Would you like your own vegetable garden but do not know which vegetables are the easiest to grow? Here you have the list of the 10 easiest vegetables to grow.
Several healthy and delicious vegetables, including fresh cucumbers, lettuce, and carrots, don’t require much effort. Most gardening sites on the Internet will find a similar list of easy-to-grow vegetables for beginners. Despite droughts, intense storms, hot summer sun, and not quite regular care, I grew many myself.
This does not mean that your work in the garden is finished after planting or sowing but that the probability of success is higher for specific vegetable gardens. Check out the list of the 10 easiest vegetables to grow even if you’re a beginner gardener:
- Leaf salad
- Radish
- Spinach
- Pods
- Cucumbers
- Carrot
- Peppers
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Common Cornsalad
1. Leaf salad
Although there are many types of lettuce, leafy lettuces are somewhat easier to grow than others. These species do not form a head but look like each leaf grows individually.
They are sown directly in the ground. Lettuce seeds are not expensive, and you will find them in nurseries and agrarian commerce, but also in retail chains. There, leaf lettuces are also available as seedlings.
Like all other salads in general, leaf lettuce does not like warm weather. You can start sowing them already in early spring or late autumn. They sprout about 10 days after sowing and are ready for harvesting after 40-45 days, but you can start picking them even before that. It is only necessary to cut them to the ground level but not to pull out the root. This way, the leaves will regenerate, and you can pick them up repeatedly until the heat stops their growth.
2. Radish
Radish is a very resistant vegetable; you can sow it directly in the ground. The seeds germinate quickly even under challenging conditions, and the secret of success lies in loose soil and sowing sparsely so that the roots have room to develop. If your radish sprouts are too close, thin them out. Leave about 5 cm of space between the radishes.
Sowing is done in spring and autumn, and there are also species that you can sow throughout the summer. Depending on the species and the weather, they ripen in 25 to 50 days. You can sow them successively, every 10 to 15 days, so they don’t ripen simultaneously.
They are ready for harvesting when their leaves reach about 10 cm in height. It is important to note that the thickened root is eaten with radish and the young leaves, which you can add to salads and stews.
3. Spinach
Spinach is best sown directly in the ground. Before sowing, leave the seeds to soak overnight, which will speed up germination. You will need to plant it in well-drained and fertilized soil.
It is sown at a depth between 2-4 cm. Germinates even at a temperature of 0 degrees and tolerates frost well. Autumn spinach is sown in mid-October and harvested in April of the following year. In the spring, you can sow it already at the beginning of March and harvest until June.
Spinach does not like high temperatures or long days. When the sun is high and the day lasts longer than 12 hours, it begins to bloom, and the leaves roll up. It grows best at a temperature between 16°C and 18C°. Choose a sunny place or light shade, while it is better to sow it in the shadow for the summer harvest.
You can continuously pick the spinach leaves, which will encourage new growth.
4. Pods
Pods are easy to grow and give a bountiful harvest. They are sown directly in the ground; soaking the seeds first is preferable to speed up germination.
Beans like heat, so it is not recommended to sow them before the air temperature reaches at least 20°C. They germinate and sprout best at a temperature between 18°C and 25°C. They are sown in rows in well-drained and fertilized soil. Choose a sunny place for sowing.
We divide pods into high and low varieties. For beginners, we recommend low types because they are easier to grow since they do not require additional work except for sowing and harvesting, which will follow after about 60 days. Tall varieties will need to be supported.
The good news is that you can sow pods several times a year from the end of April until the beginning of July.
5. Cucumbers
Cucumbers are easy to grow, but you need to provide them with enough sun and water.
We divide them into salad gherkins and gherkins, which grow smaller than salad gherkins and are ideal for the winter. Neither of them likes the cold. You can plant them outdoors from the end of April until June, at the earliest two weeks after the last frost. You can also start sowing three weeks indoors before planting outdoors or buy seedlings from a local nursery.
They prefer permeable and airy soil fertilized with organic fertilizer and choose a sunny place sheltered from the wind.
Their germination is best at 25°C to 35°C, although they sprout even at 12°C when the germination time can be extended to 15 to 20 days. For growth, please provide them with at least 120 centimeters of support and water them regularly.
6. Carrot
Carrots are root vegetables that are easy to grow because they are resistant to frost, and young plants can withstand temperatures down to -5°C. You probably won’t be able to get specimens the size of those from the store in your vegetable garden, especially if the soil in which you sow carrots is rocky, but your carrots will be much tastier.
Just like with radishes, watch the seeding density. Once sprouted, carrots can be thinned out by pulling out plants that are too close to give the roots room to develop. In the spring, uprooting could invite the carrot fly, which is why it is better to sow sparingly as a preventive measure.
Although carrots will thrive in light shade, carrots prefer a sunny position. It is sown from the beginning of March until the end of August at a depth of 1.5 to 2 cm. You can pick it all year round, and in addition to various soups and stews, you can also make a juicy carrot cake.
7. Peppers
There are many types of peppers, from the smallest hot ones to large bell peppers. They are all delicious and straightforward to grow.
Peppers love heat, so it is advisable to sow them indoors for 4 to 6 weeks before transplanting them outdoors. Do not do this before the air temperature reaches 15°C. You will undoubtedly find ready-made seedlings of various peppers in nurseries and retail chains. The ideal time to transplant peppers into the vegetable garden is at the end of May.
The optimal soil for peppers is permeable and rich in humus. Choose a sunny spot for planting in the vegetable garden, water them regularly, and feed them at least once a month.
8. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are among the most commonly planted vegetables in vegetable gardens thanks to their simple cultivation and excellent taste that cannot be compared to that of purchased tomatoes.
It grows very quickly, and if you choose some of the bushy, low-growing species, you won’t even have to put up support for them.
Suppose you want to enjoy your tomatoes all summer. In that case, you will have to sow them indoors already at the beginning of March, or you can buy seedlings in nurseries, agriculture, or shopping centers and transplant them outdoors at the end of April or the beginning of May. You can also sow them directly in the ground from the second half of April to a 2-3 cm depth.
Tomatoes love the heat but don’t tolerate cold well, so choose a sunny place with a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. When you plant them, be sure to add compost to the soil, water them regularly and feed them at least once or twice a month.
9. Zucchini
Zucchini can be prepared in countless ways, which is why they are very often on our table in summer. If you decide to try to grow them yourself, it will not be very difficult.
They need wet soil, lots of sun, and shelter from the wind. You can sow them directly in the ground outdoors from mid-May. It is essential to fertilize the soil well. You can soak the seeds to make them germinate faster. If you want to start picking zucchini earlier, sow them indoors in April and transplant them outdoors a month later.
Take care that the zucchini spreads out a lot, so plant them at a distance of at least 60 cm. Planting them in rows means the distance from row to row must be 1.5 meters.
10. Common Cornsalad
Common Cornsalad(Valerianella locusta) is a type of lettuce that is very easy to grow thanks to its adaptability to the conditions in which it grows. Once you sow it, you can almost forget about it until harvest.
It thrives best in the colder months and can be sown all year round. From sowing to sprouting, only 8 to 10 days are enough. It germinates already at 0°C and grows at 5°C, while the optimal growth temperature is 10°C.
It grows well in all soil types, although it prefers humus, well-drained soil. Due to its shallow roots, it is best to sow it directly in the ground.
In dry months, it needs to be watered regularly. Ripens about 2-3 months after planting.
Pruning will encourage regrowth, so be careful not to uproot it when harvesting.