six easy vegetables to grow

Fill your garden with these easy vegetables to grow.

Even beginner gardeners can experience growing and harvesting these wonderful God gifts. They keep us healthy and give us exercise in the garden.

Plant breeders keep upgrading the plants and seed available for our home gardens. Plants are not as fussy as they were in our grandparents' days. They have increased disease resistance and vigor.

Vegetables don't have to take a lot of space. Plant breeders have also given us many compact varieties of vegetables that grow well in small spaces, including buckets and flower pots.

You can grow these easy vegetables!

What are some easy vegetables to grow?

Radishes - Green Beans - Carrots - Leaf Lettuce - Cucumbers - Swiss Chard - Squash - Corn - Peppers

where should we put our garden?

Look over the yard and decide where to locate your garden. Take note of the sun and how it changes position different times of year.

The majority of vegetables grow best in full sun. (6 hours or more per day)

Many vegetables will tolerate partial sun. (2-6 hours/day) They will grow slower with less sun. And it will be longer until harvest, but it is still achievable. Shade Vegetables

Prepare your planting area by mixing plenty of organic matter into the soil. Select your seeds or transplants and enjoy a season of gardening.

green beans are easy vegetables to grow

Green beans (snap beans) are one of the most productive vegetables for the home garden. Plus, they are very easy vegetables to grow.

We can have green beans in 50-70 days after the seedlings emerge.

Two types of green beans

Bush beans produce in about 50 to 55 days. They are good for small spaces and growing in containers. They grow about 2 feet tall and they don't need staking or trellising.

Bush beans often come in all at once, so stagger the plantings every two weeks to get a continuous harvest.

Varieties - Tender Crop, Green Sleeves, Blue Lake, Contender, Royal Burgundy

Yellow Wax Beans - Cherokee, Gold Cross

Pole beans will take 55 to 70 days to harvest. They typically yield more beans for longer. They will produce for a month or two when we keep harvesting.

Their long plants need to be staked or trained on a trellis or tomato cage.

They are mostly disease-resistant.

Varieties - Kentucky Wonder, Romano, Kentucky Blue Pole, Blue Lake Pole, Scarlet Runner

Green beans are very productive.

Planting - Green beans like full sun, 6-8 hours per day. They will grow in a variety of soils.

Plant them after the weather warms up and the soil is warm. Beans don't do well in cool, damp conditions.

Do successive plantings 2-3 weeks apart so you have beans all summer.

Care - Once the beans are up, water them with infrequent, deep waterings instead of daily light sprinklings.

When the beans are 4-6" high give them a bit of fertilizer. Fertilize again when the pods start forming. Fish emulsion is good.

If you use a granular vegetable fertilizer, don't allow it to touch the stem of the bean. The granules could burn the plant.

Harvest the beans while they are still young and tender, before the beans start to make bumps on the side of the pod.

Harvest regularly, every 5-7 days. They grow fast. When they get too big, the pods are tough and chewy. If you let the bean pods grow to full maturity, the plant will stop producing.

Growers Tip - Do not harvest or work in the green beans when the leaves are wet to avoid spreading viral diseases.

is lettuce an easy vegetable to grow?

Yes, leaf lettuces are easy vegetables to grow in the home garden. They can be ready for harvest in 30 days after the seedlings emerge.

Head lettuce and the upright types of lettuce are a bit finicky to grow.

Lettuce is a cool season vegetable.

Lettuce is resistant to cold and it likes cool weather. It is a spring and fall crop. Hot weather makes it go to seed.

Leaf lettuce withstands the hot weather better than other types of lettuce.

Lettuce likes a rich, well-drained soil, so add plenty of organic matter.

It grows the best in the sun, but it will last longer into the summer with part shade.

Varieties - Black-seeded, Simpson, Oak Leaf, Slow Bolt, Red Salad Bowl, Red Riot, Red Sails, Lolo Rossa

Planting and Care - Plant lettuce in the spring when the soil can be worked. Plant it again in the fall about 8 weeks before the first frost.

