Now, that you have a general idea of what seeds might work, decide what you actually like to eat. After all, it is a good feeling to harvest and eat/devour what you grow! That’s the ultimate reason to plant a garden. The next thing you’ll want to figure out is how much sun and/or shade your garden receives. For example, while tomatoes do appreciate some shade in hot summers, they will still require a certain time of sunlight to produce the juiciest fruits. Again, gardening comes with experience and acquired wisdom passed down from generation to generation, though there is still a lot you can learn from reading the label on the seed package.

Plants to grow in shade
Observe your garden at different hours of the day to see what happens as the sun sweeps the sky. If you do indeed have partial shade, never fear, there are plenty of vegetables you can plant, harvest, and even save your own seeds from! Begin with your favorite vegetables from the list and grow your repertoire from there:

• arugula
• beets
• broccoli
• carrots
• garlic
• kale
• lettuce
• peas
• potatoes
• Swiss chard

Plants to grow in full sun
Of course, most people are familiar with sun-loving vegetables, the majority of them being annuals. There are a plethora of garden seeds to choose from here, many of them being extremely easy to plant and care for.

• beans
• corn
• cucumbers
• eggplant
• leeks
• melons
• okra
• peas
• peppers
• squash
• tomatoes

Also, give consideration to the vegetables you buy most often from the store or farmer’s markets. Could you grow any of them yourself to save money, or to increase the variety in your diet?

Tomatoes make for another wonderful example here. A supermarket doesn’t often have 10 varieties of heirloom tomatoes waiting for you on the shelf. But your garden can provide just that! You’ll find in time, that tomatoes don’t cross-pollinate easily, as they are self-pollinated (though it is possible 1-5% of the time). Covering them while they are blossoming, can help prevent this. If you’d like to hand-pollinate your tomatoes for the best chances of producing flowers, go right ahead. See how easy it is to get distracted by the seed selection process?

An excerpt from  Buying Garden Seeds: Everything You Need to Know, Rural Sprout.