There are certain low-maintenance vegetables that are suitable for any gardening enthusiast. In addition, as a beginner, you can choose vegetables that require simple plant care even if you know nothing about gardening. So here are some gardening tips that can help you get a harvest of delicious and healthy home-grown produce.
Good examples of easy-care vegetables in the home garden
Growing a vegetable garden offers many benefits that gardeners and their family circle can benefit from. It is much healthier to grow the produce for your own food. You know exactly what is in the relevant product and can therefore avoid harmful nitrates and additives. Another advantage of having your own garden is cost savings. Nowadays many people are intimidatedto start gardening, but starting a garden can actually be quite easy if you grow the right plants. There are many that make a great product and don't require a lot of work. To encourage you to get started on this very worthwhile task, we have compiled a list of the easiest vegetables to grow so that every home gardener can achieve success.
If you want to start a kitchen garden, you can start with the easiest vegetables to grow to ensure success. There is hardly anything more fulfilling in life than growing your own plants from tiny seeds. Home-grown vegetables are not only tastier than store-bought, but also healthier and chemical-free. So start planning your vegetable garden now to get a delicious harvest in just a few weeks. When deciding what to grow, make sure you choose low-maintenance vegetables that you actually enjoy eating. This means you will get much more satisfaction from your efforts.
Factors to consider before starting a vegetable garden
First and foremost, you should know exactly when you can plant your vegetables to get off to the right start. The biggest mistake beginners make when making gaits is poor timing. Every crop has ideal growing conditions, which depend heavily on your local climate. Therefore, sometimes it is not so important what you plant, but when you do it. On the back of most seed packets you will find general planting instructions. Also, make sure you sow your seeds in a suitable location.
Each type of plant has its own needs for sunlight and water. Choose a location near a water source and with at least six full hours of sunlight. However, leafy vegetables can also tolerate less than six hours of sunshine. As long as you select appropriate varieties for your garden and follow growing instructions, you should have no trouble growing the selection of the easiest vegetables to grow, regardless of your experience level. Always check the individual requirements of the plant and whether this suits the position of the sun in your garden and the space available.
Grow root vegetables like radishes
Learning how to grow radishes is probably the easiest way to get started for beginners. This is also one of the fastest vegetables to grow. Their peppery flavor makes them a tasty addition to salads, while some varieties are also delicious in stir-fries. This flavorful little vegetable germinates reliably when sown directly into the ground. You can harvest it in a month or less under most conditions. Radishes thrive in full sun but can also grow slowly in shady areas. Additionally, they mature so quickly that they can be sown in succession for a continuous harvest and replanted with slower starting plants before they reach maturity.
One of the reasons radishes are so easy to grow is that they typically don't have to deal with pests and are somewhat frost resistant. They actually prefer the cool weather in spring or autumn. Sow seeds directly where you want them to grow, in the garden or a pot, to a depth of about 2 centimeters. Plant seedlings 5-7cm apart as they emerge. Radishes are ready to harvest in 20-30 days.
Green beans as an easy-care vegetable
Green beans are versatile, delicious and productive. They are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. You can choose from two growing styles: bushes, which are more compact, and poles, which grow vertically, making them more space-efficient. There are also some wonderful espalier ideas if you want to maximize your growing space. In addition, the bush bean variety is more advantageous because you can use a trellis for it. This takes up less space in your garden, although green beans can also grow well in pots.
Poor soils are also suitable for such vegetables because beans bind the nitrogen they contain as they grow. All in all, this is an easy summer plant that grows quickly and is ready to harvest in about 60 days. To grow green beans, you can directly sow the seeds about 3 cm deep, about 5 to 7 cm apart. You can then start harvesting in 50-60 days.
Growing kale in the vegetable garden for beginners
Leafy greens like kale have very few disease or pest problems and are tolerant of a wide range of temperatures. Compared to other green vegetables, it grows well even when it is hot outside. In addition, kale is also one of the healthiest plants you can grow as a home gardener. It's a true superfood, packed with vitamins A, C and K, with a single cup of the vegetable well in excess of the recommended daily intake. This cabbage also contributes a variety of other essential nutrients including manganese, calcium and potassium.
Since kale is a fairly compact crop, it can grow well in pots, so be sure to include a few plants in your vegetable garden containers. In addition, this type of vegetable not only survives frost, but tastes even better when the temperatures drop into the freezing zone. Accordingly toleratedKale growingalso a little more shadow. Start seeds indoors or directly in place in warmer weather from late spring to early summer. Sow the seeds about an inch deep, and when they begin to grow, transplant them about 18 inches apart or less if you want to eat younger leaves. You should be able to harvest the leaves in about 60 days.
Use the benefits of beetroot as an easy-care vegetable
Compact, colorful and relatively trouble-free, beets or beets are an essential addition to your vegetable garden. If you like to eat the vegetables fresh in salads or fried as a side dish, then replant them every few weeks from spring onwards. Alternatively, an abundance of beets can be preserved and enjoyed for months. To grow beets, plant the seeds directly in a sunny location as the young plants do not like to be transplanted. Sow the seeds about 1cm deep, about 5cm apart in rows about 30cm apart.