Sow the seeds 1/4" deep in rows 14" apart. Sprinkle with water and keep it moist.

When the seedlings are 4" high, thin them to 3" apart, and later thin the plants to 6".

Fertilize lightly with a soluble fertilizer.

Harvest the leaves, as soon as they are big enough. Cut the outside leaves and leave the center leaves to continue growing. This will extend your harvest.

Later in the season harvest the entire plant at ground level.

Growers Tip - Harvest the lettuce before hot weather sets in. When the lettuce plants bolt, the leaves become bitter tasting.

Bolting is a tall stem emerging from the center of the plant. They will bloom and make seeds on the tall stem.

Can we grow squash?

Yes, there two types of squash. Both summer and winter squash are easy vegetables to grow.

Zucchini is a popular summer squash.

Summer squash grows on bush-like plants. Summer squashes like, zucchini, yellow squash and scalloped squash are harvested before they mature.

Winter squash grows on vining plants that require more space.

Winter squash, like acorn, butternut squash and pumpkins are harvested after maturity.

They can be stored for the winter.

Today there are some bush varieties of winter squash that save space.

Summer Squash Varieties -

Yellow squash - Early Summer Crookneck, Early Prolific Straightneck
Zucchini - Black Zucchini, Black Beauty, Cocozelle
Scalloped squash - White Bush Scallop, Peter Pan, Scallopini

Planting and Care - Squash needs full sun and warm soil. Mix plenty of compost into the soil before planting.

Squashes may be planted anytime during the warm months. Plant 2-3 seeds in rows 2' apart or 4-5 seeds in hills 4' apart.

When the seedlings are 4" tall, thin them to the strongest plants, no more than 2 or 3 plants together.

Give the squash good deep waterings at the base of the plant, not on the leaves. They appreciate an occasional application of a balanced fertilizer.

Harvest - Summer squash will be ready to harvest in about 60 days. Harvest the squash while they are still young and tender.

Yellow and zucchini squash should be harvested at 6" to 8". The scalloped squashes are harvested when they are 3" to 4".

Growers Tip - Check your plants every day. This easy vegetable grows very fast. Cut the squash off the plant with a knife.

If a squash gets big enough to produce seed, then the plant thinks it's done.

More about squash

radishes are the easiest vegetable to grow!

Radishes are the ultimate easy vegetable to grow in our backyard gardens.

They are the fastest vegetable. Radishes are ready to harvest in 20-30 days. You can't get any better than that.

Radishes are fast and easy.

We can grow them anywhere. This small vegetable doesn't take much room in the garden. They can even be grown in flower pots.

Varieties - Cherry Belle, White Icicle, Sparkler, Black Spanish, White Chinese, China Rose

Planting and Care - Radish is a cool season crop that is planted in the spring and fall. They like the sun, but they will tolerate partial shade.

Like all vegetables, mix some rotted manure or compost into the soil before planting. Remove the rocks, so you don't get misshapen radishes.

Sow the radish seeds 3/4"-1" deep in rows 12" apart. Plant more seeds every 2-3 weeks for a continual harvest. When the seedlings are 2" tall thin them to 3" apart.

Harvest - When we see the top of the bulbs sticking out of the soil, they are ready to harvest. Pull the radishes while they are still young and tender.

Growers Tip - Inconsistent moisture may cause the radishes to split and they will taste hot.

The key to tender, mild radishes is constant moisture and nutrients. A layer of mulch keeps the soil cool, preserves moisture and keeps the weeds down.

What is your favorite easy vegetable to grow?

Swiss chard is my favorite. It is not fussy about soil. It grows best in the sun, but will also grow in shade.

Swiss chard is heat, cold and drought resistant. What more could we ask for in easy vegetables to grow? This healthy vegetable is related to beets.

Swiss chard has either white or colored stems.

Varieties -

Lucullus and Fordhook Giant are popular white stem varieties.

Magenta Sunset and Rhubarb Chard have colorful red stems.

Planting and Care - Plant the seeds 1/2"-3/4" deep, when you can work the spring soil. Each seed actually contains 3 or 4 plants. Later thin the plants to 1 foot apart.

Water regularly with deep waterings and occasionally apply a nitrogen fertilizer.

Harvest - You can harvest in 60 days and continue to harvest all summer. The hot weather does not make Swiss chard bolt.

Cut the outside leaves for your salads or cooking. Leave the center leaves growing for more production.

Swiss chard is very resistant to cold and frosts. Cover it during in-climate weather and you will have an extra-long harvest season.

Growers Tip - Swiss chard is a biennial plant. If it overwinters, the next year we get more harvest. Then it will go to seed and stop producing. Then plant more of this nutritious, easy vegetable.

can we grow corn?

We can't stop with just 5 easy vegetables to grow. Corn is one of America's favorite vegetables. It takes 60-95 days to harvest.

Corn is an all-American vegetable. It was growing in Mexico over 7,000 years ago. Its culture spread throughout North and South America.

We know it was one of the main vegetables grown by the American Indians. American pilgrims planted and ate corn from their gardens.

Corn is one of the easy vegetables to grow. It will grow almost any soil, but it prefers a rich soil with good drainage.

There are two types of corn

Everybody loves corn!

Field corn is dried on the stalk, harvested and stored for later use. It is sometimes called dent corn because each kernel has a dent on the top.

Sweet corn is harvested while the kernels are still moist. Corn on the cob, canned and frozen corn are sweet corn.

Varieties of sweet corn - Plant early, mid-season and late season varieties for an extended harvest.

Early Season, 60-70 days; Spring Gold, Explorer, Early Sun Glow, Seneca Horizon, Earlivee, Trinity, Welcome

Mid-season, 70-80 days; Sundance, Wonderful, Gold Cup, Northern Bell, Gold Cross Bantam, Honey n Cream,

Late Season, 85-95 days; Seneca Chief, Honey Cross, Silver Queen, Country Gentleman, Butter n Sugar, Stowell’s

Planting and Care - Corn is wind pollinated, so plant it in blocks of 3 or 4 short rows instead of a long single row. Space the rows 30"-40" apart.

Plant sweet corn away from field corn and popcorn because they will cross pollinate.

Corn does not transplant well. Plant the seeds in the garden 2 weeks after the last frost.

Corn is a heavy feeder. Incorporate plenty of manure or compost into the planting area.

Or dig a trench 3" deep. Sprinkle a 10-10-10 fertilizer in the trench. Cover the fertilizer with soil and then plant the seeds.

Plant the seeds 1" deep, 4-6" apart. When the seedlings are growing well, thin them to 12-15".

Water regularly an inch of water per week or more during hot, windy weather.

Side dress with fertilizer every 2-3 weeks.

Keep the weeds down, but don't hoe close to the plants because corn has shallow roots.

Harvest - Your corn will be ready to harvest when the silks are dry, about 20 days after they first appear.

Gently peel back the husk to see if the kernels have formed all the way to the end of the ear. If not, close the husk and let it continue growing.

Pierce a kernel. If you see milky juice, it means the corn is ready to harvest.

Watery juice means it's not ready, yet. Close the husk to keep bugs from getting inside. You may close it with a bread tie.

Pick the corn by bending it down toward the stalk.

Growers Tip - Use the corn soon after harvest. When the ear is picked, its sugar starts turning to starch.

If you can't use the corn immediately, leave the husks on and store it in the refrigerator for a few days.

Enjoy growing these easy vegetables in your garden!

Six vegetables are shared on this page. To eliminate repetition, vegetables are written about on only one page. There are links to additional easy vegetables the list below.

Radishes, Carrots, Green Beans, Eggplant, Leaf Lettuce, Cucumbers, Swiss Chard, Squash, Peppers, Corn