13 Edible Plants You Need to Grow 

Love it! Thank you Ann =) Genuinely appreciate the input - it's so nice to know what folks would like to hear about!

Hahaha it's pretty hard to not be happy when things are growing. Hope yours is making you happy too!

My toddler and I planted some Russian mammoth sunflowers next to the main patch of malabar. I LOVE using them as living trellises. What a cool plant =)

Thank you for such a lovely comment! Nothing could make me happier than hearing our videos have helped encourage you to get out there and garden. Truly. Savory is awesome!!! And if folks end up digging this video I will definitely do one for perennials!

You are so welcome. Thank *you* for sharing such a lovely comment - totally just made my morning =)

Thank you! Hard not to be =)

Did you see the ground cherries behind them? I feel like I need more experience with them before recommending! This list was legitimately made for myself as a "what do I refuse to stop growing next year knowing things are going to be super busy in life?" =) I love purslane! And your now the second person already to vote for lamb's quarter - I would not have guessed it gets that kind of love. Maybe I need to revisit it.

I feel you.... we're slowly adding beds to our super shady side yard garden because it's just about the only unclaimed space left =)

I *definitely* want to do more carrots this Fall! Our dog looooooves them.

I really noticed the same thing the first year we grew them! They're clearly more enticing than the tomato flowers anyhow =)

I've never tried it, but it sure does look like kabocha! Even a maxima like Kabocha. I'm sure they're unrelated but makes me want to try it out =)

YES! Haha that is the ultimate compliment and I really appreciate you sharing! Happy planting =)

Strongly considering adding this to the row next year... 😁

That sounds like a blast! I wish we were harvesting already! At least the zucchini are juuuuust about ready =)

Thank you! Me too =) So excited for them to start putting on size!

I'M SORRY WHAT IS THIS? How have I never heard of aerial radishes. I absolutely must grow one ASAP. Presumably, they can grow in warmer weather as you're actively encouraging them to go to seed? Or am I totally off base? I'm 100% serious about wanting to order some right away =)

Thank you for sharing Charles! Do you grow those during the summer months too? I have very little practical experience with more northern climates =)

Hahaha when we visited parts of northern Europe it was fun realizing there are areas where I don't stick out like a sore thumb! ;)

Right?! I just decided to skip tallying up how much we spent on seeds this year. It was out of control though. But the garden has been extra fun this year so there's that!

Thanks Bob! 1000% agree on Jalapenos being inconsistent. I was just looking at the jalafuego variety last night actually as I'd like to incorporate a more productive salsa pepper into my garden next year and they're supposed to be pretty hot. Maybe more consistently hot, too? Who knows! I'm trying pasilla peppers this year but have found them to be frustratingly fragile thus far.

Love this comment 😁 It's all so context dependent, right? I'm a bit more concerned with lambs quarter volunteers than malabar ones but that's just the reality of my soil and my garden. I love malabar but it isn't the easiest plant where I live! Thank you for recommending an alternative! I think we're all better off when we share our favorite summer-friendly greens options loudly and often 😁 Hopefully some of them will become more mainstream (in the States anyhow) one day soon.

Can a native plant truly be considered invasive? Love lamb's quarter. My only disagreement with you is that I feel it's taste is not only like spinach, but solidly BETTER. And not only will it grow in the summer heat, but will thrive in even the toughest, driest places in the yard as it does so. Fun fact-There's a closely related species that's domesticated in Mexico: huauzontle (Chernopodium nuttaliae).

Awesome, glad to hear it! Hope some of these are making it into your garden this year =)

Hmmmm that's a really interesting use case! Peppers are a bit tricky because they need to be above 55 degrees at all times (so might be rough if you're stopped overnight somewhere cold) and they need a lot of light. It's possible to grow 'em in a window but definitely more of an uphill battle. Fruiting plants in general are harder indoors compared to herbs and leafy plants as their energy requirements are so hard. I sincerely hope you can get it to work though!

@@NextdoorHomestead I don't think it was the colds that killed them because I have an Apu in my truck and always keep my heat on. I'm from Arizona. I don't like the cold either.

@@NextdoorHomestead I discovered that gnats were burrowing in the soil and that's what killed them. It seemed to kill my whole garden and I don't know how to get rid of them.

THANK YOU JOANNE!!! I've actually got a video idea on my list around "types" of tomatoes. It wouldn't necessarily be heirloom specific but I'd really love to go through the different categories (and even species!) of tomatoes. It's WAY more interesting than it gets credit for. Anyhow, what I mean to say is that's a lovely idea for a video!

@@NextdoorHomestead you're most welcome. And yes, definitely! I feel like most videos just state which ones are Determinates or Indeterminates, and videos on which varieties are sweet or great for snacking etc. But the "types", not so. I'm looking forward to your upload on that! 🍅 P.S. I hope you soon get affiliations from seed suppliers. Greetings again from the Philippines! 😄

I was never that into parsley until we started growing it. Now I love using it! And that is pretty normal in my experience. But you should start seeing (feeling, rather - gotta check the husks with your fingers) pretty soon. Do you have some good pollinator activity in the area?

@@NextdoorHomestead oh yes, heaps of strawberries, mangetouts, raspberries and some tomatoes are growing too so that is not an issue. But since you said three tomatillo plants I started doubting

@@veraw2121 Two should work! I just like to have a failsafe - tomatillo plants (at least the varieties i've grown) are pretty variable in size and vigor. I'm not sure why, but perhaps they just haven't been bred to produce the same levels of consistency I'm used to in other plants.

