Keto is a popular way of eating that involves healthy fats
and very few carbs. If you want to plant a keto-friendly garden, you’re on the
right track. Keto gardening is easy, and you can select from a long list of
delicious keto vegetables.
What to Grow in a Keto Garden
Are you wondering what to grow in a keto-friendly vegetable
garden? The following suggestions should pique your interest.
- Swiss chard – Swiss chard is healthy and easy to grow, and it’s also pretty to look at. The stalks can be eaten like celery, and the leafy tops are delicious raw or sautéed. Unlike many leafy vegetables, Swiss chard requires plenty of sunlight and tolerates heat as long as it’s well watered.
- Kohlrabi – Kohlrabi plants produce sweet, delicious keto vegetables that are simple to grow. This crispy root vegetable can be boiled and mashed like potatoes, although the flavor is a bit stronger. It’s also yummy sliced and eaten raw.
- Spinach – Spinach is a mainstay in a keto-friendly vegetable garden. Plant this cool weather veggie in spring or fall. Grow the plant in full sun, or in a little shade if your climate is hot and sunny. To harvest spinach, cut the outer leaves and let the inner leaves continue growing.
- Cruciferous plants – Cruciferous plants like cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli thrive in sunlight and cool (but not cold) temperatures, and too much heat will diminish both the size and the quality. Although you can plant seeds, it’s easier to start with transplants.
- Kale – Kale, like other cruciferous plants, is a cool weather, sun-loving plant, although it tends to do well in partial shade. Harvest this keto gardening favorite like spinach.
- Radishes – Radish plants are extremely easy, and they require very little space. Plant seeds in spring and fall, because this fast-growing veggie doesn’t like heat. Harvest radishes when they’re young and small, before they turn bitter and woody.
- Lettuce – Lettuce is super simple to grow by seed, beginning about a month before the last average frost date in spring. You can plant a second crop in fall, four to weeks before the first frost. Shade is okay in warm climates, but sunlight is better.
- Tomatoes – Tomatoes are sweet and delicious, and they’re suitable for keto gardening if you don’t eat too many. This is a plant that requires plenty of heat and sunlight. Plant an early variety if your growing season is short.
- Zucchini – Zucchini is as easy as it gets: just plop the seeds in the soil as soon as days are dependably 70 F. (21 C.) or above, then give them a little water and watch them grow. Harvest when the veggies are 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm.) for the best flavor. Pick regularly and the plant will produce for weeks.
- Berries – Berries, primarily blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries, shouldn’t be forgotten because they’re low in carbs and high in fiber, making them suitable for a keto garden.
Other keto vegetables include:
