Growing your own food is one of the best things you can do for your grocery budget and your nutrition. But Upstate NY has a short, sometimes brutal growing season, and not everything thrives here. Before you spend money on seeds and starters, here’s what’s actually worth planting and what to skip.
The Top 10 for Upstate NY
- Zucchini and summer squash are incredibly productive in our climate. One or two plants will feed a household all summer. They grow fast, require minimal maintenance, and cost almost nothing to start from seed.
- Tomatoes are worth the effort if you start them indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost or buy starts in late May. Choose varieties like Better Boy or Roma that are suited to shorter seasons. The cost savings on fresh tomatoes alone are significant.
- Kale is one of the most nutritionally dense crops you can grow and it actually gets sweeter after the first frost. It can be planted and harvested twice in the same year and tastes better after exposure to early fall frosts. Direct sow in early May or late July for a fall crop.
- Green beans are easy, productive, and cheap to start from seed. Bush varieties don’t need staking and produce heavily through the summer. Excellent fresh and easy to freeze for winter.
- Lettuce and salad greens thrive in our cool springs and falls. Cool-season crops like lettuce can bolt in hot temperatures so succession plant every two weeks from May through June and again in August for a fall harvest.
- Cucumbers grow well in Upstate NY with a little warmth and consistent water. Train them up a trellis to save space and improve airflow. Start seeds indoors in early May and transplant after last frost.
- Beets are cold hardy, fast growing, and give you two crops in one: the root and the greens. They can be planted and harvested twice a year, first in late spring and again in mid July.
- Carrots are low maintenance once established and store beautifully through fall and winter. Plant in cooler temperatures in early April, a few weeks before last expected frost, and again at the beginning of August. Use loose, well-draining soil for best results.
- Garlic is planted in fall and harvested in July, making it one of the easiest and most cost-effective crops you can grow. Buy a bulb at the farmers market, break it into cloves, plant in October, and done.
- Fresh herbs like basil, parsley, and chives give you enormous bang for your buck. A single basil plant costs $3 to $4 and will produce all summer. Fresh herbs elevate simple whole food meals without adding cost.
5 Not Worth the Bother in Upstate NY
Not saying that these can’t be done here or shouldn’t if that’s your thing. BUT if you’re an average home gardener looking to maximize growing space and season these may not be the most cost effective options.
- Watermelon needs a long, hot season we simply don’t reliably have. You’ll put in significant effort for disappointing results.
- Corn requires a lot of space for a modest yield. It’s cheap at every farm stand in August. Skip it.
- Eggplant struggles in our cooler nights and short season. It’s finicky, slow, and rarely worth the garden real estate.
- Sweet potatoes need a long warm season and specific soil conditions. Our frost dates don’t give them enough time.
- Cauliflower is the fussiest of all the cole crops, prone to bolting in temperature swings and requiring precise timing. The effort-to-reward ratio is low.
Tips to Keep Your Costs Down
- Start from seed wherever possible. Seed packets cost $2 to $4 and produce dozens of plants. Starts from a garden center cost $4 to $6 each.
- Save seeds from this year’s harvest for next year. Tomatoes, beans, and squash are easy to save.
- Check Facebook Marketplace and local buy-nothing groups for free or cheap raised bed materials, soil, and starts. Gardeners are generous people.
- Water deeply and less frequently rather than daily. It builds stronger root systems and cuts water usage.
- Freeze, ferment, or can excess produce in peak season. The savings carry through winter when fresh vegetables cost the most.
- Use the buddy system! Find a few friends/neighbors also doing home gardens, plant different crops and exchange throughout the season!!
Growing your own food is one of the most empowering things you can do for your health and your budget. And if you want help building a nutrition plan around what you’re growing and eating, that’s exactly what our Nutrition Program is here for.
Book a Free Intro today. Let’s build something that works from the ground up.
