How to Grow Your Own Juice Garden
Homemade juice is a great way to get in your daily nutrients. Boost the benefits by growing the ingredients yourself in a juice garden. Here’s how to choose what to grow.
There’s no better feeling than growing some of your own food. If you’re in the habit of drinking homemade juice (or want to start soon), then growing produce for juicing will save you money while giving you access to the freshest food available.
Homegrown fruits and vegetables have a flavor that’s unmatched by supermarket varieties. Even if you only have a small growing space, the time and energy put toward a juice garden is well worth it. Follow this guide to help you get started.
Transforming fresh vegetables into juice is becoming a trendy way to ensure you get your daily nutrient requirements. Pair bitter greens with sweet-tasting apples and pears, and you’ll be amazed how many servings of vegetables you get in at once.
Homemade juice has a lot of appeal over store-bought. You can control precisely what goes into it, which makes it possible to avoid added sugars and other filler ingredients. Likewise, making your own allows you to control the flavors and add only the fruits and vegetables you love.
Growing your own produce makes homemade juice even better. Doing so ensures that you can enjoy each ingredient at peak freshness and saves you money compared to buying everything at the store. This gives you more control over how the produce was raised and lets you follow organic gardening practices.
Best of all, homegrown vegetables tend to have more nutrients and complex flavors than produce that spent days languishing on store shelves.
There’s no limit to what you can grow in a juice garden. However, some varieties are more popular for juicing than others due to their flavor and water content. Either way, it’s best to grow produce you know you love to ensure that it won’t go to waste.
Even if you can’t grow everything for your juice at home, committing to a small juice garden will make a big difference in the total cost and convenience. Here are some of the most popular options to grow at home.
Basil: This fragrant herb is pricey in stores but easy to grow at home. A few handfuls add plenty of flavor to your favorite juice blend. Basil is high in vitamin K and has natural anti-inflammatory properties. Make sure you prune each plant above a bud to encourage bushy growth all season long.
Kale (and other greens): It’s hard to have homegrown juice without kale! Dark, leafy greens are full of nutrients and make a stellar addition to any juice blend. They contain plenty of fiber, and their naturally bitter taste balances out the sweetness from other ingredients. Best of all, kale is one of the easiest plants to grow, and it provides a consistent harvest throughout the growing season.
Beets: Often overlooked as a garden crop, beets are naturally sweet and perfect for juicing. They thrive in full sun and need well-tilled soil so the roots can grow deep. Provide the right conditions, and you’ll harvest big beets filled with vitamins C and A, as well as potassium and manganese.
Carrots: For those with a small space who want big results, growing carrots is one way to maximize your juicing harvests. These root vegetables have lots of flavor and nutrients, especially when grown at home. It’s even possible to think beyond orange to grow carrots in colors ranging from purple to yellow to white.
Cucumbers: As they are almost entirely water, cucumbers add a light yet refreshing flavor to any juice. They are filled with vitamins K and B, and are also good sources of potassium and copper. Grow your cucumbers on trellises to minimize pest and disease damage and to maximize the growing space in your garden.
Parsley: While parsley can be slow to establish, its sharp flavor is a welcome addition to most juices. You’ll get an impressive dose of vitamin K, vitamin C, iron, folate, and vitamin A per serving. Those who prefer a milder flavor can grow cilantro for juicing — but be warned, some people are genetically inclined to think it tastes like soap!
Tomatoes: This classic garden crop is a staple for a reason. Tomatoes are easy to grow and have a high water content, making them the perfect base for juicing recipes. Start some in your garden, and you’ll have an abundance of produce that’s rich in lycopene as well as vitamins C, A, and K.
Spinach: Start growing your own garden spinach, and it’s almost impossible to go back to store-bought varieties. Richly flavored and filled with moisture, spinach adds complexity to homemade juice with ample nutrients beside. Hint: Plant spinach in two-week spacing to maintain a consistent harvest.
Wheatgrass and Other Microgreens: It’s still possible to grow juicing ingredients, even if you don’t have much space. Wheatgrass, alfalfa sprouts, tatsoi, and more need little more than a sunny windowsill to grow, and can be harvested weekly for a consistent supply of fresh ingredients. Just know you’ll need to grow large amounts at a time if you want a lot of juice.
Berries: Looking for a sweetness boost for your juice? Consider adding fresh berries. Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are easy to grow at home and contain many antioxidants. Just make sure you balance out the fruit with less-sweet produce to keep the drink from being too sweet.
Swiss Chard: Don’t overlook this colorful green. Swiss chard is easy to grow and stuffed with nutrients. You can grow it for juicing, or give it a quick sauté for a nutrient-rich side dish.
While juicers extract all the moisture from your garden produce, you’ll be left with lots of pulp at the end of each batch. Here’s the good news: This pulp will be ground to a fine consistency, making it the perfect addition to a compost pile or worm bin. The pulp will break down quickly, ensuring that next year’s soil gets nourished in the process.