Are you ready to start your garden but you don’t quite know where to begin? Maybe you need vegetables that can grow easily and help you feel successful! This is your guide to the easiest vegetables to grow as a beginner.
There are some plants that are a nightmare to grow, especially as a beginner (I am looking at you loofa!) and can make you falsely believe you are bad at gardening. I want you to feel successful in your garden this year so let’s chat about the easiest vegetables you can grow.
This post is all about the easiest vegetables to grow.
Let's dive right in!
Beets
Beets are so easy to grow and both the tops and bottoms are edible. That is a lot of bang for your buck!
Why it is easy to grow
- They are suitable to container gardening and you can fit 15 in a 5 gallon container.
- You do not need to start them inside like some other plants. It is as simple as placing into the dirt and watering.
- They are fast growing (55-70 days) so you can succession plant them depending on how long your growing season is.
- They are hardy and frost tolerant so you can plant them before your last frost and they wont die if you accidentally forget to cover them overnight
Cucumber
Cucumber is a vining plant and can produce a lot of cucumbers per plant.
Why they are easy to grow
- They are very fast growers which means you do not have to start them indoors or buy starts from the store.
- They produce a lot of cucumbers! We planted 5 plants and we have more than enough cucumbers for snacking and pickling for the entire year!
- You can grow them in a grow bag (2 per 5 gallon container)
- They also like to be trellised so you can make use of vertical space in your garden.
Radish
Radish are very fast growing and lovely in a fresh garden salad!
Why they are easy to grow
- Radish grow in under 1 month so they are perfect for succession planting.
- They do not require starting seeds indoors and are very low maintenance to grow. You can throw them into the dirt, water them and they are ready to go!
- They do very well in container gardens allowing you to grow a lot of food in small spaces.
Onion
Onions may be slow to grow but they are a set it and forget it vegetable (within reason- you still have to water them!) You can grow hundreds of onions for a few dollars if you start your own seeds and onions can be dehydrated or frozen as well as stored as is.
Why they are easy to grow
- You can start them from onion sets which can be planted directly into the soil or you can start them from seed (which is a lot easier than you think!) to yield a very large harvest for cheap.
- Onions grow well in containers as they have shallow roots. They do not need a deep container but they do require a few inches around them to get those beautiful big bulbs!
Zucchini/ Summer Squash
Have you ever talked to someone who grew zucchini in their garden? I am sure you have because they are always trying to gift the zucchini to anyone who will have one. Seriously, one zucchini plant can feed you for weeks lol.
Why they are easy to grow
- Zucchini and summer squash are prolific. They produce pounds and pounds of food per vine.
- You can grow zucchini on a trellis to make use of vertical gardening!
- They also grow very well in a container and you do not need to start them indoors.
Winter Squash
Last year, we grew 2 spaghetti squash vines and we had over 40 spaghetti squash. Seriously, we are still eating them 7 months later.
Why they are easy to grow
- Like I mentioned above, you get a lot of squash per vine (have you noticed a trend yet?)
- You can start them indoors (being very careful not to disturb the root system!) but it is absolutely not necessary.
- As with the summer squash and cucumber, you can grow it vertically to save space. It does make an excellent ground cover if you need it! (think the three sisters method of planting corn, squash and beans together.)
These are our baby spaghetti squash plants that went WILD. They produced over 40 spaghetti squash that we have stored for the winter.
Beans
Both bush and pole beans are quite prolific with their yield but you will get about a pound from one pole bean and 1/2 pound from a bush bean.
Why they are easy to grow
- Both are suitable to container growing so you need limited space.
- Bush beans do not require trellis so they don’t need a lot of maintenance.
- They are not water hogs so if you miss a watering, they will not die (I am looking at you watermelon!)
- They grow fast (within 55-60 days) and you can harvest for weeks!
- The only thing to note is that mice like to eat the beans so be aware of that and take precautions as needed 🙂
Peas
Peas are delicious straight from the garden and encourage even the pickiest of eaters to snack on them.
Why they are easy to grow
- Similar to beans, peas are suitable t container gardening.
- They will require a trellis but you could use a deck railing or some bamboo stakes if you are limited on space.
- They are quick to grow and taste so much better than from the store.
- One pack of seeds provides you with a lot of peas which saves a lot of money!
Lettuce, Spinach, Kale
Most leafy greens are simple to grow as you can sow some seeds before your last frost.
Here is why they are easy to grow:
- They are frost tolerant so you can start them early.
- You can plant a few every few weeks and end up with a beautiful harvest all summer long.
- They don’t need a lot of space and can be grown in containers!
To recap which veggies are the easiest to grow...
- Beets
- Cucumber
- Radish
- Onion
- Summer Squash/ Zucchini
- Winter Squash
- Beans
- Peas
- Lettuce, Spinach, Kale
Honourable mention
A lot of posts will tell you carrots are easy to grow but honestly, I am not sure if I would say that. They take a long time to germinate, and will sometimes require a plank or cardboard to cover them until they germinate and even then, the germination rate can be low.
Obviously I think you should try it but don’t put too much weight into them. They can be tricky so don’t allow it to tank your self esteem lol.
Thank you so much for reading!! If you liked this post, you may also like…