Raising a garden offers many benefits to the gardener.
Growing your own food is much more nutritious. You are fully aware of what you’re eating and know exactly what went into the product.
A vegetable garden also saves a lot of money.
Many people are afraid to embark on the project, but growing the appropriate crops can make it easy. Some provide a great product and don’t take much effort.
We put together a list of the easiest vegetables to grow, so that anybody can have success, in order to encourage you to begin with this extremely rewarding activity.
1. Lettuce
Lettuce comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Leaf lettuce is a terrific choice for a mixed green salad since it grows quickly.
Head lettuce, such as Romaine or Iceberg, can also be grown.
Most general stores sell the seeds, which are very inexpensive. You can also get lettuce plants from your local nursery, if you prefer.
Lettuce may be sown in the early spring or autumn because it is a cool-weather plant. A little bit of frost can be tolerated by lettuce seedlings. The plants should be fine as long as the temperatures don’t fall below 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
Just cover the plants with plastic or a sheet if the temperatures drop unexpectedly or if you get some snow, and they’ll be fine. Because of its hardiness in cold weather, lettuce can be grown year round in a cold frame greenhouse.
Beyond the fact that lettuce is cold resistant, it can be directly sown, which makes it so easy. Starting your own seeds may be difficult when you first learn how to garden.
You may learn more about growing seeds on a budget here.
Planting is a lot simpler when you can directly seed the items. Just make sure to check on the area where you directly planted a few weeks later. Some places, however, seem to be overly packed with plants.
A few of the plants must be trimmed down so they have enough room to develop.
Lettuce is easy to grow because you can grow little amounts at a time and have fresh lettuce arrive every month. This approach eliminates the risk of being overrun with too much lettuce at once.
During the growing season, it’s a good idea to update your lettuce patch every two to three weeks.
Planting your lettuce in well-drained, compost-enriched soil is crucial. When the lettuce appears to be fully developed, it will be ready to harvest. Harvesting lettuce in the morning is the greatest idea.
As the day progresses, the sun will make your lettuce leaves sag, making them unsuitable for picking.
Since lettuce is one of the simplest vegetables to cultivate, here is more information on how to cultivate it and a bonus: It’s possible to grow it indoors.
Harvest time : 65-80 days (depending on type)
Ideal temperatures : 45-75 °F
Planting time : Spring, Fall
Spacing : 6-18 inches (depending on type)
Germination time : 2-15 days
Light preferences : Sun or partial shade
Best companion : Carrots, radishes, beetroot
2. Spinach
Spinach is a low-maintenance vegetable that should be near the top of the lowest-maintenance vegetables list.
It’s a lot like growing looseleaf lettuce. It should be planted in well-drained soil with compost. Full sun or light shade growing are options. spinach should be sown directly.
After planting your spinach seeds, you’ll need to thin the area where you put them a few weeks later. Just remove any clusters you see developing in the area.
Since it is rather cold weather tolerant, spinach may be sown all year round in most areas. It can endure temperatures as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
More information about growing Spinach can be found here.
Harvest time : 40-50 days
Ideal temperatures : 35-75 °F
Planting time : Spring, Fall
Spacing : 8 inches
Germination time : 6-21 days
Light preferences : Sun or partial shade
Best companion : Cabbage family, strawberry
3. Green Beans
Green beans are a simple vegetable that produces a lot of fruit. You’ll need to direct sow them, as well.
You’ll have to pick what type of green beans you want since there are so many. Half runners are a favorite of some individuals. They’re extremely delicate beans, but they race down a vine.
For easier picking, you’ll want to make sure these are grown on a homemade trellis.
Here’s a suggestion on how to build a trellis.
Planting half runners with strings is a good idea. You’ll have to string them when you pick them and prepare to repair them.
You can learn how to do that from this video:
They are fairly easy to grow, aside from mastering the skills required for these few basic jobs.
A bush bean may be perfect for you if you don’t want to fuss with stringing beans or harvesting beans from a vine.
The name explains them completely.
Instead of running along a vine, these beans are bush beans. You may simply grab the beans straight off of the bush as you go along your row. Strings aren’t usually found on instruments of this sort.
