1Good day, I'm Mark from Self Sufficient Me. And I selected 10 vegetables
2that you should always grow based on a combination of:
3how easy they are to grow,
4how versatile they are to use,
5how productive the crops are,
6how healthy they are to eat
7and how good they taste.
8This veggie list is ranked from best to awesomeness,
9in order of always growness.
10Let's get into it.
11Number 1 is lettuce.
12Who can't grow lettuce?
13I can't get rid of it, it even grows in my lawn.
14Lettuce is high in nutrients, but exceptionally low in calories.
15Lettuce is very hydrating.
16If you're feeling thirsty,
17have a drink of lettuce by eating it.
18Lettuce is good on its own as a salad,
19but it's also one of those maker foods that you don't notice until it's not there
20like an egg and lettuce sandwich,
21the egg is the hero, but the lettuce is what makes it,
22or shredded lettuce in a taco.
23Or how about lettuce in the base of a prawn cocktail with island sauce?
24Now that takes me back.
25Number two is carrots.
26The reason they started Bugs Bunny was to get more people from a young age, interested in eating carrots.
27That's not really true, I just made that up,
28but if it was true, that'd be pretty amazing,
29but it is true that carrots are good for you.
30And although help to improve your eyesight might be a myth,
31the antioxidants lutein and better carotene contained in carrots
32are known to help protect eyesight.
33Carrots have a large temperature growing range, which means...
34they can be grown in many climates all year round.
35They're also very productive.
36I planted these carrots here 4 months ago and they are still producing.
37Carrots are a dense food.
38So even just a few standard sized ones or several of these small French varieties, are enough to feed a family,
39and just like Bugs Bunny, carrots do taste nice.
40And they can be used in so many different ways, from raw to cooked.
41And that's why they are such a worldwide sensation.
42Number three is cabbage.
43We were having dinner last night,
44and I'll tell you a bit of a story.
45I made up some pickled cabbage and radish to go with a curry I knocked up.
46The boys and I got the pickled veg and put it on top of the curry.
47And I noticed Nina was enjoying her curry with just rice.
48And so I told her about a study, that true story, I saw yesterday, that day on the telly,
49from the university of Western Australia,
50on 900 women who ate cabbage regularly.
51And it showed that those who did regularly eat cabbage, were less likely to get heart disease.
52Nina immediately added some pickled cabbage to her plate.
53Cabbage isn't hard to grow, but if you run into a few problems with pests or the heads taking too long to mature,
54try some mini cabbage, they don't take long from seed to harvest,
55but one mini cabbage still goes a long way to feed a family
56or make a delicious preserve, such as sauerkraut.
57Number four is beetroots.
58Beetroots, that plural doesn't sound quite right.
59Beetroots, let's just call them beets.
60It beats the sugar out of me.
61And I say sugar, because...
62beetroot in a mix of sugar and vinegar
63is my favorite way to preserve and eat this fantastic vegetable.
64In my circle of friends, there are several who hate beetroot,
65and that's a shame because beets are a known superfood, meaning...
66there has been studies done that show this vegetable may help to prevent cancer.
67More research needs to be done to confirm this,
68but it is confirmed that beetroots contain a high amount of vitamins,
69and also minerals that are known to have many health benefits.
70At the same time, beets are high in fiber, low in fat and low in calories,
71and they are really easy to grow.
72Plus, you can eat the tops, just like a regular leafy vegetable,
73which makes them really versatile and productive to grow in the home garden.
74Number five are onions.
75You know, when I think about onions, it brings tears to my eyes.
76This vegetable is practically in everything from sauces to Bunning's sausage sizzles.
77Just remember to put the onions on the bread first,
78not for work health and safety reasons, but because it deserves to be first.
79There have been a ton of medical studies into the health benefits of onions,
80with findings such as helpful in regulating blood sugar,
81helps to strengthen bones, lower cholesterol,
82inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria in our stomach,
83boost the immune system,
84and the list goes on.
85Onions are a pretty hearty crop to grow,
86with varieties to suit all climates.
87And if you're short on space, well just try some spring onions.
88They'll grow just about anywhere, even in a glass of water.
89Onions keep for a long time on the shelf, which makes them good for productivity.
90And although you'll only ever eat one like an apple once,
91a good pasta sauce or sausage sizzle is not the same without it.
92Number six is cucumbers.
93You know the saying, as cool as a cucumber.
94Well, in 1970, they did a study and found that the internal temperature of a cucumber was cooler than the outside temperature on a warm day,
95pretty incredible, hey,
96not that it's cooler, but incredible that someone would actually do a study to find that out.
97Now I know cucumbers are technically a fruit,
98but they're mainly eaten as a vegetable.
99So I'm calling it a fruitable.
100Cucumbers contain zero fat and are made up of about 96% water,
101which makes them an excellent low calorie snack for those watching their weight
102or constipated.
103Don't laugh! If you're chocker up the blocker, eating cucumbers can help you get regular again.
