Top 10 Healthiest Fruits and Vegetables to Grow in Your Garden

We all want to provide our families with the freshest, most nutritious meals we can, and if you are growing your own vegetables, you are eating the freshest possible produce you can get. Plus, vegetables and fruit provide us with disease-fighting chemicals. However, not all vegetables and fruits are rich in nutrition.

Top 10 Healthiest Vegetables and Fruit

Note: We are listing common vegetables in the home garden across North America, especially those that don’t take up a lot of space. There are many, many more healthy veggies and fruit.

1. Broccoli

This popular dark green vegetable is a nutrition superstar, high in antioxidants that fight cancer.

Beneficial for: Inhibiting cancerous cells. Learn more about broccoli’s health benefits.
Great source of: Folate, fiber, calcium, vitamins A and C.
Growing tips: Broccoli needs fertile soil that’s high in nitrogen. Pick the heads while they are still tight and well-filled.
See our growing guide to broccoli.

2. Kale

Dark, leafy greens like kale are high in calcium and are great for bone health.

Beneficial for: Immune system, anti-inflammatory, bone health, skin and hair health.
Great source of: Fiber, vitamin C, omega-3 and 6 fatty acids,  and antioxidants.
Growing tips: Sow in spring, then plant out once the young plants are about four inches tall.
See our guide to growing kale.

3. Garlic

Garlic is an age-old remedy known to fight colds, viruses, and other ailments!

Beneficial for: Boosting the immune system and liver health, and can help maintain healthy lungs and stomach. Learn more about garlic’s history of healing.
Great source of: Vitamins, including B1 and B6, manganese, calcium, and tryptophan. Leave chopped or crushed garlic to sit for 20 minutes before eating to enhance the health benefits further.
Growing tips: Plant garlic in the fall for an early summer crop.
See our growing guide to garlic.

4. Spinach

This leafy green is one of the most nutrient-dense vegetables! One cup (only 7 calories) provides 16% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin A plus 120% of the DV for vitamin K!

Beneficial for: Immune function, vision, skin and bone health, blood clotting
Great source of: Vitamin K, vitamin A, folate, and fiber.
Growing tips: Sow in cool weather as soon as the soil is prepared or in late summer for a fall/winter harvest. Cut while young.
See our growing guide to spinach.

5. Bell Peppers

The Vitamin C champs are ripe peppers with 3 times the vitamin C of any citrus. Among these peppers, yellow wax or banana peppers-hot or sweet-have the most vitamin C.

Beneficial for: May help prevent some cancers.
Great source of: Vitamins C and A, antioxidants, and lycopene. Let peppers develop an orange or red color for maximum nutrient density.
Growing tips: Grow undercover in cooler areas. Tie to a stake or cane to prevent top-heavy peppers from toppling over.
See our growing guide to bell peppers.

6. Zucchini and Summer Squash

Beneficial for: Heart health, weight loss, immune system, and healthy eyes, teeth, and bones.
Great source of: Vitamins C and A.
Growing tips: Pick zucchini when about 4 inches long to encourage more fruits to form, or let them grow a little larger for spiralizing as a lower-calorie alternative to pasta.
See how to grow zucchini and squash.

7. Green Beans

Beneficial for: Reducing cholesterol. See more about why green beans are good for you!
Great source of: Protein, soluble fiber, and flavonoids. Darker beans have high levels of disease-fighting antioxidants.
Growing tips: Sow quick-growing dwarf beans in summer, and they’ll be ready to pick in six to eight weeks.
See our Green Bean Growing Guide.

8. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are also a great source of vitamin A, as well as vitamin C.

Beneficial for: May help prevent some cancers.
Great source of: Vitamins A, C, and E, anti-inflammatory flavonoids, potassium, and lycopene. Small red tomatoes contain the highest concentration of lycopene.
Growing tips: Grow in full sun and feed regularly with an organic liquid tomato fertilizer.
See our growing guide to tomatoes.

