Gardens are started for reasons as varied as the gardeners themselves. Sometimes we garden because it is therapeutic, or because it beautifies our homes, or because we simply need a hobby. But organic gardening, especially edibles, often has the common denominator of financial savings. Buying organic can be expensive, if you even have access to organic produce at all. And it’s not terribly surprising – keeping an organic farm going with strong yields, consistent – therefore widely marketable – appearance and taste, and all of the certifications necessary is no easy task.


In your home garden, though, producing enough for your family and neighbors doesn’t have to be daunting or expensive. Often we think of buying starter plants when planning our gardens, but much of the more expensive produce is easy to start from seed, which means your start up costs are significantly cheaper. With planting season right around the corner, here are 10 plants that you can grow organically for garden savings from seed to salad.

Herbs

Herbs are the garden workhorse, good for companion planting, culinary purposes, and even medicinal uses. Buying organic herbs in the produce section is fairly cost prohibitive, if you can locate them at all. And if you are starting several plants of multiple herbs, buying already-started plants can get expensive as well. Try growing basil and cilantro from seed this year. Both propagate easily and can grow well indoors. There’s no need to start cilantro indoors, either – they grow best when sowed directly – and as a bonus later in the year, you can harvest the seeds both for next year and as coriander spice.

Staples

Every edible garden is unique to the gardener, but there are a few staples that we can all agree on. When you’re planning on canning tomato sauce for the year or making salsa all summer long, you need quite a few plants. Buying and transplanting them can get pricey. Fortunately for our wallets, the staples are easy to start from seed.

Tomatoes. Start tomatoes indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost. They can be started together, but move stronger seedlings to their own containers when they begin to sprout leaves. When temperatures have warmed to the mid 50s and the plants are nice and sturdy, they’re ready to transplant to the garden. Don’t forget to save some seeds from heirloom varieties at the end of the year so you can do it all again!

Peppers. Peppers come in so many varieties – bells, sweet, hot, to name a few, and countless variations on each of those. But most peppers love two things: sand and sun (don’t we all!). Make sure the soil mix drains well and that you have a warm place for the seeds to germinate and sprout. The top of the refrigerator works well if you don’t have a greenhouse or heat mat.

Greens. Lettuces, spinach, and other greens come up quickly and can be sowed right into the garden, especially in late summer for cool season growth. If you start them indoors, however, you can get a jump on the early cool season and keep batches growing all year long. As soon as the first planting starts to mature, start another set of sprouts to follow them in the garden.

Chard. Swiss chard is a colorful addition to the edible landscape and a delicious addition to any menu. Sow directly in warm soil or begin indoors to transplant when they grow to a couple of inches tall.

Vines

Vining plants make a sizeable impact on the garden, and if you try to buy the plants they can make a sizeable impact on the budget, as well. What’s summer without fresh cantaloupe and watermelon, or fall without winter squash? Make sure you start these from seed this year, and you’ll see a quick return on your (much smaller) investment.

Melons. If you’ve had a watermelon seed spitting contest in July turn into late sprouting melon plants in August, you know that melons can be easily propagated from seed. Plant a couple of seeds in each spot so that you can choose the stronger one for transplanting. Melons love warmth, so make sure you wait until the end of spring or even until summer has started to ease in.

Cucumbers. Cucumbers shouldn’t be planted outside until all chances of frost are gone and the ground has warmed. To be safe, you should wait until a couple of weeks after the last frost date – so if you want a longer growing season, start them indoors.

Squash. Squash plants do not always transfer well, so rather than starting them indoors, consider warming the soil by covering it as the last frost dates come and go. Otherwise, just let them follow an early crop of nitrogen-replacing snow peas, and sow them directly in the warm, well-fed soil.