How do you prioritize what you plant?

I am trying to work on a seed order from a company or two or three for this year, and, as always, having issues with 'the garden in my head is bigger than the garden space I have'. I will be the first to admit sometimes my seed choosing and planting is emotional rather than logical; having seeds and growing pretty things is a source of joy and security for me.

Swirling in my head are thoughts about:
-Did it grow well last year? If not, why? Is it worth trying a bunch more varieties to find one that works?
-Will I eat it? Will other people eat it?
- How much space does it need?
- I never buy from this seed company , and they have this neat thing I want but have no space for. Should I buy it anyway, so I don't have to reorder from them in the future?
- is it available in the store?
-Look! Neat thing I have never tried. I wonder if I'd like it/that would be fun!
-Will my life allow for a garden this year?
-I enjoyed that last year... Should I try adding another variety to have more diversity?
-Can I buy something similar off the rack locally, if I don't order it?
-etc


If I were to just order what I NEED and grows well, it would be carrots, onion sets, and cucumbers. Not all that exciting.

How do you prioritize what you grow and order?

Will I eat it?

Will it grow here?

When do I want it to be ready to harvest?

Does the above jive with the planting date?

I don't prioritize.  I simply acknowledge the following:

Perusing the new seed catalogs is fun.
Making a huge list of seeds to buy is fun.
Paring the huge list down to something manageable (but still qualifying for free shipping!) is fun.
Preparing the order form is fun.

A week or two later:

Seeing the large envelope that you know is packed with new seeds, is fun.
Opening said envelope is REALLY fun.
Holding the seed packets in your hand is REALLY fun.
Integrating the new seeds with all the packets from last year you still have, is fun.
Admiring the collection, is fun.

Repeat once or twice more, depending on how many favorite seed companies you have.

We don't use logic when buying seeds, we do it because it's fun!

Yesterday I got my Southern Exposure, and Kitchen Garden Seeds catalogs.  Guess what I'm doing?

I too have a love of seeds. Holding the seed packet in my hand while looking at the photo of that perfect specimen on the package gives me a thrill. I envision butterflies and bees hovering happily over the blooms, the burgeoning harvest, the well-fed family throughout the cold winter. I feel the sunshine in my mind as I dream about being outdoors with the promise of those seeds. (The garden of my mind is a happy place, LOL!)

I try to only buy seeds that I either don't currently have, or seeds that I do have nearing their viability expiration. Before I do buy another set of seeds, I decide if it will grow well here. For instance, I have had a lot of trouble with growing cabbage, but collards volunteer themselves readily here. Nasturtiums don't grow well here. Head lettuces and tender spinach bolt too soon. I need to focus on leaf lettuces and "perpetual spinach" here.

I am reprioritizing this year's garden. I used to suggest that people grow the "expensive" veggies like broccoli, kale, etc. And opt to buy the "cheaper" produce like potatoes, cabbages, and beans. But I am rethinking that decision lately. I worry about farm-to-consumer supply chain interruptions. I worry that future lockdowns will keep us from getting to the store for the bulky produce I never used to grow.

I am hoping to grow more potatoes, squash, etc. Calorically heavy items that will feed my family fast and heartily.

And maybe I'm a bit paranoid, but I'm looking into more "stealth" gardening. If civil unrest becomes an issue, I don't want the masses tromping through my property to steal the veggies they recognize. I'm thinking I should grow more crops that are unrecognizable to people who don't know what they are. I'd like to try crops that look different than the grocery store offerings, for example dragon's tongue bean as opposed to Blue Lake. Root veggies that aren't seen from the road. Jerusalem artichokes that look like mere sunflowers. Etc.

