Last fall, we hatched what has turned out to be a terrific idea: a national survey to rate North America’s most productive garden crops. We invited thousands of our readers who grow food gardens to rate a list of 70 crops, and with more help from members of Seed Savers Exchange, we amassed groundbreaking, firsthand regional advice from hundreds of gardeners from British Columbia to Boca Raton.
The online survey covered a lot of ground by asking four questions about everything from asparagus to sweet corn to watermelon:
- How easy is it to grow?
- How much do you like to eat it?
The following regional “Top 10 Crops” revealed by the survey (based on all four criteria) will give beginners a great start. However, they won’t fill up most gardens, so our report also covers “pet” crops: veggies that people want with such passion that they’re willing to take extra measures to help them grow. The survey also identified minor-league veggies like arugula that are not widely grown, but get uniformly high ratings from those who grow them.
We hope you find fresh, helpful guidance in these initial results from the first Mother Earth News National Garden Crops Survey. May your 2009 garden be your most efficient, bountiful and delicious ever!
Photo by Walter Chandoha
The National Top 25 Crops
- Garlic
- Bush snap bean
- Pole snap bean
- Slicing tomato
- Cherry tomato
- Paste tomato
- Potato
- Snow/snap pea
- Shallot
- Shell pea
- Scallion
- Chard
- Dry soup bean
- Sweet pepper
- Rhubarb
- Summer squash
- Spinach
- Hot pepper
- Carrot
- Winter squash
- Beet
- Kale
- Sweet corn
- Collards
- Radish
Easiest to Grow
- Radish
- Chard
- Bush snap bean
- Rhubarb
- Cherry tomato
Most Wanted
- Slicing tomato
- Sweet corn
- Cherry tomato
- Garlic
- Asparagus
Best Use of Time and Space
- Scallion
- Lettuce
- Chard
- Cherry tomato
- Radish
Easiest to Store
- Garlic
- Onion
- Potato
- Shallot
- Dry soup bean
Regional Top Crops
For a full report on the best crops where you live, click on your region below:
North Central & Rockies
Maritime Canada & New England
Pacific Northwest
Southwest
Central/Midwest
Southern Interior
Gulf Coast
Mid-Atlantic
MATTHEW T. STALLBAUMER
For more helpful tips checkout our Gardening Books in our Mother Earth News online store!
