Grow your Own Food!

Growing your own food is so satisfying, and nothing tastes better than something you just picked from your own yard. If you haven’t tried to grow vegetables, herbs or fruits yet, we think you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to get a harvest of delicious, nutritious food from your garden. If you’ve already tried growing food, well then you know!

Bloomfield’s Top Five Food Plants to Grow

Here are some of the easiest, most satisfying food crops to grow:

Tomatoes

Definitely one of the most satisfying food crops! The heirloom varieties, such as yellow pear, cherokee purple and old german are all indeterminate or vine plants which grow very tall and need a string or trellis to grow up. But the amazing flavour is worth the trouble! There are also some outstanding hybrid varieties these days, including roma, beefsteak and cherry tomatoes, which remain compact and can just be supported with a cage.

Tomatoes need full sun and require diligent watering to maintain a consistent moisture level in the soil.

Kale

Kale is an easy crop to grow and because it’s a cool weather crop it will keep on producing long into the Fall. In fact it becomes sweeter after a frost.

This year we are featuring Redbor Kale which has long purple stems up to 3 feet long, and curly purple leaves. It’s a stunning plant and we think it has as much value as an ornamental as for its highly nutritious leaves!

Swiss Chard

This is another highly nutritious plant that’s very easy to grow and looks great in your beds or containers. Like kale, you only harvest some of the stems, leaving the plant to carry on producing, so it never leaves you with an empty patch in your bed or container.

Swiss Chard Bright Lights is particularly interesting for its multicolour stems which look great in the garden and on the plate.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is an extremely hardy plant that will just keep on giving! Although some varieties can get very large, they don’t spread or become invasive so they can play a role in your landscape design.

Rhubarb stems have a delicious, tangy taste and are awesome for desserts and jams. The leaves should never be eaten as they are poisonous.

Herbs

Okay, this isn’t really one plant, but we think that any herb is a great option for the food garden. They are extremely easy to grow and fresh picked herbs are sure to add a certain wow factor to your cooking. Basil, thyme and dill are three of our favourites.

These are just five of our favourite food crops, but of course the list goes on and includes such delights as raspberries and strawberries, squash and peppers.

You can browse our selection of food plants here – we hope you find lots of inspiration!

Remember, when you buy any plants through our online store we are happy to keep them in the greenhouse for you until the May long weekend.