Once the beets have begun to grow, you should plant the seedlings about 2 to 3 inches apart. It takes about 2 months for the beets to be ready. At this stage, the root vegetables arch above the surface of the soil and should be at least the size of a golf ball. Don't throw away the leaves as they are delicious and healthy too - just sauté until tender.
Growing hardy herbs in the vegetable garden
Hardy herbs are great for beginners because they grow in a variety of conditions and levels of care. Plant these in the corners of raised beds, at the ends of rows or in pots. They thrive in full sun, partial shade or with irregular watering. Mountain garden sage, French thyme, Italian oregano and rosemary are particularly recommended for hobby gardeners, but annual varieties such as coriander and basil could also be yoursA wonderful addition to the herb garden. You can only benefit further from cooking with fresh herbs, and mixing them with salts or incorporating them into gift bows is a great way to bring more joy to family members, friends and neighbors.
Go classic with tomatoes as an easy-care vegetable
They may seem like an advanced vegetable, but growing tomatoes can actually be quite simple. This is especially true if you focus on savory varieties that can be adapted to each zone. Depending on your climate and the variety you choose, tomatoes can be grown either outdoors or under glass. However, you can also choose between vine tomatoes, which grow vertically, and bush varieties, which are easier for beginners and can be grown in pots.
So growing tomatoes is incredibly rewarding if you choose the right variety. While tomatoes are generally good candidates for making sauces, some varieties can grow large and juicy, making them great cold cuts for sandwiches and salads, too. This vegetable has a sweet taste that will convince anyone to switch from grocery store to garden tomatoes for the rest of their lives. Cherry tomatoes are also easy to grow because they are quick to harvest.
Choosing chard
Chard is easy to grow, looks great in the vegetable patch and adds flavor to stir-fries. It is also considered a superfood, rich in vitamins A, C and K. Swiss chard is in the same family as spinach, but is easier to grow because it tolerates heat and cold better. Begin planting in the spring 2 to 3 weeks before the last frost date and in the fall about 40 days before the last frost date. You can plant seeds at 10-day intervals over the course of a month of continuous harvest. The chard can also be grown in a small greenhouse over the winter. Sow the seed about 1cm deep in rows about 30cm apart. Once the seedlings have started growing, you can transplant them 25 feet apart. The plants produce fantastic leaves and are ready to harvest within 12 weeks.
Grow pumpkin and zucchini
Pumpkins are a fun crop for beginners to experiment with, with some varieties being particularly easy to grow. Spaghetti squash, for example, has proven year after year to be the hardiest and most productive of all squash. You can sow these directly into the garden, and this hardy vegetable will outlive its other pumpkins and acorns, survive aphids and powdery mildew to produce five or more pumpkins by the end of the season. However, you will need more space for the vines to spread outwards or upwards. But they can be easily pruned if they go out of bounds.
Zucchini also comes in a huge range of shapes and sizes, but all are easy to grow from seed. To grow them, start the seeds indoors in spring or directly from their locations in late spring. Sow seeds about 2cm deep, about 90cm apart. It is a good idea to plant 2 or 3 seeds at each sowing site as not all seeds will germinate. You can remove the weaker seedlings as they begin to grow. In addition to zucchini, consider growing spaghetti squash as well as versatile butternut squash and summer squash.
Add healthy salad vegetables for even more greens
There's nothing better than a freshly picked salad from the garden. It's easy to learn how to grow lettuce from seed, although it can also be grown in a container or pot. These vegetables also grow quickly – within 6 weeks, or even sooner, you will be able to harvest leaves if you eat thinned seedlings. While all lettuces are easy to grow, loose-leafed varieties that don't form a solid heart are particularly easy. You can also grow lettuce all year round – outside in spring and summer and indoors in the colder months.
You should sow lettuce seeds thinly and cover them with a fine layer of compost. To avoid flooding, it's best to sow a few seeds at a time each week. Once the seedlings are large enough, thin them to 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm.) apart, depending on whether you prefer to eat baby leaves. Some types of lettuce tend to germinate as temperatures rise. So if you are in a warm climate, it would be advisable to plan for a spring or fall harvest when growing lettuce. There are some bolt-resistant varieties that work really well in the garden and can extend your season into the summer. However, also remember that you will probably need to protect your crops from slugs.
The easiest vegetables to grow in pots are those with a compact growth habit that don't easily outgrow their containers. Leafy greens and herbs like basil, scallions, and thyme work well in containers. However, anything with a shallow root system will also thrive in a pot. So also consider growing beans, tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes in containers.
The vegetables that you can grow from seeds are those that require little intervention beyond planting and watering. Many plant varieties are easy to grow from seeds. Lettuce, cucumbers, pumpkin, radishes, peas, pumpkins and rocket would be classified as easy-care vegetables. To be considered easy, it should germinate quickly and then not require much additional care other than the necessary watering to reach maturity.