104Plus cucumbers are high in nutrients on their own. But as we know,
105cucs can be prepared and preserved in tons of different ways
106that often enhance their health benefits, such as fermented and pickled.
107They even sell deliciously fermented cucumbers at Disneyland.
108And I can tell you from personal experience, they're Mickey mouse.
109Cucumbers are relatively easy to grow.
110And depending on the variety, can be extremely productive, whether you grow a climbing variety or a small bush type, to save on space.
111Number seven is peas.
112Shelling peas might be easy.
113But so is growing them,
114and there's not many people that don't like eating them either.
115And that's why peas are one of the best staples in the world today.
116Peas are one of those foods that taste good and are good for you
117because they contain lots of healthy elements, including vitamin K and manganese,
118which both can help with healing the body.
119As you can see, peas can be very productive,
120with this row of snow peas producing five kilograms already.
121And the rest of them, we're gonna leave to plump up
122so that we can shell and save the seed through freezing to eat later.
123Speaking of peas, number eight is beans,
124which are even slightly better.
125Beans, as most of us know, are one of the most complete foods you can grow,
126meaning they contain so many important nutrients,
127that you could almost survive on beans alone
128and you'd wanna be alone too because if all you ate was beans,
129blaming the dog could become a little tiresome.
130Beans are not just high in fiber though.
131They're also high in protein and B vitamins,
132which help with brain and nerve function.
133Bean season is coming up for us.
134But there are numerous varieties of beans to grow.
135So I'd encourage you to have a look through all the thousands of them and experiment.
136Yes, these runner beans are often the best still to grow,
137but try out some of those other fantastic varieties.
138Beans can be grown just about anywhere and are quite forgiving when it comes to soil types,
139making them one of the easiest vegetables to grow for beginners.
140And because crops of beans are easy to preserve, from canning to dried,
141they've been an important food source for humanity for a very long time.
142Number nine are tomatoes
143and speaking of beans, how good are baked beans in tomato sauce?
144A classic match.
145Tomatoes are another fruitable.
146And if I allowed my personal bias to take over,
147I would have tomato.
148It would be the top of the toppers, because I personally love eating them and growing them.
149There has barely been a day in my life when I haven't eaten a tomato in one form or another.
150And lucky me because tomatoes are probably the healthiest food you can eat,
151Whether raw or cooked. In fact, it's one of the few foods that when cooked, the health benefits increase.
152Tomatoes contain lycopene,
153which is what makes them red.
154But also, it's a powerful antioxidant,
155that helps protect us against cancers and degenerative diseases,
156especially as we age.
157Tomatoes contain vitamin C, K potassium folate, and many other elements
158that help us from heart health, right through to skin protection.
159Everyone should grow tomatoes because there's nothing like the taste of a home grown, heirloom tomato.
160They beat the supermarket varieties hands down for taste and nutrition.
161If you have trouble growing the large tomato varieties, then try the cherry types.
162They're just as good and easy to grow.
163Once you start, they will come up on their own each season after.
164I don't need to tell you how versatile tomatoes are
165because tomatoes are all around us every day.
166So get into growing some.
167Number 10 are potatoes.
168There's a good reason why I selected potato as my top 10 of foods that you should always grow,
169because without potatoes, you would only have half a meal at McDonald's.
170Did you know that a potato has more potassium than a banana?
171Potassium is an essential electrolyte needed for optimal muscle functioning.
172So when you see a top athlete, like Nadal, eating a banana between sets,
173that's why.
174Perhaps he should maybe eat some French fries instead.
175Seriously, despite the bad name, potatoes are good for you,
176especially if you don't drown them in bad cooking fat.
177Yes, potatoes are high in carbs, but they are good, complex carbs,
178not simple sugars like say sugar.
179So although nutrient dense, potatoes are still a good source of fiber,
180particularly if you leave the skin on
181and they also have other vitamins like B6,
182which helps brain function and might even help with depression.
183That's possibly why it feels so good after eating bangers and mash with gravy.
184Taste is undeniable, I challenge you to find a better tasting vegetable.
185And if you grow your own, they are even better because they're fresh and you can try other varieties
186that you just don't get in the supermarket or take away fast food places.
187You can grow a ton of potatoes and store them for a long time,
188and like I've already said, potatoes are a nutrient dense food,
189which is one of the reasons why the potato has become one of the most important foods on the planet,
190because it literally prevents starvation.
191You grow potatoes from potatoes
192and it's as easy as bunging a potato into some soil
193and digging it up three months later to find it multiplied.
194There are lots of potato substitutes and I've tried many of them, even sweet potato,
195but nothing grows, cooks feels and tastes better than a potato potato.
196And that's why the potato is my number 10.
197What do you think of my list of 10 vegetables that you should always grow?
198Agree, disagree, what would you include or remove, swap out instead?
199Whack it down in the comments section below. I'd be interested to read them.