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| Garden on Amalfi coast in Italy, overlooking the sea |
Sunday, January 28, 2024
The Mediterranean diet was rated as the healthiest diet again this year. It comes out number one year after year as the best way to eat for health and a healthy weight. It is also yummy and easy to grow anywhere in the US. You can grow a Mediterranean diet garden in your own small space. Eating fresh from the garden is convenient, has the highest nutrition and saves money. I have found that having a garden makes me plan our meals around what is ready to be picked or what I have put up for the winter.
You may think you can't grow what they do in the Mediterranean region here in the Midwest, but you can grow everything they do outside except for citrus and dates. Both citrus trees and date palms can be grown in pots and brought indoors in the winter. I have a kumquat that does great spending the spring, summer and fall outdoors and winters indoors. It is full of fruits right now in my sunroom. It does just as well overwintering in a well lit unheated garage or basement.
Here are Mediterranean garden plants that you can grow in your own backyard. A space as small as 6' x 6' can give you all you can eat spring, summer and fall.
Fruits, vegetables and nuts
Artichokes
Asparagus
Beans-chickpeas, fava beans, snap beans, navy beans
Beets and turnips
Carrots
Celery
Cucumber
Dates (needs to winter indoors or in heated greenhouse)
Eggplant
Fennel
Figs
Grapes and grape leaves
Citrus (winter indoors or in heated greenhouse)
Greens-lettuce, radicchio, spinach, chard, arugula and others
Mushrooms
Nectarines
Nuts-almonds, pine nuts, pistachio (Zone 7-10), walnuts
Olives (varieties available to Zone 6)
Onions, shallots and leeks
Peaches
Peas
Peppers-sweet and spicy
Potatoes
Radishes
Tomatoes
Zucchini and other squash
Basil
Bay
Chervil
Chives
Cilantro
Dill
Fennel
Garlic
Marjoram and Oregano
Mint
Parsley
Rosemary
Saffron (stamen from crocus flower)
Sage
Tarragon
Thyme
Dates and citrus are the only things on this long list that cannot be grown in our zone outdoors year round. You can get varieties that can be brought into an unheated garage/basement or grown in a heated greenhouse outdoors.
The key to Mediterranean eating is eating lots of vegetables, to plan around what produce is in season, the liberal use of fresh herbs, cooking with olive oil, and very little red meat or processed foods.
What could a small space Mediterranean garden include?
Below is a plan for a 6' x 6' space. Feel free to substitute for the veggies that you prefer to eat. All below can also be grown in pots as well. Edibles that love pots
Herbs (1 each)-thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano and flat leaf parsley
3 basil plants (for pesto and season)
2 tomato plants-1 Roma type for sauces and 1 slicer or cherry type for salads
2 sweet pepper plants
1 bush zucchini plant
1 eggplant
8 red onions
8 garlic plants
Arugula, spinach and lettuce scatter sown
For more info on growing herbs and a kitchen garden:
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