If you’re just starting gardening, or if you’ve been gardening awhile but are short on time this year, consider this list of twelve easy-to-grow vegetables.
1. Tomatoes
The most popular vegetable to grow is the tomato. But before buying seedlings or seeds, decide if you want determinate tomatoes (those that stop growing after they produce fruit), or indeterminate types (those that keep growing until frost). Determinate tomatoes usually mature earlier (which is good for short seasons in the north), need less support, but bear less fruit. Dwarf tomatoes are compact, good for containers, and produce fruit all at once. Tomatoes now come in various colors if you want something different, but look for varieties with some resistance to common tomato diseases. Resistance to diseases is noted on the plant tag or on the seed packet.
Buy on Amazon: Homegrown Tomatoes: The step-by-step guide to growing delicious organic tomatoes in your garden2 & 3: Sweet Peppers and Hot Peppers
Sweet and hot peppers come in a rainbow of colors. Hot peppers are great in salsa, and sweet or bell types can be stuffed, diced, fried, or grilled. Pepper plants are short, so they’re good for small spaces and containers. As with tomatoes, peppers like warm temperatures, so they should be planted around the same time, after all, threat of frost has passed. Tomatoes and peppers are generally started indoors in early spring or bought as small plants.
4. Carrots
Carrots are sown from seeds early in the season, even before the last frost. Sow carrot seeds in intervals to have fresh carrots all season, especially in the fall. There are many types – some are baby-sized when mature, others you can harvest when young.
5. Onions
Onions are most easily purchased in bundles of small plants, called “sets”, ready to plant out and grow on. If you’re purchasing onions locally you’ll be sure to get varieties suited for your climate, and in particular day length, as there are certain varieties better suited for the longer days in the north. You might also consider the easy onion relatives of leeks, shallots, and garlic.
6. Potatoes
Potatoes are not on many top ten lists, but they are one of the easiest vegetables to grow and come in many novel and tasty varieties you won’t find in stores. Another reason to grow potatoes yourself is that store-bought potatoes are one of the crops rated in the “Dirty Dozen” list for having the highest levels of pesticide residues (along with spinach and peppers). You buy “seed potatoes” in spring – tubers ready to sprout that you cut in large pieces and plant. As they grow, just hill up soil around them, or plant them low in a large container, and as they grow add more soil.
7. Peas
Peas are another favorite on many lists. Traditionally, peas grow on vines, so they need a trellis, and produce pods with peas inside. But there are also varieties that grow low as bushes. Those with the tough pods and peas inside that need shelling out are the English peas, and although tasty, are time-consuming to shell. The snap pea also has peas inside, but its pod is edible. Then there are the flat snow peas, harvested before the peas inside form, which are eaten for their edible pods. Peas are sown early, or in late season for a fall harvest, as they grow best in cool temperatures.
8. Beans
Beans are probably the easiest vegetable to grow. Some varieties are yellow, often called green beans. Some produce vines, so they need a trellis, while others are “bush” types and remain compact. Sow beans directly in the garden when the soil is warm, and be careful because a few bean plants can produce lots of beans.
9 & 10: Cucumbers and Squash
Two favorite and easy vegetables, cucumbers and squash, are produced commonly on vines. If you’re short on space, look for varieties that are “bush” types. Both of these crops like heat, so sow seeds in the garden when the soil has warmed in late spring.
The two main types of cucumbers are the short, spiny, pickling types and the larger, smooth-skinned, dark green slicers. The latter are what you usually see in grocery stores, but you can eat the pickling ones, too. The bush varieties take less space but produce fewer fruits.
11: Zucchini
Zucchini is listed separately from squash on some lists, but it is actually a type of summer squash. Other types are the yellow, straight or crookneck varieties, and some have green or white skins and scallop shapes. Summer squash usually matures in about 2 months, compared to about 3 months for winter squash, which earned its name because they store well into winter.
12. Lettuce
Lettuce is on most easy-to-grow lists, but there are many other types of leafy greens as well, such as spinach, Swiss chard, and specialty greens. There are four main types of lettuce to choose from– crisphead, loose-head, loose-leaf, and romaine. Although those with green leaves are most common, some varieties are burgundy too. Decide if you want ones with smooth, frilled, or deeply cut leaves. Leafy greens like it cool, so sow early and pick anytime–you don’t have to wait for them to mature. They’re also great for growing in containers.
With all of these vegetables, northern gardeners, in particular, should pay attention to “days to maturity” on varieties. This term refers to the time from seeding or, in some cases, planting out until the first fruits are ripe. Figure the number of days after your last frost date, and make sure you’ll be at home when they ripen or that they will ripen before the first fall frost. Don’t know these frost dates? There are many online resources for finding them in your area, or check with your local garden store, Extension office, or master gardener program.
A version of this article appeared on Perrys Perennials.
We garden in Pennsylvania, United States, zone 6B. Much of the info we share is based on gardening in our temperate area. But many of the flowers, vegetables, and fruit we write about can be grown in soil other than ours (clay) and significantly different weather conditions and elevations. You might need to choose specific varieties for your region, modify your garden, add soil amendments, or adjust the soil pH to match our results. Please check your local university extension website for specifics for your area.