Every cook knows that your dish is only as good as the ingredients, which is why I absolutely love growing my own food. There’s nothing like eating a sun-ripened tomato or snacking on peas straight from the vine. I have a small yard and just one 4×8′ raised bed garden and manage to grow an enormous amount of food every year.

The photo on the right here is a single day’s harvest from 4×8′ garden!

This year is extra special because I started tomatoes and zucchini indoors from seed for the first time ever. Shoutout to Park Seed because I had nearly a 100% germination rate for my Black Krim and Cherokee Purple tomatoes, two of my all-time favorites. Not only did growing tomato plants from seed save me a ton of money but also gave me a fun project this winter!

A few weeks ago, I moved my baby seedlings from my seed starting tray to little containers but kept them indoors on the same windowsill. I started hardening them off two weeks ago, which means exposing them to outdoor elements day by day, and transplanted them last week.

I intended to make a whole vertical trellis system for my tomatoes this year but alas, I have once again run out of time so we are going with cages yet again. Next year is my year!

My Peggy Martin Rose didn’t get enough sun last year due to my tomato plants blocking it so I decided to plant my tomatoes on the sides of my raised bed rather than the back. I planted French marigolds around the perimeter of my garden to protect my tomatoes from pests.

Three Black Krim Tomatoes are on the right side and three Cherokee Purple Tomatoes are on the left side of the garden. I added two zucchini plants to either side of my obelisk, which still have peas that have not taken off since it’s been 90 degrees since February. When my basil plants are ready to transplant, I’ll add them between the tomatoes and the zucchini.

Peppers (jalapeño, red bell pepper, purple bell pepper, and a green bell pepper) line the front of the garden and I still have room in the back for eggplant. I haven’t decided if I’m going to put okra in the center when it’s too hot for peas or my cantaloupe. I started a Charentais Cantaloupe indoors and I haven’t picked a spot for it yet!

Read my Eggplant Grow Guide here.

I toyed with adding an additional raised bed to the side of my house but instead decided to expand my garden by adding some blueberry plants to my courtyard and pots with cucumber and nasturtium. I’ve never grown nasturtium before but y’all know I love edible flowers so I’m excited!

Love the mug? Girl, same! Shop my Fairtytale line on the Rose Table’s official merch store!

Herbs

In addition, I of course have tons of herbs in my garden: three kinds of lavender, three kinds of mint, three kinds of thyme, oregano, rosemary, chives, and sage.

Flowers

I’m also growing pansies and dianthus, two edible flowers, to garnish dishes. This year I even tossed a bunch of zinnia seeds, purple zinnia, and wildflower seeds in a cedar planter to start a cutting garden so I can have flowers for my table all summer long.

What are you growing this year? Comment below and tell me!