Answering this question is not as easy as it may seem, there are all kind of factors and reasons why one seed might be better than
Or perhaps the best vegetable seed for the greenhouse, or for a specific crop production there is no real answer for the best vegetable seed, it’s all down to the situation.
What are the best vegetable seeds to grow?
Again, this is not a straight forward answer it all depends rather than trying to answer a specific question let’s look at a few scenarios and list what we consider to be the best vegetable seed for that situation.
The best vegetable seeds to grow in under 30 days.
Young tender green shoots you harvest the plant weeks or months before they have the chance to mature, you can do this with a specific microgreen crop or any organic seed –
Do not use non-organic seed because some seed is treated when growing microgreens the seed shell or husk can sometimes still be on the plant when harvesting and risk consumption.
Microgreens are full of vitamins and minerals, can be grown in a small space with very little requirements and can be harvest within 28 days and consumed as a salad or enjoyed as a side to any dish.
A fast turnaround crop with most varieties ready for harvest within 25-35 days depending on conditions and how often you water. Radishes are super easy to grow, provide instant results and offer a peppery taste to any summer salad!
Greens can be sown and grown in just about anywhere trays, pots, or direct to ground. Harvested at a young age from 28 days. Pick the outer leaf’s and leave the internal heart alone and the plant will continue to grow – a two in one plant!
This can be done with any lettuce seed.
Spinach grown at any time of the year undercover or outside spinach can be enjoyed hot or cold, a super-fast producing crop only taking 28 days to harvest it can be an ideal stable crop.
The best vegetable seeds to grow for beginners.
When starting out growing vegetables from seed for the first time. I would suggest starting with some of the crops listed above as they help keep the interest and motivation going which is important as it keeps you interested.
Our recommendation for first time gardeners:
A great stable crop, super easy to grow. Does require earthing (covering 75% of the plant with soil as it grows) but is not a super important requirement if you forget or unsure, will provide a crop regardless of little you water requires the most basic of care.
Potatoes can be grown in the ground, in pots, tubs, allotment the garden or any location you can provide soil. All you need at most is a builder bucket full of soil!
I think most gardens in the UK have a runner bean plant or two growing in the middle of the summer it’s almost a stable growing crop. Will happily grow in a small planting box or medium size pot however the plant does need some support to climb up.
A basic structure such as an A frame with 6-foot bamboos will do, the larger the frame you provide the more the plant will grow and produce a crop.
If you want to try and grow the biggest try Enorma or if you are growing for taste, then firestorm is an excellent bean to try.
Although it’s not everyone’s first choice this plant will thrive in all conditions, you only need 2 for a family of 4 to have enough courgettes all summer, the more you pick the more the plant provides. Offers a large crop, great fast returns and if you like courgettes can save you some money.
Growing Jemmer F1 will crop a nice smooth yellow courgette it offers something a little bit different to your local supermarket.
As mentioned above a fast crop can be enjoyed in as little as 28 days grown in a tray, small pot or left to mature into a full-size lettuce ball. This crop can be enjoyed at different points during the plant growth and makes it an excellent first-time starter.
Don’t be fussy about sowing, you can broadcast the seed (a posh way of saying just throw in the ground) and then let it grow in clumps and thin or pick it out after 4 weeks and start to enjoy fresh salads every day.
A little tricky crop to get growing as it requires a fair bit of water but if you want to get into gardening this crop will help you establish a routine that will set you up later for caring for other crops.
It’s a great starting crop that requires a little bit more attention than the others mentioned.
Boltardy is a great tasting beetroot will not bolt in the hot sun and Is a little bit easier to regulate than other crops.
Best Fruit & Vegetables to grow to Save money
If you are growing to save money, then the best solution is to grow high-value crops these can be any fruit or vegetable that can be expensive to purchase in a supermarket.
The price of specific crops can fluctuate on a yearly basis depending on demand, production costs, weather and a host of other factors.
We love to grow onions, carrots, peas and a range of other vegetables although in recent years these can be purchased for under 40p in your local supermarket.
So if space is limited and growing to save money is your aim then we recommend the following:
These are a fantastic investment every year the plant will provide you with more plants for free. It takes around 24 months from planting to obtain a bumper crop and production of older plants will tend to slow down after the 4thyear.
However, an investment of 12 strawberry plants will provide you with at least another 12 plants by the end of the season and with each plant.
Each strawberry plant can produce 150-400g in production depending on the season, feed and plant varsity.
Based on this one plant can produce on average a punnet of strawberries that’s a saving of
around £2 per plant compared to buying in your local supermarket – not to mention the fruit is grown fresh!
For a single person growing fresh fruit for the summer, we recommend 6-8 plants for a family of 4 you would need at least 35 plants. Eating and freezing 60 or more strawberries are ideal.
Remember these produce new plants every year so buying 60 this year will require room for an additional 60-80 plants by the end of the growing season!
Strawberry plants can be purchased as both early, mid and late-season giving you almost 6 months of fresh strawberries.
Another expensive crop to purchase in-store. A small 200g punnet can cost over £2 (prices sourced from http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk) just like strawberries as the plants get older they become more productive and the larger crop you can obtain.
Again, raspberries can be purchased as early, mid/main or late season giving a production time of 6-8 months depending on how late or early our winters are.
Raspberry canes can normally be purchased in bunches of six or bunches of twelve. With a wide range of varieties and colours to choose from.
A family of 4 would need 7 – 12 canes to get a good harvest with some fruit left to freeze. However, in the first early years of production, you may see only a handful of fruit per plant until the crop reaches full production from year 3 onwards.
Once established you can expect crop yields of 1.5kg – 2kg per plant!!!! Saving around £15 per cane!!!!
The more you pick the more than plant will continue to provide!
These are what we consider to be the best vegetable seeds.