Whether you have a large garden, small patch or pots on the patio, growing your own vegetables and fruits is deeply satisfying. However, a bountiful harvest doesn’t just happen. To ensure a successful garden, it’s essential to know which crops are easy to grow for beginners. The following are a few of the easiest crops for novices to cultivate.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are the most common vegetable garden staple, and they’re also one of the easiest to grow as long as you provide plenty of sunlight, moisture, and warmth. Choose time-trusted heirloom varieties or well-bred hybrids, and consider choosing determinate (bush) tomatoes that don’t require staking or pruning. These types tend to yield more quickly and may be easier for novices to manage.
Incorporating a few plants of each variety into your garden will ensure you have fresh fruit throughout the growing season and that you have seeds for next year. If you plan on planting from seed, sow them indoors about 4 to 6 weeks before transplanting, which can happen as soon as the danger of frost has passed in your area. Transplanting too early can stress plants and lead to disease.
Beginners can also benefit from choosing disease-resistant varieties that are naturally resistant to some of the most common tomato diseases. Look for cultivars with a VFN (varieties with natural resistance) designation to find high-yielding varieties that are also tolerant of leaf spot, stem canker, and Fusarium wilt.
Cucumbers are another of the easy vegetables to grow for beginners, provided you have a trellis, warm temperatures, and plenty of sunshine. Incorporate a few fast-growing flowers like zinnias into your garden to attract bees that will pollinate cucumbers for you. For best results, plant cucumbers from seed in cell trays or 4-inch pots, then transfer them to the garden when the weather is warm and dry. When transferring them to the garden, plant them just deep enough so that they’re completely covered with soil.
Peppers
Big, supermarket-type green bell peppers are common grocery staples, but there are hundreds of other pepper varieties to choose from. Heirloom and hybrid peppers come in a rainbow of colors that can range from creamy ivory, fiery orange or deep purple to rich red, yellow or green. Some are sweet, while others have a lot of heat and are great for making salsa or drying to use in cooking.
Plant pepper seeds outdoors or indoors 8 to 10 weeks before your expected frost date. Sow them about 1/4 inch apart in shallow flats of a good seed-starting mix. Peppers germinate best in warm soil, so set a seedling heat mat beneath the flats to keep the soil above 80 degrees until they sprout. After the pepper seedlings have established themselves, begin hardening them off by gradually exposing them to the sun for a few hours each day.
Once the risk of frost has passed, transplant the peppers to your garden. Be sure to water them well. If the seedlings have open flowers or fruit when they are moved, remove them so that the plants put all of their energy into developing their roots and fruits. You can also grow pineapples in your garden.
Mulch the planting site to conserve moisture and reduce weeds. Apply a side dressing of an all-purpose vegetable fertilizer to boost productivity, being careful not to overfertilize (too much nitrogen results in leafy growth but few fruits). If you plant in containers or raised beds, try Miracle-Gro Performance Organics All Purpose Container Mix, which includes nutrient-rich compost.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers thrive in warm, fertile soil that is well-drained. They like a slightly alkaline soil, with a pH between 6.0 and 6.8. Improve native soil by mixing in several inches of aged compost or other rich organic matter. Plant cucumbers when the ground is warm, 36 to 60 inches apart for trellised varieties (check the seed stick tag) or 1 foot apart for bush types.
To get a jump on the growing season, sow indoor cucumber seeds in peat pots or Jiffy 7’s 2 to 3 weeks before your anticipated outdoor planting date. Then, transplant them to the garden when they have 1 or 2 true leaves. Cucumbers do best when grown in a sunny location with good air circulation. Remove weeds regularly to help prevent them from starving your cucumber plants of nutrients and water.
Since cucumbers are heavy feeders, apply a slow-release granular fertilizer monthly throughout the growing season to keep your plants lush and productive. Be sure to water the plant thoroughly after application, so that the granules are absorbed into the soil rather than washing away. Cucumbers also benefit from a regular spraying with fish emulsion or compost tea to provide them with a moderate dose of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. If you have vining varieties, support them with a trellis or other structure to prevent them from sagging and make picking easier and safer.
Beans
If you’re looking for a good crop to grow in your garden that requires minimal effort, try beans. They’re easy to grow from seed and make a wonderful addition to salads. Beans, like all legumes, also add nitrogen to the soil and are a great way to feed your garden (and your family).
Runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus) are one of the easiest crops for beginners to grow. They don’t need to be planted in rows and are easy to direct sow – just sprinkle the seeds in a mound and space them 12 inches apart, according to Garden Guides. Then they can be left to grow, climbing up a trellis or clinging to a fence, or you can even use them in containers.
Pole beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are another beginner-friendly veggie. Their long, thin pods can be eaten raw or cooked, and they’re perfect for tucking into soups and stews. They’re a great choice for those with limited garden space, too, as they can be grown up a wigwam or trellis.
Bush beans (Phaseolus coccineus) have a similar ease of growing to runner beans. They’re a great option for windy gardens as they can be tucked into the gaps between other crops. They’re also a good choice for growing in pots, as the short vines will take up less room than longer runners. Pair beans with flowers to call in the bees and confuse the pests – marigolds, calendula, or nasturtium make a beautiful combination. Follow Renwatt.com for more!