When we were young, my parents had a very large vegetable garden. Vegetables which are really fresh-picked taste hundreds of times better than even those you find at your local produce stands. As soon as I had the space, I started growing veggies of my own. Now I have to be content with containers, but I have still been able to grow a few fresh veggies year-round.

I prefer to plant low-maintenance veggies. I've had good luck with things like lettuce mixes, radishes (even 6 year olds can tend to a few rows of radishes), bok choy (though it is quick to bolt) and potatoes. This season (2005) I am also trying to grow lettuces and bok choy as winter crops. Last year, I left the lettuce mix growing and it lasted well into the spring.

In my first garden, peas and zuchinni grew like weeds, but they won't grow here (slugs tend to eat all of my zuchinni flowers before they grow into fruit and peas just don't have enough light). Last fall, I threw the Halloween pumpkin in the garden to rot, and this year a huge plant grew from the spot where it had decomposed -- including one big (about 15 lbs) pumpkin!

I also have herbs growing year-round -- chives, sage, oregano, thyme and rosemary -- plus a couple of corners of "green"-- ferns and ivy -- and flowers -- bulbs, carnations, and roses.