Biggest bang-for-buck fruit/vegetables to plant?

[maizefolk]

I had no idea people already grew ground cherries in their gardens. Had previously only heard about them from stories like this one:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/05/science/groundcherries-crispr-gene-editing.html

Very cool!

[MrUpwardlyMobile]

I have unlimited space (live on 200 acres), no current gardening equipment apart from a compost bin and a shovel, and nine Australian Shepherds that would need to be kept away from anything we try to grow.

I have zero preference on method or anything, but would rather not spend a billion dollars putting it all together.  I'm thinking berries or herbs, any other suggestions?

(Northern IL, south of Chicago)

Persimmon trees, paw paw trees, apples, pears, hazelnuts, cold hardy kiwi vines...  Chicago hardy figs maybe. You have space for an orchard.

[trc4897]

I had no idea people already grew ground cherries in their gardens. Had previously only heard about them from stories like this one:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/05/science/groundcherries-crispr-gene-editing.html

Very cool!

Awesome! We had them in our CSA last year so saved some seeds and grew them this year. They are also fun to share with the neighbors, very few people have ever tried them!

[tygertygertyger]

Yep! Friends of mine had tried ground cherries on a trip to Montreal, so I bought some seeds and grew them in northern Illinois - they worked! They are quite tasty. I tried growing both in the ground and in containers, and hadn't quite adequately prepared for how wide they spread out. But a fun option.

[HPstache]

Not a fruit or vegetable, but how about Christmas trees?  That always seems like a big time bang for your buck proposition, but I have not actually researched it.

[horsepoor]

I'm getting the best bang for my buck from my butternut squash and spaghetti squash this year. Both were really prolific, and easy to harvest and store until needed. The catch is that my squash plants get pests and die at random, so I have to plant a few and never know which ones are going to make it. The spaghetti squash collapsed early in the season, but the squash I was able to harvest off of it were already mature enough that they are keeping well.

[RetiredAt63]

I'm getting the best bang for my buck from my butternut squash and spaghetti squash this year. Both were really prolific, and easy to harvest and store until needed. The catch is that my squash plants get pests and die at random, so I have to plant a few and never know which ones are going to make it. The spaghetti squash collapsed early in the season, but the squash I was able to harvest off of it were already mature enough that they are keeping well.

My Delicata squash had more meat and a better flavour then the store-bought Delicatas.  Squash can take a lot of space, unfortunately.

[Dancin'Dog]

I'm getting the best bang for my buck from my butternut squash and spaghetti squash this year. Both were really prolific, and easy to harvest and store until needed. The catch is that my squash plants get pests and die at random, so I have to plant a few and never know which ones are going to make it. The spaghetti squash collapsed early in the season, but the squash I was able to harvest off of it were already mature enough that they are keeping well.

My Delicata squash had more meat and a better flavour then the store-bought Delicatas.  Squash can take a lot of space, unfortunately.

Delicata is one of our favorites too.  But it does not store nearly as long as most other Winter squashes. 


We just ordered some "tree kale" seeds to try this year.  It's a perennial, and I assume after it gets a bit of height we won't have to stoop over to harvest it.  ;)

[RetiredAt63]

I'm getting the best bang for my buck from my butternut squash and spaghetti squash this year. Both were really prolific, and easy to harvest and store until needed. The catch is that my squash plants get pests and die at random, so I have to plant a few and never know which ones are going to make it. The spaghetti squash collapsed early in the season, but the squash I was able to harvest off of it were already mature enough that they are keeping well.

My Delicata squash had more meat and a better flavour then the store-bought Delicatas.  Squash can take a lot of space, unfortunately.

Delicata is one of our favorites too.  But it does not store nearly as long as most other Winter squashes. 

I knew they aren't long keepers.  My Butternuts look like they were picked last week, they are my long keepers.

All my Delicatas and Sweet Dumplings got baked after Cristmas and the flesh frozen in individual serving sizes.  I've already eaten some, and the reheated frozen tastes just as good as the fresh cooked..

[Linea_Norway]

@RetiredAt63
How do you store your butternut squashes? In the traditional way, in a cold cellar? How you you store it in a modern house?

[RetiredAt63]

@RetiredAt63
How do you store your butternut squashes? In the traditional way, in a cold cellar? How you you store it in a modern house?

I'm in an apartment.   They and the Delicatas got put in a cardboard box under my bed.  About 20C.

Dahlias are harder to store for the winter.  Even in my house I never had a cool enough spot, and usually at least half died over the winter.

[Dreamer40]

You all are cracking me up with the rhubarb obsession.

Herbs grown in pots near the back door are my biggest bang for your buck if you cook with them a lot.

My #1 veggie is a bush-style green bean. Super easy, don't need supports, just water them and eat them. I plant them in batches staggered at least a few weeks apart so there are fresh green beans available anytime I want them. They're also versatile to cook with so they don't go to waste like other things I get lazy about harvesting.

[Linea_Norway]

You all are cracking me up with the rhubarb obsession.

Herbs grown in pots near the back door are my biggest bang for your buck if you cook with them a lot.

