These Are The Vegetables The Pioneer Woman Grows In Her Garden

Growing a garden can be incredibly rewarding, especially if you're lucky enough to end up with one that springs forth with lush vegetation and growth. It seems that Ree Drummond, better known as The Pioneer Woman, has been able to accomplish just that. In a blog post on her website, Drummond explains that her Oklahoma garden had gotten somewhat of a rocky start back in 2014. Apparently, a harsh winter had zapped absolutely everything in the Drummond garden, and cold weather and heavy rain made it so she replanted later than she usually would.

Fortunately, once The Pioneer Woman replanted her garden, everything really took off and brought her all kinds of delicious ingredients to use in her kitchen. Drummond snapped photos and shared just what she was successful in growing. She was able to grow some peppers, all kinds of tomatoes, and some baby eggplants. The okra, however, did not fare quite as well, since it was planted in a shady area.

What might have been the most prolific plant in Ree Drummond's garden was basil. Drummond planted tons of the fragrant herb, including some purple basil. She had so much of the plant that it actually began to grow over her thyme! That's when she decided it was time to make a batch of pesto, according to her blog post. 

If you have as much basil as it seems Drummond ended up with, you might want to make a double batch. Though that sounds like a whole lot of pesto, you can always freeze it in ice cube trays before transferring the blocks to a resealable bag (via The Spruce Eats). That way, you can use just as much pesto as you need and still have that garden-fresh flavor all year long.

The wonderful thing about a garden is that you can always learn from your mistakes and adjust the following year. Hopefully Drummond plants her okra in a sunnier spot going forward. Besides, with so many different types and varieties of vegetables, there's no shortage of fun and beautiful plants to grow each year. You can take a tip from Drummond and start with peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant, but don't be afraid to try growing other things too.