9. Blueberries

Beneficial for: Boosting general health and may slow the advancement of Alzheimer’s disease.
Great source of: Zinc, copper, vitamins, iron, and anthocyanin.
Growing tips: Grow blueberries in full sun in acidic soil or in ericaceous potting soil in a container. Choose a range of early, mid-, and late-season varieties to extend your harvest.
See our Blueberry Plant Page.

Rich red raspberries are a healthy shrub fruit, too!

10. Strawberries

One of the easiest fruits to grow, juicy strawberries are packed with Vitamin C! One serving (half a cup) is half of your daily requirement.

Beneficial for: Boosting immunity and a powerful antioxidant
Great source of: Vitamin C, B2, B5, B6, K, copper, magnesium, folate, omega fatty acids, essential fiber
Growing tips: Grow strawberries in the sun with well-draining soil. This plant is a perennial which you can grow year after year! See our Strawberry Plant Page.

More healthy crops

• Carrots are the champs of carotene, and many Americans rely on carrots for their dietary vitamin A. Don’t worry, you can’t consume too much carotene!
• Winter squash, especially the Cucurbita maxima types (such as the buttercups, some pumpkins, and Hubbards), are also good sources of vitamin A. 
• Watermelon is a fantastically healthy fruit; it needs long, warm growing seasons.
• Legumes (peas, soybeans, lentils, white beans, chickpeas, cowpeas), of course, are packed with nutrients. Eating more legumes as part of a healthy diet can help lower blood sugar and blood pressure.

Sample Garden of Nutrient-Rich Vegetables

A sample garden might consist of two parallel raised beds, divided into sections that allow for succession planting from spring to summer.

For example, here are early spring crops that finish up in time for summer crops to follow up.

1. Spring peas, followed by tomatoes.
2. Mustard greens, followed by green (bush) beans
3. Early spinach interplanted with/followed by pole beans
4. Garlic planted with onions, followed by kale, kohlrabi, and/or collards.
5. Kale and radish, followed by zucchini.
6. Beets, followed by tomatoes.
7. Broccoli, followed by sweet peppers.

Healthy Soil is a Big Part of Healthy Crops

Healthy soil is essential for the production of wholesome foods. Pay attention to your soil and be sure that you are replacing all important trace minerals. Your crops will deplete the soil over time and need to be fed!

Also, bear in mind that there is variation in the vitamin and mineral content of produce, depending on the conditions under which it has been grown. Nutrients work in concert with soil life; poor soil fertility means less nutritionally valuable crops.

This is why eliminating pesticides and herbicides is important—if the soil contains contaminants, microorganisms, plants, and humans will absorb these toxins. Conversely, mineral-rich soil is full of active microbes that support healthful yields.

Remember, too, that bigger zucchini aren’t better zucchini. Relying too heavily on fertilizers—which can deplete the soil of major elements, trace minerals, and organic matter—can result in produce that is impressive in size but lacking in nutrients.

When planning a nutritionally focused garden, begin by sending a soil sample to your local cooperative extension office. They will determine the type of soil that you have and make recommendations for any amendments that may be needed. Adding compost is a good first step.

Once your garden has been planted, spend time observing it to identify any stressors. Look for things like wilting foliage, diseases such as rust or powdery mildew, insect damage, such as chewed leaves, or signs of visiting critters rooting around your crops. By monitoring your garden daily, you will discover any issues early on, when remedying the problem is usually easier and most effective.

Bottom-line: Think about not only the plants that you will harvest but also the nutritional value that they will add to the meals you make.

Vegetable Varieties Bred for More Nutrition

Another way to boost the nutrition in your garden is to choose varieties that have been bred to have higher levels of phytonutrients. These are the plant chemicals that protect the plants from insects, disease, drought, and other forms of adversity. Some of them, like antioxidants, have been found to help humans weather adversity as well by strengthening our immune systems, protecting us from cancer, warding off heart disease, lowering cholesterol, and supporting healthy vision. Several universities around the country have plant breeding programs that are looking at ways to increase the healthy antioxidants in different vegetables.