Green beans must be grown in well-drained soil with enough sunlight in order to be viable. Over the row, lay a thick layer of compost. Afterwards, you’ll put the seeds directly into the compost.
lightly cover the seeds with compost before going over the row with a hoe or rake.
Little green bean plants will start to grow in your garden in a few weeks.
Water is required for green beans to thrive. When they start to shrivel up, you’ll see that they need water. Your soil is nitrogen-deficient if your green bean plants begin to yellow.
Blood meal or bone meal may be purchased and used to fertilize your plants. Rabbit feces will usually accomplish the same thing if you have them. Bugs adore green beans, and they love to crunch on their leaves.
You may utilize bug traps like this one as a natural replacement to pest management if you detect it.
Harvest time : 55-65 days
Ideal temperatures : 55-85 °F
Planting time : Early summer
Spacing : 6 inches, 18 inches (row)
Germination time : 8-16 days
Light preferences : Sun or partial shade where hot
Best companion : Potatoes, cabbages, radishes, peas
4. Cucumbers
Another easy plant to establish is cucumbers. They are loved by some and despised by others. Cucumbers are important to remember, even if you don’t like them on a salad. You may love putting them in a jar as a homemade dill pickle, whether or not you like them on a salad.
You may either put cucumbers in your garden or in containers when planting them.
You may purchase cucumber seedlings at your local nursery, start them indoors three weeks before planting, or plant them straight into the ground.
They’re a warm-weather crop that should be sown after the last spring frost, regardless of which method you use.
Plant cucumbers in well-drained soil with plenty of sunlight if you want to grow them in your garden. When you plant them, make sure to use compost.
As long as you give cucumbers enough room to spread, you’ll get a lot of cucumbers. They’re a vine, after all. This is another vineyard where it would be beneficial to construct a trellis for the vines to grow on.
You can grow regular full-sized cucumbers or acquire a different type if you decide to plant them in containers. A patio cucumber is actually created to be cultivated in pots on a patio, and they are specifically designed for this purpose. Fill the bucket with soil and compost if you choose to use this approach.
Place one cucumber plant in each bucket. Make sure to expose the plant to both sunlight and water on a regular basis. Fertilizing your cucumbers once a month or so is a good idea.
Cucumbers are ready to be picked when they reach full size.
Harvest time : 48-65 days
Ideal temperatures : 70-85 °F
Planting time : Summer
Spacing : 12 inches, 3 feet (row)
Germination time : 4-13 days
Light preferences : Sun or partial shade
Best companion : Beans, carrots, parsley, cauliflower
5. Yellow Summer Squash
One of the simplest vegetables to cultivate is summer squash. It’s suggested that you buy squash seedlings or start your squash seeds indoors if you want a quick harvest.
Plant squash in well-drained soil with compost when planting them. Because squash likes the sun, it’s important to place them in full or partial sunlight throughout the day.
Your squash will thrive if you water it once a month or so and fertilize it once a month.
When the squash has turned yellow and the stem is simple to break off of the plant, it’s ready to be picked.
Harvest time : 48-65 days
Ideal temperatures : 70-90 °F
Planting time : Summer
Spacing : 12 inches, 3 feet (row)
Germination time : 6-12 days
Light preferences : Sun or partial shade
Best companion : Peas, beans
6. Root Vegetables: Radishes and Carrots
Grown root vegetables are rather simple. The easiest vegetables are radishes and carrots. Since they may be directly planted into the ground or grown in a container, I enjoy growing these vegetables.
I prefer to grow them in containers because it’s easier.
Crowding the seeds and maintaining loose enough dirt for the roots to develop in are both critical factors for nurturing successful root veggies. You’ll want to make sure that the dirt is loose when you plant these vegetables in the ground.
Be sure to plant in compost as well.
Direct sowing of radishes and carrots is required. You’ll have to go through and thin any clusters of seedlings until your plants have enough room to develop when the seedlings begin to sprout.
You’ll need to pick a carrot variety that is stubbier if you have clay or other extremely clumpy dirt, since it will have to push through all of that hard dirt to reach full potential.
You should be able to grow full-size carrots with no issues if you have good, loose dirt.
Regardless of how big it gets, radishes can grow to be full-size.
Maybe you want to grow full-size carrots despite having clumpy dirt. Container Gardening is when that happens.
