Anything wrong with same old same old???

[Alison]

I grow something new every year but also grow things again if I've really liked them. Basically as somebody further up has already said, grow what you like and want to eat. A few experiments is good too but the staples are what you'll eat most of so I think they're important. I grow potatoes, onions, peas, carrots etc as we really like eating them and I think that my ones are nicer and certainly cheaper than buying fresh organic veg. I grow varieties that suit me and I know that they've not been drenched in chemicals on a daily basis. I also grow more unusual things that I can't buy easily in the shops like tomatillos for example and certainly the various types of beans and squash aren't easy to get in the shops so again, well worth while.

Bit of a rambling post but what I'm really trying to say is that you should grow what you want and what you enjoy and don't worry about what anybody else thinks as people can be totally unnecessarily snobby about what they grow as with so many other things.

[womble]

I think Alison's dead right, when you work out the things that grow well for you and that you like, then you grow those as staples, but you can explore other varieties and types of things to grow. Some of these will be good enough to add to your main list, most won't.

Often the unusual stuff takes up a great deal of space, for a low return, great for those with loads of space, not great for those getting the most out of their space.