"Homesteading- and community- care-scale garden” is how I describe the 3,000 square feet where I grow what’s probably too many plants for one person’s avocation. My interest in food started around 2007; I started farming in 2011. Now, I’m a hobby farmer in the truest sense. While I produce enough food and flowers to sell, I just grow it for my household, to trade and to share with my community. Working more than full-time, I don’t have a lot of extra time on my hands, yet growing food is important to my physical and mental health.
I’ve tried growing a lot of crops in and around central Kentucky, and after all this time, I think I’ve sorted out what really works for me. Here, I’m sharing with you my top 25 crops for 2025: my must-grow fruits, vegetables and herbs. This is not a “sexiest crops of 2025” list. This list is more about reliability than it is about trends.
Note that I grow in an area that typically sees six frost-free months in zone 6b. Not every variety I love is commercially available, but I’m including these to demonstrate why I’ve chosen that variety.
I also realize not everyone enjoys winter squash as much as I do, which is to say not every crop I list here will work in your garden or with your palate. But from this list, you may find the inspiration you need to get your 2025 garden off to a good start.
For the Bees
Borage is a great medicinal herb. The blue flowers make yummy cucumber-flavored additions to salads, and bumblebees flock to the blooms. Borage can grow quite tall, and it'll reseed next season. I appreciate that borage can withstand some frost, keeping color in the garden a little longer.
CARMEN PEPPERS
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The RISE of Opportunist WEEDS
Be prepared to see increasing changes in weeds we fight, such as poison hemlock and poison ivy, and in the crops we grow.
LIVESTOCK Health
Prepare yourself for how to spot symptoms of illness in your farm animals so that you can get them help before it's too late.
CUT FLOWER Farming
If you're considering growing flowers for sale, brush up on these five key things to know before diving in.
WINTER Survival
Keep your land, animals and yourself in good shape this winter with this helpful advice.
COVERAGE CONCERNS
Avoid common insurance mistakes for rural and hobby farm businesses.
FARMER'S GUIDE Berries
Set the stage for tasty strawberries, blueberries and brambles with these soil-boosting garden tips.
Preconditioning CALVES
Follow our step-by-step guide to get more money for your calves.
Soil Conservation
Often, outside of having a specific problem that needs to be addressed, soil conservation isn't something every farmer readily thinks about. Yet conserving the soil should be at or near the top of every farmer owner or manager's list of concerns because absent the prevention of soil erosion, we have the opportunity for another dust bowl.
Year-Round Lettuce & Salad Mixes
It's easy to think of salad greens as just a spring- or fall-garden crop, but it's possible to enjoy freshly harvested lettuces, mustards and more from your own garden year-round.
Barn Improvements
Days are never long enough for a farmer. From dawn to well into the night, tasks arise that often require immediate action. Having to search for tools or equipment is an enormous time waster and incredibly frustrating when you can't find what you need, especially when you know you have it.
