7 nutrient-dense plants I’m growing in my garden this year
Some of these are annual staples in my garden, and a few are new.
When I planned my first garden, I wanted to make sure I was growing food that I enjoyed eating. As I scoured seed catalogs, I thought it made more sense to use the growing space for plants that offered more nutrients than varieties I might find commercially. When going to the effort of growing food, I wanted to make sure my time and the space were used in the best way. If a few square feet could produce a certain volume of tomatoes, why not leverage that space to produce some of the most nutritious tomatoes?
Large-scale food production is losing nutrition. In my earlier post about eating for resiliency, I shared The Bionutrient Institute’s findings that a person “may have to consume 8 blueberries or 3 carrots to equal 1 grown in an optimal growing condition that favors nutrient density.” Food found in our conventional markets doesn’t have everything we need. We’re paying more for nutrient-deficient food.
I challenged myself with narrowing down this list of nutrient-rich plants to a digestible size. My seed collection is a little nuts, and continues to trend that way as I try to keep and add unique varieties. A friend came by one time during the garden season and saw seeds on my kitchen table. She said, “Uh, how many different kinds of carrots do you really need?” She pointed to the 3 storage cartons of different carrot seeds, each carton containing at least 10 packets of different varieties. “Not enough,” I replied.
I personally love the look of a rainbow of carrots, and studies consistently show that “eating the rainbow” helps provide diverse nutrients. Since we’re on the topic of carrots, let’s start the list there.
Black Nebula carrot. A dark purple carrot, the Black Nebula is a rare heirloom variety described as being the darkest carrot in the world. It’s a starch-free carrot, which generally implies the sugar content is higher. The dark color reflects high concentrations of anthocyanins.
Moringa. Said to be the most nutrient-dense plant on earth, moringa is a tropical plant which can be used as a tea, or its leaves can be dried and powdered and added to smoothies, lattes, and sauces. The stems, flowers, and seed pods can also be used too. I typically grow moringa in a grow bag on my front deck so that I can keep an eye on it, and harvest and dehydrate the leaves as much as possible during the growing season. Since it’s a tropical plant, our winters are a little too cold in North Carolina to support moringa year-round. I haven’t tried bringing it in over the winter (yet) and always start new seedlings annually. You’ll be hard-pressed to name a nutrient not found in moringa. Calcium, potassium, zinc, magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin C, iron, manganese, essential amino acids, and the list goes on.
Outredgeous lettuce. When NASA researchers studied and selected plants to grow on the International Space Station (ISS), Outredgeous lettuce earned the first ticket to space. A romaine variety, Outredgeous is one of the reddest lettuces you can grow. Growing this lettuce on the ISS made it possible for people to have better nutrition on space missions. While we can’t replicate the environment completely in our home gardens, “Some of the space lettuce boasted higher concentrations of vitamins and other compounds, including potassium, sodium, phosphorus, sulphur and zinc. Researchers also measured elevated levels of phenolics in the space lettuce, molecules that boast antiviral, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties,” according to United Press International.
Corn salad. This is new to me and I’m seeing my first seeds sprout this week. Corn salad (Valerianella locusta), also known as mâche or lamb’s lettuce, isn’t a blend of corn kernels served cold at a picnic—it’s a plant. An ancient, wild green with European roots, corn salad has 3 times as much vitamin C as lettuce, boasts concentrations of important minerals like calcium, manganese, selenium, magnesium, plus B vitamins, iron, potassium, folate, and more. It loves cold weather, so I decided to add it this winter to maximize use of growing areas, help aerate the soil with its roots, and add a nutrient boost to our meals. Once it’s ready to harvest I might make mini salads with it, or use it like a microgreen and sprinkle it on our meals.
Purslane. I was very excited about growing purslane when I first sowed them in seed trays. That was several years ago and I’ve never sown them since because they. Spread. Everywhere. Purslane is another plant with wild origins, commonly called a weed. I specifically selected it when I learned that it has 5 times as many omega-3 fatty acids than spinach, according to Scientific World Journal. It’s rare to find this nutrient in plants. We often think of fish as a source of omega-3. I loved the idea of being able to grow the plant to dehydrate and add to meals. However, not only does it spread like crazy, the leaves are very thick and succulent-like and don’t dehydrate well. If you’re planning to grow this, keep it far from areas you don’t want intrusion and be ready to harvest and enjoy it fresh. I’ve only ever grown it in containers on my deck. The tiny yellow flowers drop hundreds of poppy-like seeds everywhere. It’s spread to many other containers. I’m grateful I didn’t try it out in my in-ground garden.
Black beauty tomato. As we know from other plants listed here and elsewhere, deep purple colors indicate very high levels of anthocyanin. The darkest tomato in the world, Black Beauty gets darker when exposed to sun. If you grow it, you’ll notice the darkest, richest skin is on the sunniest side of the fruits. According to a few sources, this variety developed after several generations of crossing the Berkeley Pink Tie-Dye and the Indigo Apple tomatoes. I love growing these tomatoes. I’ve noticed over the past few years that they produce better later in the season. This year I’m planning to start them as part of succession plants, so I probably won’t get the first seedlings out until 4th of July. I harvest these tomatoes well into October.
A Black Beauty tomato I harvested in October. Saved seed. I grow many plants from seed that I’ve saved. It’s not only tremendously cost-effective (free!), but the plants produce seed with genetics that are adapted to the unique growing conditions in my garden. The next generation of plants are also more nutrient-dense. Various small-scale studies with refractometers that measure and compare each generation have shown nutrients increase 20 percent or more, and one study (which I can’t find to link to) I heard measured some plants as 200 percent more nutritious. So many factors play into a harvest’s nutrients, whether from saved seed or not. Not only genetics, but weather, climate, soil health, hydrology, and more. At the very least, saving seed helps give your garden plants that thrive in your unique conditions.
