Crispy, Classic, Incomparable!

This post won't be as exciting as some others - No veggies named after mythical creatures, no potentially valuable miracle seeds, nothing too exotic.  I wouldn't plant any garden without these, though!

The Sugar Snap Snow Pea is a no-brainer - You simply must plant it in your garden!  Here's why:  You plant the seed directly into the ground as early as you'd like, the shoots come up practically overnight, and the pods are ready to harvest before any of your other plants are even blossoming.  I never seem to get a very large harvest from my snow peas, but picking a handful and eating them right there in the garden is so rewarding!  They're crunchy, sweet, and delicious right off the vine, in salads, or gently sauteed in a stir fry if they last that long.

This is the Black Beauty Zucchini, a garden classic.  Jason loves it lightly oiled, seasoned, and grilled.  The squirrels prefer it right off the vine, about an inch long.  Sometimes they lose patience and just eat the flower.  (The flower is edible for humans, too!  Add it to your snow pea stir fry.)  These plants are pretty impressive.  Make sure you give them plenty of room to spread out, and cover up when you go out to harvest!  The zucchini is smooth and harmless, but the rest of the plant is covered in tiny, prickly little spikes.

You can grow the best tomatoes in the world, but you're wasting your time if you don't pair them up with a big fragrant handful of Genovese Basil.  This stuff will grow and grow with very little attention, and it is so delicious in salads and sauces!  I recommend eating Caprese salad until you explode, and then making what's left into a spicy pesto sauce.