Grow-it-yourself nutrition

Home-grown herbs and vegetables are particularly nutrient-packed because you can pick them at the peak of ripeness.

VEGETABLE

Broccoli
Get two harvests a year out of this cold-tolerant cole crop by planting transplants in early April and again in mid-August for a fall harvest. Broccoli is loaded with anti-oxidants and vitamin C

Peppers
Seldom bothered by pests, peppers are most nutritious when left to ripen red, orange or yellow instead of picked green. Well worth growing your own if you've ever priced a red pepper. Plant mid-May to mid-June and harvest late sum­mer into fall.

Kale
This leafy nutrient powerhouse is best planted from seed in late summer for harvest in fall. Frost doesn't faze it, and it may even survive winter. Loaded with vitamins A and C as well as numerous trace minerals, kale can be used much like spinach.

Carrots
One pack of seeds will give you hundreds of these "vitamin A sticks." Plant directly in the ground in April and again in late summer. Carrots keep well in the ground into winter.

Leaf lettuce
Red-leafed versions are par­ticularly nutritious. Plant seeds every two weeks throughout the season (starting in early April) to keep a steady supply coming for next to no cost

HERBS

Parsley
What a waste that this frilly-leafed green is thought of as merely a plate garnish. Parsley is highly nutritious -- more concentrated in beta carotene than carrots and more vitamin C per weight than oranges. Plant in April and snip all season. It may even survive some winters.

Chives
This onion relative comes back year after year and can be snipped throughout the growing season. Chives are high in iron, B vitamins and trace minerals.

Basil
Plant basil seeds or plants mid-May through June and snip leaves as you need them. It's a natural with fresh tomatoes in late summer, and it's a great source of vitamin K.

Oregano
This low creeper with the pink flowers is versatile, tough and comes back year after year. It can be snipped as needed anytime and is a good source of a range of vitamins and minerals.

Dill
Plant seeds right in the ground May through June, and use both the leaves and seeds all season. Let some of the seeds drop at year's end, and you'll get free new plants every spring. Good source of many minerals.