We are lucky, because this is all we know.  My family eats 10 meals solely on stuff we grow a week.  We make 4 meals per week with store bought foods and on Saturday night we go out.  Our needs slowly have grown with a 16 year old young man in the house.  He requires a pound of meat/eggs and a pound of vegetables per day to keep him full.  We prioritize all winter long watching what we eat most of.  Growing our own meat takes away from growing vegetables, but gives us good quality fertilizer and meat.  We strive to keep these in balance.  My son loves growing things and starts us in February with tomatoes, peppers, cabbage and broccoli. We have a 8 x 6 green house that we fill till late May. We have found that cabbage, potatoes, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, peppers and beats are our mainstays. Our treats are thing like sunroots, wheat, peas, onions, garlic, lettuce, maple syrup, sorghum molasas and broccoli. We save most of our own seed so buying a new something is a treat and we will try a couple new things every year.  The priority for the animals is corn, sorghum, hey, oats, sunflowers, edible soy beans and wheat. The meat chickens and turkey are grown in a tractor rotation above the market garden for fertilizer and erosion reasons.  

1. We have very limited space and I try to focus on the things we really use a lot. This year it was onions and garlic. We use both in nearly everytime we cook, so it is really helpful to grab some onions from the barn instead needing to buy them.
2. Another thought: What do we eat a lot but is very expensive here? This goes for almost all berries, so we grow a lot of raspberries and strawberries. Next season I plan to extend with blueberries.
3. Grow what is good for 1 & 2 as companions or helps the environment/soil/your garden. I planted a Goumi for example.

Beside these three aspects (and if there is space left ;) ) I agree with Gary: Grow what is most fun or exciting to you. For me it is things I never had before like jerusalem artichokes or maximillian sunflower.

PS: If I could I would focus to grow more proteins!

Ben Knofe wrote:1. We have very limited space ...... the things we really use a lot.
2. ....What do we eat a lot but is very expensive here?

This is it right here, with the variation "what can we not get here". Generally that's a lot of Asian greens and veg, along with berries and fruit. My space is super limited, so I'm planting fig and blood oranges, mulberries, greens, fancy celery.

Tereza Okava wrote:

Ben Knofe wrote:1. We have very limited space ...... the things we really use a lot.
2. ....What do we eat a lot but is very expensive here?

This is it right here, with the variation "what can we not get here". Generally that's a lot of Asian greens and veg, along with berries and fruit. My space is super limited, so I'm planting fig and blood oranges, mulberries, greens, fancy celery.

Ah good that you remind me! I agree with you! I want to do Pak Choi and Gai Lan next season. thanks!

This time of year, I love looking at all the seed catalogs especially when they start hitting my mailbox.

Then I read, here on permits about all the things I have never even had a chance to taste like arugula, pretty chard, kohlrabi, etc.

I have learned that growing things that I find I don't like is a waste of garden space.

Then I found out that something doesn't do well here like potatoes so again a waste of my time, energy, water, etc.

It is easy for me to prioritize.  Tomatoes and watermelons that's it.

For personal use my list is roughly
The things I like,
Things I cannot buy here,
Next ones that taste better when home grown,
then things that are easy to grow,
I normally let myself have 1 or 2 things I have not tried before.

My limit is not space, I have tons of that it's how much I can keep under control and how much money I can spend on seeds.

I learned a long time ago that my eyes are bigger than my budget.

What I do is make a list of all the seeds I want, complete with price. Then, number them according to how much I want them. 1 is "I really really really want/need this", 5 is "just barely on the list at all".

Then, I start crossing things out.

This is a lot easier with a computer spreadsheet, but in the past I did it with paper and pencil. Cross things out, starting with the 5's, until the total matches my seed budget for the year.

(This year, my method got kicked to the wayside due to so many companies selling out or having to put a pause on orders. I'm trying to only order things that would have been 1s or 2s, but I'm ordering them fast rather than taking the time to make a list and compare. Fortunately, my budget isn't as tight this year as it normally is, and a lot of things I would normally get are in my collection already. But still, this is the general method I use most years.)

