Disclaimer: Some products listed below I have an affiliate link for. This in no way sways my views on them!
When I was younger, I always struggled with growing vegetable gardens. Not sure if it was the soil, my knowledge, or if I just was not taking care of it, but my gardens forever sucked.
I remember the dying plants that filled my small corner of the backyard; they obviously died of neglect and teenage me was off showing rabbits, forgetting to water my thirsty plants.
It wasn’t until the pandemic that I truly discovered my love for the garden. I always raised chickens for food, but in the garden, I saw no point in it.
I will say that no matter what, there were always a few vegetables that I could grow no matter what. These were the easiest vegetables that really anybody, including teenage me, could grow!
What vegetables are easy to grow?
This is the question of the hour, I remember really asking myself what would grow in my yard of death. I needed plants that would thrive with no water, occasional dogs trotting through them, and, well, the chickens.
Beans
Beans for me have always been foolproof. This can be true for both pole and bush beans and I always have a great harvest. Every year, I grew beans in our garden and we ate those even as everything else died.
Now, I love to pickle the beans and grow many varieties to change up our colors. Purple beans are one of my favorites to feed to the kids!
There are a few considerations to be had before growing beans. While they are more hardy and resistant than plants like tomatoes, knowing if they are pole or bush is important.
Pole beans grow up and bush beans bush out. If you have a pole bean variety, you will need to trellis them. Bush beans can produce the entire season too, and will only produce more as you harvest!
Lettuce
Lettuce is a great cool weather plant that is so easy to plant! It can be harvested and continuously grown throughout the season as well!
I personally have had lettuce come back from the dead on multiple occasions. It is a very forgiving vegetable.
There are so many varieties of lettuce that can make wonderful plants in an edible landscape. They come in a variety of colors and flavors, so the possibilities are endless for the amount you can try!
Cucumbers
I love making refrigerator pickles! This makes growing cucumbers important for my family!
I also just love snacking on these and so, I learned quickly to grow them. They trellis but I just grow them along a fence.
The biggest problem I have run into is cabbage worms. I spray neem oil on my plants and use Diatomaceous earth to help stop them from boring into my cukes!
Cucumbers just grow like crazy for me so I love growing them!
Squash
I grew like fifteen butternut squash from one plant during the pandemic. We ate so much butternut that my family begged me to never grow them again!
Like cucumbers, squash has some pest issues, but I proactively treat them and thus, always have a decent harvest!
Microgreens
Places like True Leaf make growing microgreens super easy! I love their seeds for more than just microgreens though.
This company is one of my absolute favorite seed resources. Plus with my link you will get free shipping!
What vegetables are harder to grow?
Don’t come for me, but I find tomatoes and bell peppers incredibly hard to grow. It is hard to start from seed and even harder to keep alive!
Every tomato plant I own is mauled by hornworms. The bell peppers are always excessively small. They just aren’t easy for me to grow.
I will say, my favorite part of gardening is the freedom it gives me. I can grow whatever I want and really, it doesn’t matter if it is not perfect!
Products for you!
<a href="https://www.pntrs.com/t/1-8541-267085-8541?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.trueleafmarket.com%2Fproducts%2Fsprouting-alfalfa-sprouting-seeds%3Fvariant%3D36398970376" class="name" title="Certified Organic Alfalfa Sprouting / Sprout Seeds - Sprouts -4 Oz" target="_blank" rel="sponsored">Certified Organic Alfalfa Sprouting / Spro...</a>
Certified Organic. Alfalfa seeds for sprouting. High germination rate and easy to grow … [More]
Price: $5.24
<a href="https://www.pjatr.com/t/1-8541-267085-8541?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.trueleafmarket.com%2Fproducts%2Fpepper-sweet-canary-bell-yellow-seeds%3Fvariant%3D39192940808" class="name" title="Seeds: Canary Bell Sweet Pepper Garden - 1 Oz- Non-GMO Bell Peppers" target="_blank" rel="sponsored">Seeds: Canary Bell Sweet Pepper Garden - 1...</a>
100 days. These pepper plants produce large yields of 3.5 inch long by 4 inch wide yell… [More]
Price: $10.61
Literature and Farms 