You’ll need a big bucket, such as a 5-gallon bucket, or a planter that you may plant a tree in. Loose dirt and compost should be poured into the bucket. Next, you’ll place your seeds in the ground. You’ll have to wait a few weeks to thin the seedlings clumps down.
Water your veggies frequently in the pots. It’s a good idea to fertilize once a month.
Knowing when to harvest is still the same whether you decide to plant your root vegetables in the ground or in a container. It’s time to pull a few radishes or carrots to test their size when the tops get big, green, and bushy.
Harvesting is safe if you pull them and they seem full-grown. Continue watering and fertilizing for another few weeks if you pull a few to test and they still have more growing to do.
Then go back and test your product again.
Harvest time : 60-80 days
Ideal temperatures : 60-70 °F
Planting time : Spring, Summer, Fall
Spacing : 3 inches
Germination time : 6-21 days
Light preferences : Sun or partial shade
Best companion : Peas, lettuce, tomatoes
7. Bell Peppers
Bell peppers are a very tasty vegetable that requires minimal effort to cultivate.
In either case, these plants are advised to be grown indoors for 4-6 weeks before being moved outdoors or purchased as seedlings from your local nursery.
Bell peppers love heat! Do not plant them until after all threat of frost has passed.
Make sure they are in full sun all day long, and place them there. Remember to plant them 4-6 inches apart in well-drained soil, and make sure you remember the compost. You then water them every day and feed them monthly.
Any weeds that grow around your pepper plants should be kept down.
That is all there is to it!
You’ll enjoy gorgeous peppers in a few months. When they turn bright green (or yellow or red….depending on the color you planted), they’ll be ready for harvesting.
They’ll have a lighter color at first as they’re starting to ripen. They are then ready to be colored with a bright, waxy color.
You’ve gone too far if they start to fade away.
Harvest time : 60-80 days
Ideal temperatures : 70-90 °F
Planting time : Early summer
Spacing : 18-36 inches
Germination time : 8-25 days
Light preferences : Sun > 6 hours
Best companion : Basil, onions, carrots, radishes
8. Tomatoes
During the summer, tomatoes are one of the most desired fruits. The fact is that when it comes to homegrown tomatoes, there is no comparison. They have a flavor that is unidentifiable on a store shelf!
The truth is that tomatoes are also simple to raise.
It’s advised that they be grown indoors for four to six weeks before being transferred outdoors, much like peppers. Otherwise, at your local nursery, simply select seedlings that have already been started.
From Beef steak tomatoes to yellow tomatoes to purple Cherokee, tomatoes come in a variety of colors. There are several additional names on the list. Since they all develop the same, try each type until you find one that delights your tongue.
Plant your seedlings in well-drained soil in full sun once you have them. Before planting, it’s vital to make sure that there isn’t a chance of frost anymore (similar to the peppers).
Tomatoes love the heat and hate the cold!
When planting, make sure to incorporate your compost around each plant. Tomatoes must be watered and fertilized monthly to survive.
Your tomato plants are nitrogen deficient if they become yellow. Just add some bone meal or blood meal around the base of each plant, then water them, and that’s all you’ll have to do. This should help your plant get the nitrogen it is lacking.
That’s all it takes to grow tomatoes: They will grow if you water them.
Harvest your tomatoes and enjoy them once they’ve reached the right color and size.
When planting tomatoes and peppers, the only thing that needs to be noted is that they should never be planted together.
Pollen from your peppers and tomatoes will be crossed by bees. Your tomatoes’ flavor will be ruined as a result of this. Plant your tomatoes in one row, then another row or two of another crop, and finally your peppers in the next.
They may be in the same garden, but they must be separated by a few rows.
Planting your own garden can be so fulfilling.
It’s quite an accomplishment to put food on the table that you grew from seed to harvest. While maintaining a garden may seem challenging, achieving success with the following vegetables is simple.
Harvest time : 60-100 days
Ideal temperatures : 60-90 °F
Planting time : Early summer
Spacing : 18-36 inches
Germination time : 6-14 days
Light preferences : Sun > 6 hours
Best companion : Chives, basil, carrots, peppers
With a thorough guide on what to do and when, so you may have wonderful success with your garden, this is our list of the 8 easiest vegetables to cultivate.