These vegetable varieties were bred specifically to be more nutritious.

Tomatoes

• ‘Valentine’ grape tomato is the result of a collaboration between Penn State and Johnny’s Selected Seeds. It has high levels of lycopene, an antioxidant that reduces LDL cholesterol and lowers blood pressure.
• ’Heath Kick’ is a red plum tomato that has 50% more lycopene than the average tomato.
• ’Tasti Lee’ is a 6- to 9-ounce tomato developed at the University of Florida that has 40% more lycopene and is heat tolerant.
• ’Mighty Sweet’ (below) is a grape tomato with high levels of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and lycopene.
• ’High Carotene’ is a 3-ounce tomato that has 2 to 3 times more beta-carotene than the average tomato. Beta-carotene protects us against heart disease, viral infections, cataracts, and cancer.
• ’Power Pops’ is a small red cherry tomato that has more carotene and lycopene than most other varieties. It grows only 9 to 12 inches tall making perfect for growing in a container or hanging basket. Heathy snacking at your fingertips!
• ’Caro Rich’ (below) is an 8- to 12-ounce orange-yellow beefsteak tomato with 10 times the beta-carotene of a regular red tomato. It was developed at Perdue and is low acid and resists cracking too.

Carrots

• ’Purple Dragon’ carrots have purple skin and a sweet orange core. They also have more lycopene than regular orange carrots. ‘Atomic Red’ is a deep red carrot high in lycopene. Carrots ‘Candysnax’ and ‘Sugarsnax’ were bred to be higher in beta-carotene.

Potatoes

• ’Adirondack Blue’ potatoes are high in vitamin C and anthocyanins that are strong anti-inflammatories, promote heart health, fight viral diseases, and support cognitive function.

Cauliflowers

• ’Violetta’ and ‘Graffiti’ are both purple cauliflowers that have high levels of anthocyanin. They are best eaten raw since the color and potency diminish when cooked.

• ’Cheddar’ cauliflower develops 8-inch heads in about 70 days and has 25 times the beta-carotene of white cauliflower. Instead of fading, its color deepens when cooked.

Zucchini

• ’Raven’ zucchini, developed at the University of Wisconsin, has 4-times as much lutein as standard zucchini! Lutein is a great vision protector, preventing cataracts and macular degeneration.

Spotlight on Blue Tomatoes

This brings us to blue tomatoes! That’s a color not found in nature or is it? Actually, Dr. Jim Myers of Oregon State University found wild blue tomatoes growing in Peru and the Galapagos Islands that had high levels of anthocyanin, an antioxidant found in foods such as blueberries or red cabbage, not in tomatoes. After 12 years of breeding and cross-breeding the blue varieties—which were not very tasty—with red tomatoes, he created a blue tomato with anthocyanin’s disease-fighting properties. They were developed using traditional plant breeding techniques and are not genetically modified.

Look for plants with ‘Indigo’ in their name to try one of these. They were bred enough times to be stable and open-pollinated so other breeders have used this line to create their own blue tomatoes. There are now quite a few varieties out there that have varying degrees of “blueness”.

To fully develop the darkest coloration, the fruits need full sun as they ripen. Look for ‘Black Beauty’, ‘Blue Beauty’, or ‘Wagner Blue Green’, which has dark blue skin and bright green flesh.

Natural ripening increases the amount of phytonutrients in any vegetable and makes them more readily absorbed, which is just another good reason to grow your own instead of relying on commercial produce, which is picked green before being shipped to the store.

Whether or not you choose to seek out varieties that have been bred to have high nutritional content, remember that the most nutritious vegetables are the ones you eat, so grow what you like and fill at least half your plate with fruits and vegetables.

See this video about how to grow nutrient-dense vegetables!

Want to see these nutritious vegetables? Watch our video.