@@NextdoorHomestead I planted the 2nd a few days later and the leaviare still lighter green than the other. But same height, same amount of flowers... And I gave 4 plants away that were sown later but kept the same growing rate. I have pruned the lower suckers since I'm growing them on tomatohooks: not a lot of surface so I'm using the height wherever I can 🤭

Hey Katharine - they definitely can get a little forlorn. I've got a video on how we approach growing in hot climates more generally, but one tip for beans is to look at the Asian yard long bean varieties as they tend to be a bit more heat tolerant than the classic American northeast green bean varieties =)

Hi Rob - first off, I'm very, very sorry to hear about your pup's scary incident. We've gone through some very tough vet visits with ours after eating something bad. But I wanted to clarify - was there something in this video that made you feel I needed to clarify this risk? Or was this more of a general PSA? Hope your pup recovers quickly.

@NextdoorHomestead Just a general PSA . Sorry. Your channel is terrific.

@@robotica6089 Thanks Rob. This is a topic (too) near to my heart so I just wanted to make sure I hadn't been encouraging anything dangerous. We've actually removed some content from videos because of the risk of certain plants / garden ingredients to dogs. To be honest, I *didn't* realize compost was that dangerous and am glad you prompted me to look it up. It's so tough to keep overly mouthy/inquisitive dogs safe. Constant battle over here.

Thanks for the heads up! I just got my puppy back from a 2 night hospital stay. Now I'm wondering if it was compost related. They are outside with me all the time and into EVERYTHING! I had never heard that before.

​@@robotica6089 Sorry about your dog, but what does this have to do with anything in this video? Humans shouldn't eat compost, so why would a dog be any different? It's decomposing (rotting) organic matter. Usually with all kinds of food scraps not fit for dogs, as well as all kinds of bugs. Our compost bin is four non treated shipping pallets tied together with chicken wire stapled to each individual side. Keeps the compost in, and the dogs out. Best of luck

Heya! Are you dealing with damage to the plants or disease issues from the squash bugs?

@@NextdoorHomestead hi, I'm dealing with damage to the plants. Didn't know they carried disease.

;)

What sorts of crops are you looking at? Are you open to starting them indoors in containers?

Were the plants otherwise healthy appearing? Do other nightshade plants grow well in the same area? If yes to both of those, one issue might be lack of pollination from insects.

@@NextdoorHomestead Yeah, I had eggplants and peppers in the same plot that went nuts that year, as well as tomatoes one plot over that also produced heavily. We definitely didn't seem to have that many pollinators that year, especially compared to the huge population this year. Too late now, but maybe I'll give them a try again next year, I'm sure verde sauce with home grown tomatillos would be way better than storebought Also, for the record, I'd love to see a video on all the tomatoes you grow--varieties and why. Unless I've missed that on the vids you already have out

I've been looking for this comment!!! I wanted to ask a question about your suggestion - would it still be interesting if I couldn't actually show you all the varieties and just talked about them? I keep notes on varieties we grow and it's probably my biggest passion in gardening but I haven't made videos talking about them (well, we did one on cukes) because I don't know how to make it interesting to watch!

@@NextdoorHomestead I mean, it would to *me*, though I can't really speak for other people, I'm the kind of nerd who read Lehoullier's epic tomatoes and loved it. I'd be happy to watch a vid of you sitting at your desk or in your garden just talking about the whats and whys and hows of the tomatoes you grow, and the tomatoes you tried and decided weren't worth growing again... I mean, maybe cut in images of the representative fruits from them? Or voiceover on shots of the tomatoes growing in your garden? I don't know squat about video production/editing/what makes people enjoy watching them, I'm just a gardening nerd, and especially a tomato nerd. We're only doing about 12 or 13 varieties and 26 plants this year, clearly I need to up my game.

@@NextdoorHomestead Oh man, I also meant to ask if you've ever tried the aspirin spray for nightshades, any of the JADAM fermented fertilizers, or making lactobacillus. You seem to be the most scientifically grounded garden channel I've found so far, so I'm very interested in your take on some of these latest fads if they ever work into your ideas for videos

Hey Renae - great question! I mean summer generically; I'm using it as the catchall term for any area's primary growing season. You can definitely grow cucumbers in hot areas but it's true that some varieties do much better than others. I tried to share my favorite tips for super hot climates (we're in zone 9 too!) in a video a couple weeks ago for what it's worth. And don't underestimate how much water cucumber plants need! =)

Suyo likes the heat…a long Asian cucumber 🥒

Ooooh that's a good one. I've got some germinating in trays right now actually =) Thanks for watching!

@@NextdoorHomestead I live in south Texas and it’s one of the only things that thrive during our brutal Summers! Well that and Malabar spinach lol!

What?! Does that mean you don't like to eat them? I'm so confused!

@@NextdoorHomestead I am no fan of eggplant. The wife loves them though.

hahah so much to agree and disagree with here! My kinda comment =) What's your go to recommendation for tomatillo variety?

@@NextdoorHomesteadthe large yellows 'Queen of Malinalco' or 'Chupon De Malinalco'... The purples I've found to be hit or miss, but the standard greens, 'Verde' & 'Rio Verde Grande' last the longest on the shelf.

@@austintrees Thank you! My plan for next year is to try the Pancho or Super Verde variety (alongside the toma verde =)