My #1 veggie is a bush-style green bean. Super easy, don't need supports, just water them and eat them. I plant them in batches staggered at least a few weeks apart so there are fresh green beans available anytime I want them. They're also versatile to cook with so they don't go to waste like other things I get lazy about harvesting.

Thanks for this. I was only familiar with pole beans (sugar beans), which are a bit of a hassle, tying the beans to the poles every couple of days.

[RetiredAt63]

You all are cracking me up with the rhubarb obsession.

Herbs grown in pots near the back door are my biggest bang for your buck if you cook with them a lot.

My #1 veggie is a bush-style green bean. Super easy, don't need supports, just water them and eat them. I plant them in batches staggered at least a few weeks apart so there are fresh green beans available anytime I want them. They're also versatile to cook with so they don't go to waste like other things I get lazy about harvesting.

Thanks for this. I was only familiar with pole beans (sugar beans), which are a bit of a hassle, tying the beans to the poles every couple of days.

My pole beans last summer climbed on their own.  The poles were quite smooth but they managed.  Instead I spent a good chunk of my garden time tying up my tomatoes.   ;-)

[lhamo]

I had a few bushes of Contender early bush beans last summer -- they were great!  Very productive for a fairly small plant. I'm going to plant more of those and fewer pole beans this season. The pole bean that did the best was Rattlesnake, which I mostly saved for dried beans.  Need to make some soup from some and see if we like them enough to grow again.

[horsepoor]

You all are cracking me up with the rhubarb obsession.

I'm hoping I've eradicated rhubarb from my garden finally. I grabbed a little plant on impulse several years ago and it turned into a monster with lots of volunteers. Never used it for anything; decided it's called rhubarb because I came to rue the day I planted it.

Squash doesn't like as cold of storage conditions as some of your typical storage crops. We have a closet in our basement next to an unheated crawlspace and I just toss it in a box on the floor. Some of my butternuts (technically they are Canadian crookneck) are looking a touch wrinkly, but are fine inside. The spaghetti squash seem nearly indestructible as long as they are cured and don't have any damage to their skins.

[YttriumNitrate]

Here in the frozen tundra near Chicago there has been snow on the ground since Christmas, and I just picked the last of the collards from the 2020 season. Not a bad ROI for just throwing a few packs of seeds ($0.09 a pack) on the ground and raking them in.

A few more weeks, and it will be time to start the tomatoes indoors. While the tomatoes are nice, the cages and indoor grow system make them have a much worse ROI than the collards.

[Rosy]

Wait - what?

Nobody mentioned celery yet?
You know the green stuff you throw in your soup, simmer with your roast, add into a crunchy salad,
munch on during the game, serve during a party?
Filled with cream cheese or peanut butter or just dip into your favorite fiery or sweet sumptin'...

Really easy to grow, no pests yet. I literally enjoyed my plants all year long (but I'm in Florida and grow mine in a big, deep window box so I can move it into the shade during the height of summer).
You don't have to yank out the entire plant - harvest only the stems or just snip the leaves - hello Bloody Mary:) ...

Bang for the Buck
1. Nuts
I wish I could grow Hazelnut bushes, around here Hazelnuts are either impossible to get or carry a sky high price tag. I'm in zone 9/10 so no Hazelnuts.
This year I will try peanuts - I know they do grow here - not sure how much work will be involved and how much interference there will be from the squirrels and birds.

2. Herbs
Nothing beats the taste of homegrown Spearmint or German Chamomile - Tea.
I use chocolate mint for cooking - great with carrots sprinkled with sugar and Kentucky Colonel and Mojito Mint for cool summer drinks.
Lemon balm for tea or a lemony surprise in your salad.

If you have a sunny spot both lavender and rosemary make a lovely flowering bush, attract bees, smell heavenly and can literally be used every day for cooking, drinks, aromatherapy, in your bath and shower for your hair.
Think Rosemary-Garlic mashed potatoes or bread/rolls - yum. Rosemary chicken...
Lavender makes a great room freshener or add a bundle to your bathwater. Sachet in your pillow for sweet dreams  or use it in your homemade cleaner recipe.

The lemon balm seeds are cheap and easy to find - any of the mints can be started in water right on your window sill - one snip from a friends plant is all it takes.

3. Whatever veggies you really like to eat are the ones that bring you a bang for your buck - easy, as long as you can offer them good growing conditions.

Passionfruit - another one I didn't see mentioned yet.
So easy to grow and there are plenty of varieties that thrive in cooler climates, I had one that made it through a German winter with ice and snow just fine. In the summer it shades just like a grape arbor and is a super-fast grower. The flowers are really cool and some even have a scent.
Good as juice, in a smoothie or eat without any prep. In Europe, we would buy Maracuja wine or cocktails, that is just another name for passionfruit.

Anyway - inquiring minds want to know - how did your garden fare in 2020 and what are you changing this year now that you've had time to play?

[Anette]

Love all the different ideas!

What has survived many years in my garden is sage, rosmary and lemon balm. We use it a lot and it didn't need watering...

