Whether you are a first-time gardener or a seasoned gardener, and just want to plant the basics in your vegetable garden this year, here are the “19 Top Easiest Garden Vegetables To Grow!”
We are coming up in early spring and all gardeners both old and new are thinking about what to plant. Especially with where our world has been economically, it is extremely important that we use our resources well…
Not only have I gathered other seasoned gardener’s lists to make sure we were hitting the most successful crops, but these are also our go-to crops, and here’s to hoping it will help inspire you and your gardening endeavors this year!
So without further ado… Here is our list of the easiest “19 Top Easiest Garden Vegetables To Grow” this year!
Butternut Squash
If you have the right climate and good soil, butternut squash will hardly ever disappoint. You will need a cool place to store the finished product, however, it is worth your time to grow butternut squash as it can last you into the winter.
Tomatoes
Tomato for us has never missed the planting season… From sauces to soup, to salsa, the number of products that a good crop of tomatoes brings to us… never ceases to amaze us! We have found that we like to plant A LOT of Amish Paste for sauces, Beefsteak for every day, always cherry tomatoes for salads or just eating off the plant.
We also love experimenting with other varieties just for fun. Like two plants of tomato that just have a fun color or taste.
Potatoes
Potatoes are a staple filler food. If you plant potatoes right your crops can become more than you can handle but will keep you well through the winter if stored correctly.
We prefer red potatoes however, you can choose any variety that suits your family well and go with it. Try to get organic for sure if you can, potatoes are one of the most sprayed plants so if you can get organic, it will serve your health well.
Cabbage
We LOVE cabbage! In fact, if you ever get a really good crop, sauerkraut is one great way to store cabbage, sauerkraut is SUPER gut healthy! If you store your cabbage in the right temperatures, your cabbage will last quite a while just leaving it whole!
Cauliflower
This is one of the best vegetables for me, as I use it in SO many different ways. I have riced it, made mashed potatoes, steamed it for a delicious cauliflower bake, and I have even been known to toss it in my breakfast burritos.
Carrots
Who doesn’t LOVE carrots? Our kids’ favorite ways to eat these are either raw with fresh veggie dip or steamed to tenderness with butter and salt. They will eat 3lbs – 5lbs. of carrots in one setting if they are steamed.
Broccoli
We love our broccoli A LOT like carrots we like to eat it best steamed with butter and salt. There are SO many great benefits to this vegetable and storing it can be quite easy! Our choice of storing these days is freezing it.
Lettuce
Leaf lettuce is fairly easy to grow and could produce quite a bit if grown right, definitely always makes it to our garden.
We love our summer salads as do most of you!
Spinach
Not only is Spinach easy to grow we LOVE having it around for all the ways it can be used, from breakfast casseroles to fresh summer salads, spinach has SO many uses. To top it off, let’s not forget all the nutrients it provides.
If you want another leafy green plant that is easy to grow, kale produces and reproduces. This didn’t make our list because we don’t use kale as much, however, we do plant it, and if love kale this would be a great starter plant.
Cucumbers
Speaking of easy vegetables to plant! I feel like no matter how few cucumber seeds we plant we ALWAYS land up with an abundance of crisp cucumbers! And it’s a good thing too, our kids especially LOVE fresh garden cucumbers.
Zucchini
The number of recipes you can use Zucchini in is endless and zucchini is one of the easiest veggies to plant and grow. This is definitely a fun plant to watch grow!
Corn
Sweet corn is one of our favorite harvests… We plant about nine rows and then process and freeze them. This is yet another fairly easy crop.
Green Beans
Most of these plants love hours of sunlight. Green beans are one of the most popular vegetables to grow. One of the best things about green beans is you can plant two crops a year at least. You will want check your garden zoning map to see when it is best to start both crops.
Okra
Okra is a great source of fiber, trim healthy mama is where I learned you can add okra to shakes and they can be absolutely delicious. The more you learn the benefits of each plant the more you will love the idea of growing your own food.
I will say, Okra is a more recent addition for us, but has turned out to be a great vegetable that will continue to find its way into our vegetable gardens. Let’s just say you do NOT need a green thumb for this plant, just find a sunny spot and watch them grow.
Water Melon
Need I say more? This makes it on the garden list every single year and is enjoyed for summer picnics and weekend brunches more often than not.
Musk Melon
We love musk melon, it is very easy to grow however, there are a lot of varieties of melons you may be interested in trying out. This is just another easy melon for us.
Strawberries
Yes! if you have the space you can’t go wrong with strawberries! They spread like crazy so make sure to be very intentional when picking a spot.
Bell Peppers
Okay, these are not the easiest to grow, so really get to know your growing zone and what these would require. Pepper plants seriously just have a mind of their own! We ALWAYS plant them though because when they are super successful we use them in SO MUCH!
Green Onions
These are SUPER easy to grow as well and a great addition to any garden. For sure a super great starter plan!
How To Get Started For NEW Gardeners
If you are a new gardener and have no idea what your soil may need, we highly recommend getting your soil tested. Your state or county should have information about this. For us, we used our state university extension office and it gave us SO much insight into the needs of our soil.
- The easiest way to get your own garden going is to first figure out what zone you are in
- Make a list of all the vegetables you want to try
- Be sure to read through when it’s best to start your seeds for your zone…
- Pro Tip: Don’t overwhelm yourself be selective you can always add more in future years
- Now to the fun part, order your seeds!
- Be sure to know if they are direct sow seeds or need to get started indoors as seeds. All that info should be on the back of your seed packet.
- If you are near a garden center they may be able to supply some of the starter plants you can’t.
- Make sure your garden beds are prepared, are you doing raised beds or directly in the ground?
- Keep in mind, some plants will need direct sunlight, some plants will need well-drained soil and plenty of sun, and some plants will thrive better in more shade.
- It is also a good idea to sit down and map out on paper how you want the layout of your garden to be planted.
- Beginner gardeners, give yourself lots of grace. Something else to know is that even the best of gardeners have fail years. Learn from your mistakes and don’t be afraid to try different growing methods that suit you throughout your years of gardening.
- Remember this as you get started, most plants will go out after the last frost date and most of these will need to be harvested before the first frost.
As you are getting prepared keep in mind what are warm-season crops and cool season crops. If you want to get more out of your garden in the year, this will be good info to have for when to start the fall planting.
The cool-season crop list will be another post for another time. If this is your first time, and you are just wanting to get into vegetable gardening this list here, is a great place to start.
You can also check out these links to get to know your garden zone and when it is the best time for you to get started on your vegetable garden.
Gardener Growing Zones
Here is a list of organic seed companies and companies that have organic practices that we recommend checking out.
Garden Zoning Links To Check Out
Best of luck to you! There is nothing quite like growing your own vegetables!
And if this post was helpful to you, you may also enjoy checking this one below:
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