By Nicole Johnsey Burke: Founder of Gardenary and Author of Kitchen Garden Revival

There Are So Many Delicious Things You Can Harvest at Home

You can obviously harvest a lot from a farm or a row garden or a homestead-type garden, but how much can you actually harvest from a regular ol' kitchen garden?

In my book, Kitchen Garden Revival, I describe kitchen gardening like this:

Instead of a rambling field or an entire yard planted with vegetables, a kitchen garden is separate from the rest of the landscape and created to be a central feature.

It’s not something to tuck behind the garage and hide from the neighbors, it’s set up to be beautiful front and center. It’s a special centerpiece of your home life, a place to entertain and have guests or just hang out with the family.

At the very least, kitchen gardens can provide all the herbs you’ll need year round either cut fresh or dried and stored. 

Beyond that, kitchen gardens can yield most of the greens you and your family need. And greater still, kitchen gardens can provide lots of greens, peppers, squash, cucumbers, and other fresh vegetables in the height of their season as well as an opportunity for preserved foods for even the coldest winters. 

I promise that you can provide all the herbs you’ll need year round, most of the greens for at least half of the year and lots of fruiting plants. But to prove it, let's look at how much I can harvest at home from my 90-square-foot kitchen garden in one week.

How much can you harvest at home from fruiting plants? 

Fruiting plants will produce most in their peak growing season, but you can easily store or preserve them to utilize them all year round.

Here’s a look at what I get from one week in the kitchen garden:

• A bowl of cherry tomatoes from my arch trellis. A bowl per week is pretty standard from my four plants for a few months. 
• A bowl of shishito peppers from three or four plants. We love using them in a blistered shishito dish and cream sauce. 
• A handful of jalapeños. Sometimes I struggle knowing what to do with these, but I just discovered jalapeño cheesy bread from one of our garden coaches—what could be better? 
• A handful of small peppers from six plants. I like to grow a wide variety of smaller peppers, too!
• A large handful of bush beans. We end up getting at least enough beans to make one dish per week for a few months. 
• Around eight cucumbers per week off of my obelisk trellis for around a month and a half. No cucumbers from the grocery store for us during that time!

How many leafy greens can you harvest at home each week?

Leafy greens will give us the highest levels of production during the spring and fall months. Greens like Swiss chard, kale, and mustard can survive in hotter temperatures, as well, so they’re a great addition to the garden! 

• A large handful of swiss chard. Don’t forget you can use both the leaf and stem, as well!
• A large bouquet of kale leaves.
• A salad spinner full of lettuce leaves.

How many herbs can you harvest at home weekly?

Herbs are one of the simplest things to grow in the kitchen garden! Some are perennials and will come back year after year, so you can get a lot from one plant over time. You know what’s extra great about them? You can either have them fresh from the garden or dry them out to use them at a later time! Here’s what I got in my most recent harvest:

• A big bunch of basil. I have around 20 basil plants hidden throughout my garden, and I’ve been getting handfuls weekly for months. We use it for all sorts of things like pesto, pasta, pizza, and caprese salads!
• A small handful of chives. These are an easy plant to grow and you can get so much from them; you shouldn’t have to buy these from the grocery store during their growing season.
• Several sprigs of rosemary.

FAQ: Harvesting from a Small Kitchen Garden

What vegetables produce the most food in a small space?

Leafy greens give you the highest volume for the space — a single raised bed of lettuce can fill a salad spinner weekly. Herbs are the most efficient overall since many are perennials and require almost no replanting. Cherry tomatoes on a vertical trellis are one of the best fruiting plants for small-space production.

Is 90 square feet enough to grow food for a family?

It won't replace every grocery trip, but 90 square feet is enough to meaningfully reduce what you buy — especially herbs, salad greens, and summer produce. Many Gardenary gardeners start with one or two raised beds and find they're buying far less fresh produce during peak growing season.

What's the easiest thing to grow in a kitchen garden for beginners?

Herbs are the easiest starting point — especially basil, chives, and rosemary. They're forgiving, productive, and immediately useful in the kitchen. Radishes and lettuce are also great beginner crops because they grow fast and give you early wins that keep you motivated.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Small Kitchen Garden

So, what do you think? Did I fulfill my promise? Yes! And your kitchen garden will too! 

Get tons of fruit, leafy greens, and herbs to last you all year. And all this is coming from 90-square-feet of raised bed space. 

Don’t underestimate the power of raised beds or a kitchen garden. If you’re interested in seeing what you can grow yourself, enroll in Kitchen Garden Academy to set up your own growing space with the support of a gardening community and professional gardeners.