The 6 Easiest Vegetables to Grow For Beginners

Planting your first garden is exciting and it’s a great springtime activity. The hours spent planning, sowing, weeding, and caring for the crop are therapeutic and definitely considered hygge. The thought of having a fresh bounty from your backyard is motivation enough for many people to start a vegetable garden. However, establishing a vegetable garden can be a lot of work, so maximize your yield by planting the easiest vegetables to grow for beginners.

When deciding which vegetables to grow, keep in mind the likes and dislikes of your family. There’s no sense in growing a crop no one will enjoy. Trust me, I have been there, done that one too many times. 

Once you get comfortable planting these vegetables, you can start adding more exotic plants to your garden. Gaining experience and knowledge by growing the easiest vegetables will ensure your success and also return on your investment of time and money.

The Easiest Vegetables to Grow

Green Beans

Green beans are one of the best vegetables to grow even if you’ve never planted vegetables before. They grow from seeds, which means they are inexpensive to plant.

Green beans have a high yield, so you can easily plant a year’s worth of beans to eat fresh and then can or freeze for later.

You can buy either half runners or bush beans.  Half runners grow along a vine, so you’ll need to place a trellis in your garden.  These beans are tender, but they do have a string you will need to remove before eating or canning them.

Bush beans, on the other hand, grow in a small bush instead of on a vine.  They don’t have strings, so they are ready to eat after you wash and snap them.

Green beans need well-drained soil and a lot of sunlight.  Place compost on the dirt and plant the seeds in the compost.  Cover the seeds with compost.  Rainwater is usually sufficient, but you may need to water them if the plants start to shrivel.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are also easy to grow, and they are versatile because you can eat them plain, in salads, or use them to make pickles.  You can start them from seeds indoors three weeks before you want to plant them outside or buy young starts from a local greenhouse.

Plant cucumbers after the last frost.  They need good drainage because too much water will ruin the plant.  They do need a good amount of sunlight.

Cucumbers are a vine plant, so they need a lot of room.  You can use a trellis or let them lay on the ground.  If you plant in the ground, plant rows three feet apart and each plant 1 foot apart.

Lettuce

You can plant lettuce from seeds directly in the garden.  It can be grown early or late, but it needs some shade during the day in hot weather.  This is a good plant for the edge of a garden that may get some shade during the day from a nearby tree.

Cut lettuce off as it grows.  You’ll be able to cut each plant several times during the season.  You can just cut some off for your salad and not worry about storing it for later.

Radishes

Radishes grow from seed to maturity in about 24 days, so they offer quick satisfaction.  They can be sown directly into the soil as soon as the soil is soft enough to work.  Sow the seeds 2 inches apart and cover them with half of an inch of soil.

Carrots

Carrots and radishes are good companion plants.  The radishes grow quicker and break up the soil for the carrots that need softer soil.  Plant a row alternating radishes and carrots.  When the radishes are done, the carrots will have plenty of room to grow.

If you are planting carrots alone, they need to be in sandy loose soil.  They need good drainage to grow into a long carrot.

Zucchini

Zucchini plants can offer such a great yield that you’ll be sneaking them onto your neighbor’s porches for most of the summer.

Zucchini is easy to plant from seeds.  Don’t go overboard with zucchini; you’ll only need one or two plants to feed your family.  Plant seeds in small mounds in warm soil.

Zucchini needs a bit of water, so you’ll have to water them if it doesn’t rain for a few days.  Be sure to water the base of the plant and not the leaves because it can cause them to get powdery.

Zucchini plants need a lot of room to spread because they grow on a vine.  Plant your seeds or plants three to six feet apart.

Keep an eye on your zucchini because they grow quickly!  Pick them when they are ripe because the next day they may be huge.

Start planning your vegetable garden TODAY! Download this amazing Garden Planner if even there is currently snow on the ground. Gardening can be a year-round hobby when you enjoy planning as I do. 

Last season, I planned our vegetable garden and landscaping layout and upgrades using this versatile Garden Planner. This year, I will reference my plans from last year and make adjustments based on my experience and our current needs. 

The Garden Planner is a free digital download for you to start using any time of the year. You can plan ahead, reflect on what worked and what wasn’t successful. This Garden Planner will quickly become your gardening reference book year after year. 

Gardening is a rewarding endeavor, but it is a lot of work.  When you’re getting started, try these easy vegetables to grow for beginners for better success.