I keep a garden journal, to help me remember what worked, and what didn't.  I agree with making a list anyway that is easiest for you and then make it reasonable.  What you like, cost, space, what will grow in your zone, and time (if you plant so much it takes up every spare minute you have, well then it can loose it's joy) are all factors.  Once you have a reasonable list, I would suggest doing a little research on anything you are unsure of.  Nothing more frustrating then picking out the perfect watermelon to grow, buying, planting, and failing because you don't have a long enough growing season, or it doesn't get warm enough.  As far as enough space goes it is amazing how many veggies and flowers you can grow in containers.  You tend to get less weeds and its easier to harvest, though they do require more water.  I help this situation by putting wood into the bottom of larger container, and layering it with good compost. A big pot or barrel of veggies and flowers can be pretty and go in a spot you might not look to as "veggie" garden space. For most problems there is a solution is you are creative enough.  If you just can't think of one there is always Permies.  Any way I'm all for growing as much of your own food as you can,  with lots of variety.  Gardening is nothing if not an experiment.  No matter how experienced you are, or how much you know there is always something to learn.  Mother Nature also makes sure to keep us humble.  I live in sunny California, and never have trouble with tomatoes.  Last year I didn't get tomatoes until late summer.  No one I knew did either, but it just goes to show it pays to plant variety, because you never know when even the easy, I got this hands down veggies fail to grow.  So long story short I say do what makes you happy.  Who cares if you order emotionally, as long as you don't cause destruction to your finances, why not go for it.  If nothing else you will learn some valuable information.  Have fun and happy gardening.

Personally, I prioritize things that aren't easy to get (or are poor quality) around here.

That means:
Tomatoes,
Tomatoes,
Tomatoes,
Kohlrabi,
Basil,
Everything else

Oh, and then some more tomatoes if I have room.

Anne Miller wrote:

It is easy for me to prioritize.  Tomatoes and watermelons that's it.

Hi Anne,
I'm in zone 8b and find that sweet potatoes and collards also grow well here. Have you tried either of those?

Do to the less space i do prefer planting garlics and onions only.

I prioritize by asking the following questions.


How many calories will this produce for me or something I eat?

How much nutrition will this produce?    Staying healthy pays,  so an apple that keeps me from paying a doctor is on my list to grow.

How much time does this require of me in protecting it from other things that will eat it?

What does this cost in the store?     If I can buy this for $1.00 in the store and it takes me $2.00 to grow with fertilizer, soil,   spraying it,  fighting aphids, am I loosing $ and time to grow it?

Have I tried all varieties of this plant?     I have found that changing to another variety of the plant I can get double the produce for 1/2 the effort.    it pays got get seed for like 8 varieties try them all and go with the one that works best.

How does it taste?        So many things you can grow taste like cardboard,  not on my diet list ;-)

Last year was my first real year of intensive vegetable gardening though I've been gardening since I was a child.  The pandemic changed our lives and priorities and I suddenly had time to expand my raised bed garden.  Successes include tomatoes, potatoes, beans and sweet potatoes.  Stuff that just did okay include peas, corn, squash and peppers.  Utter failures were onions, beets and cabbage, though the latter was attacked by cabbage worms.  I did keep a journal of sorts on my iPad of what I did in the garden, planting dates and harvest yields and have slowly been transferring that to a paper journal.  I remember being surprised at just how dry some of the new beds were even though they were heavily mulched and feel this is the main culprit for the beet, pepper and onion yield, though I'm forgoing onion sets for seed this year.  I love cabbage and cook with it often, so I invested in BT and row cover for this year.  New to me stuff for this year include more tomato varieties, Lima beans, cauliflower, brocolli, spinach, kohlrabi and I'm sure a few more I can't remember at the moment.  

So I guess what I'm trying to say with the rambling paragraph above is don't be afraid to try new things and definitely don't give up on something based on one growing season.  If it is rated to grow in your zone and you have the room for it, then go for it.

Stephen Lord wrote:Do to the less space i do prefer planting garlics and onions only.

Agree with the garlic.  If I had to choose, due to space considerations, I would do just garlic.  Then tomatoes if I had room.

But definitely garlic.  The one called 'Music'.