you don’t grow sugar snap peas, did you really grow peas?

Peppers //

Carnival Blend – I had a difficult time with getting peppers this year, so I decided to purchase a blended pack to bring some fun to the peppers I’m growing. Plus, I think it would be fun to shake things up a bit and not grow only the normal red, yellow, and green bell peppers.

Grand Bell – Of course, I got a mix of the popular bell peppers – yellow, red, and green. I honestly love all bell peppers, so if I have an abundance of peppers, I’ll be a happy lady!

Jalapenos – I plan to make salsa and can some jalapenos this summer, so of course they are going to be in the garden! Last year, these were my bumper crops, so I’m excited to see what they do this year!

Sweet Banana Peppers – I didn’t originally plan these, but when you see a struggling pack of sweet banana peppers, you have to save them! At least, I think I do. They are great to munch on in the garden, so I don’t mind this addition to my garden.

Pumpkins //

Big Max – I’ve yet to get these to grow for me, but this year, I believe it is going to happen! I have no idea what to expect, but it is going to be interesting that is for sure.

Jack O’Lantern – I love a fun pumpkin carving and the chickens can benefit from them, too! Again, I’ve tried in previous years to grow these and it didn’t work, but I’m optimistic this year!

Jarrahdale – This pumpkin that grows 6-10lbs and it is a slate blue! I’ve yet to attempt to grow a pumpkin that wasn’t orange, so this will be fun!

Squash //

I did something I’ve never done before in my garden. I completely stepped out of my comfort zone with regular yellow squash and opted for all new varieties! Zucchinis are technically a squash, so I’ve included them here. However, I have grown them before this year.

Acorn – These caught my eye when I was buying my tomato transplants. They are beautiful and I’m really excited to see what they are all about!

Desi – This is a fun apple-green squash that I cannot wait to cook! It is supposed to be ready to pick when it is about the size of a tennis ball.

White Scallop – Who doesn’t love a pretty scallop? There are so many great things about this squash – its history, flavor, and shape. This is definitely going to be a fun variety in my garden this year!

Jack Be Little – This miniature pumpkin is too cute and I cannot wait to see it grow! I have plans to try this as a summer and winter squash to see how it does cooked both ways.

Zucchini [Black Beauty] – This is a tried and true for me, which is why I’ll continue to put it in the garden year after year.

Zucchini [Dark Green] – This is another tried and true that I love growing. I grow at least two varieties of zucchini and pray that at least one does well against pests each year.

Take action

If you enjoyed this post and are ready to take action towards a more sustainable lifestyle, I’ve got a FREE Resource Library full of printables, workbooks, checklists, and more that I’m sure you’ll love utilizing! There is even a workbook full of questions if you’re thinking about starting your homestead that you should check out.

Click here to get access to my FREE Resource Library so that you can start taking action towards creating a life you love!

Final thoughts

Now that you know what I’m growing in my 2020 garden, I want to know what is growing in your garden! Leave a comment using the below form and let’s chat!

It honestly doesn’t matter if you only have room for three small plants in your window sill or acres of land to grow food. Each plant makes a difference, and I hope this post has inspired you to start your very own garden if you haven’t already!

If you have any friends and family you think would enjoy this post, please share it using the buttons below this photo! I love connecting with you and other like-minded people. Plus, it really helps this community thrive!

Curious to know what I'm growing in my 2020 garden ? Well, it has more than doubled in size, which means a lot more variety and plants! Check it out now!

The post What I’m Growing in My 2020 Garden: Fruit & Vegetable Edition appeared first on The Tannehill Homestead.


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