Actually, almost everyone will have at least one plant in the garden that the other people they know won't have! For my ex and me, it was usually the Philippine eggplant. For my husband and me, it is probably the bird's-eye pepper. Regardless, the plants you grow in your own garden should be those you want to plant and/or eat.

For me, peas, beans, tomatoes, and okra are staples that need to be in our garden! I like bell peppers, also, but my husband doesn't; he prefers hot peppers. So we compromise and usually plant a few of both. These are best bought in peat pots, already started. Then all you have to do is to place them in the garden, pull dirt up around them, and water them. If you do it on a day that it is going to rain, you don't even need to water them!

The easiest plants to grow in the garden are peas. Purple-hull peas are also easy to pick, since you can easily tell when they are getting ripe: the hull begins turning purple right at the end. Then all you have to do is pick a "mess", shell them, and rinse them off and cook them. Delicious, especially with a little bacon grease in the pot, some pepper sauce to pour on them in the plate, and some hot buttered cornbread! I'm getting hungry for some, just writing about them!

Corn is fairly easy to grow, but it takes more room, and can easily get stunted during dry spells, if not irrigated. But fresh corn on the cob is really tasty, also. And the shucks and cobs can be used to fatten hogs, if you happen to have some that need it. (They also love those pea hulls!) Or you can put them all in a compost pit, with grass clippings and other biodegradables, and use it for fertilizer the next season.

Watermelon and cucumbers are nice, but take a lot more space in the garden. Some people also grow squash (I love it!) and/or cantaloupes. Cucumbers can be sliced and put in vinegar and eaten that way, or pickled, in several different ways. Cantaloupe is something I've never developed a taste for, but my husband loves it. Squash can be pickled or cooked in several different ways, also. All these foods take a lot of space in the garden, so if you only have a small space to use, don't try them there. You might be able to grow them in a hanging pot, though! All but the watermelons and cantaloupes, that is!

Whatever vegetables you usually eat, you can probably grow in your garden. You may have to get in touch with an agriculture teacher, or a farmer, or even go on the Internet to learn how to do it, but the fun of watching the garden and the vegetables grow is worth a lot! And you know exactly what has been put on them, that way, because you were the one who put it there! No hidden poisons; you know they are safe to eat, straight from the plant!

Learn more about this author, Barbara A. Black.
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