I would also recommend planting some flowers that you can admire in the garden or bring into the house. I have quite a bit of lavender and roses. The roses especially blossom throughout summer and spring and I often bring just one inside or if I have an abundance I also place one in the bathroom, bedroom... Feels special, smells great and I find flowers quite expensive to buy ( although I am in Germany and flowers are cheap compared to England or the US)
Also I know roses can be quite a bit of work but I just cut them back occasionally and don't mind the petals mulching the beds.

[DeniseNJ]

After planting the following, I will add:  Don't plant carrots, radishes, or beets.  If you have tons of space and love them, then go ahead, but my space is limited and these were a mistake. One carrot seed makes one carrot. One radish seed makes one radish. You have to plant them an inch or two apart. So an entire planter of carrots, if they all sprout, is like 24 carrots.  That's like 2 or 3 bucks worth of carrots.

One tomato seeds makes an entire tomato plant that makes dozens of tomatoes that are kind of expensive. A planter of lettuce is a lot of lettuce, which isn't cheap either. A planter of spinach is a great deal. But you'll wait months for your carrots or beets and end up with a couple of bucks of produce.

I may be doing this all wrong but I'm tired of waiting for my radishes--I'm planting more greens.

[nereo]

After planting the following, I will add:  Don't plant carrots, radishes, or beets.  If you have tons of space and love them, then go ahead, but my space is limited and these were a mistake. One carrot seed makes one carrot. One radish seed makes one radish. You have to plant them an inch or two apart. So an entire planter of carrots, if they all sprout, is like 24 carrots.  That's like 2 or 3 bucks worth of carrots.

One tomato seeds makes an entire tomato plant that makes dozens of tomatoes that are kind of expensive. A planter of lettuce is a lot of lettuce, which isn't cheap either. A planter of spinach is a great deal. But you'll wait months for your carrots or beets and end up with a couple of bucks of produce.

I may be doing this all wrong but I'm tired of waiting for my radishes--I'm planting more greens.

I've only planted potatoes when I've had a huge garden for a similar reason.  While a potato plant can give you dozens of potatoes, they take up a lot of space and they are just so cheap in the store (and... at least to my tastes... not obviously any better fresh from my garden).

I hate planting carrots because the seeds are ridiculously tiny, and because I'm very bad at thinning.  Which means I wind up with a row of micro-carrots and a lot which randomly pop up in places they aren't supposed to.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

After planting the following, I will add:  Don't plant carrots, radishes, or beets.  If you have tons of space and love them, then go ahead, but my space is limited and these were a mistake. One carrot seed makes one carrot. One radish seed makes one radish. You have to plant them an inch or two apart. So an entire planter of carrots, if they all sprout, is like 24 carrots.  That's like 2 or 3 bucks worth of carrots.

One tomato seeds makes an entire tomato plant that makes dozens of tomatoes that are kind of expensive. A planter of lettuce is a lot of lettuce, which isn't cheap either. A planter of spinach is a great deal. But you'll wait months for your carrots or beets and end up with a couple of bucks of produce.

I may be doing this all wrong but I'm tired of waiting for my radishes--I'm planting more greens.

I've only planted potatoes when I've had a huge garden for a similar reason.  While a potato plant can give you dozens of potatoes, they take up a lot of space and they are just so cheap in the store (and... at least to my tastes... not obviously any better fresh from my garden).

I hate planting carrots because the seeds are ridiculously tiny, and because I'm very bad at thinning.  Which means I wind up with a row of micro-carrots and a lot which randomly pop up in places they aren't supposed to.

On the reverse side, I love radishes, because they grow so quickly. I keep replenishing them (we have three rolling raised beds). I also just fill them in around other plants. I probably pick every other day or so, and replant weekly. We use them on our salads. Radishes aren't terribly expensive to start with, so not sure they are the biggest bang for the buck. On the other hand, really agree with carrots. Takes forever to grow, one for one planting seeds, and just a very slow bloomer. I've grown 4 rounds of radishes & am still waiting for carrots planted the same day.

If you like zucchini, and have a bunch of space, that stuff will go nuts. We also really like peppers, and similar to tomatoes, they grow on a bush, produce quite prolifically (depending on your sunshine) & I find them hard to kill. We make a lot of pico de gallo.

[YttriumNitrate]

Here in the frozen tundra near Chicago there has been snow on the ground since Christmas, and I just picked the last of the collards from the 2020 season. Not a bad ROI for just throwing a few packs of seeds ($0.09 a pack) on the ground and raking them in.

So it turns out that my collard plants survived the Chicago winter and started going crazy in the spring. As it warms up, the collards planted in the spring of 2020 are all going to seed which is nice since by now I'm a bit tired of eating collards.

My efforts starting tomato indoors were a little too successful since I used up every square inch of yard with tomatoes, and still ended up throwing away 20-something plants. This also means more tomato cages might need to be purchased, which is a wonderful problem to have.

For now, collards and tomatoes reign supreme as the biggest bang for the buck in my yard.

[MudPuppy]

It seems you have a Collard Forest going. My Kale Forest salutes you.