Five easy vegetables to grow in your garden

January 16, 2021

When I was new to vegetable gardening, I didn’t think about easy vs. hard-to-grow vegetables. Now, with experience, I realize that some vegetables are easier to grow than others. What follows are my recommendations based on growing experience.

What makes a vegetable easy to grow? In thinking about the criteria, I came up with three:

Germination ease
Speed to produce an edible
Low impact from disease or pests

I am fortunate to garden in two vastly different USDA gardening zones. From April through September, I garden in Zone 6b in New Jersey. From October through March, I garden in zone 9a in Central Florida. These five vegetables are easy to grow in both locations.

To be successful in vegetable gardening, there are a few considerations to keep in mind:

Know your USDA gardening zone and follow the guidelines for when vegetables can be planted outdoors based on this zone.
Choose the right location. The most important aspect of choosing a location is the number of hours per day of direct sunlight. Plants will not grow without adequate sunlight. Aim for a location that has a minimum of 4 hours per day, however, 6-8 hours is better.
Cultivate healthy soil. For simplicity, healthy soil should contain equal parts of compost, topsoil, and peat moss.

Now, let’s take a look at what I consider five easy vegetables to grow.

Cucumbers

At the top of my list of five easy vegetables to grow are cucumbers. Cucumbers are a warm-season crop. Because cucumbers are very sensitive to cold, plant outdoors after the danger of frost has passed. Of the three criteria, cucumbers get an A+ in germination and speed. For disease/pests, cucumbers get a C+.

Germination – Super quick to germinate. Either start cucumbers indoors from seed (3 weeks before the last frost) or direct seed outdoors after the danger of frost has passed. Germination occurs in three to ten days in temperatures of 60°F to 90°F. Plant cucumbers outdoors after the soil reaches a minimum temperature of 65°F. In gardening zones that have a shorter growing season, such as NJ (6), it’s best to start seeds indoors. By giving plants a start indoors, cucumbers will be ready 4 weeks earlier than direct seeding. In warmer gardening zones, such as Florida (9), cucumbers can be direct-seeded. The ground is sufficiently warm for seeds to germinate and flourish.
Speed – Cucumbers produce fruit within 55 days of transplant. If direct seeding, then within 55 days after two sets of true leaves emerge. For a more bountiful harvest, harvest cucumbers often.
Disease/Pests – The only negative when growing cucumbers is a potential disease. Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that impacts the leaves of cucumbers. To prevent, ensure good air circulation, plant resistant varieties, and remove infested plants to ensure that disease does not spread.
Other Considerations – Cucumbers need the support of a trellis as they grow.

To learn more about growing cucumbers, you can reference this article “How to successfully grow cucumbers in your home garden”.

Radish

The beauty of growing radishes is that they grow fast. Radishes are a cool-season crop and a member of the brassica or cabbage family. Radishes get an A+ in all criteria. However, pay attention to the other considerations below.

Germination – Direct seed radishes outdoor (as opposed to starting seeds indoors). The soil needs to reach a temperature of 40°F before planting. For a continuous supply of radishes, plant new seeds every one-three weeks. Hot weather can cause bitterness in the radish and slower growth.
Speed – It takes approximately 30 days for a radish to develop.
Disease/Pests – Because radishes grow so quickly, pests and diseases are not a major problem.
Other considerations – Besides disease and pests, there are two other problems I have noticed:
- Cracking and splitting of the radish. Improper watering (too much or too little) or letting the radish stay too long in the ground are potential causes.
- Leafy green but no radish. Improper thinning is usually the root cause. Radishes need space to develop properly.

To learn more about growing radishes, you can reference this article “How to grow radishes in your garden”.

Leafy Lettuce

Five easy vegetables to grow — Leaf Lettuce

Lettuce is a cool-season crop and thrives in temperatures between 60-70°F. Therefore, it is one of the first crops to plant in spring. In addition, plant in the fall and harvest throughout the winter. However, depending upon your garden zone, you may need to invest in row cover to prevent the lettuce from freezing. I give lettuce a B+ in all criteria.

Germination – Either direct seed Leaf lettuce outdoors or start indoors from seed. The best advice I received, was to purchase ‘coated’ seeds. Coated seeds are regular seeds that have been coated with a clay substance. The coating makes the seeds easier to handle and increases germination, growth, and viability. Coated seeds are also referred to as ‘pelleted’ seeds.
Speed – Leaf lettuce reaches maturity in 50-75 days. To harvest, either dig up the whole plant or continuously harvest by picking the outermost leaves. By picking off the leaves you harvest only what is needed. Subsequently, new leaves will then grow to replace what was picked.
Disease/Pests – Snails and slugs are the biggest pests associated with lettuce. I have found it extremely helpful to blend an organic slug control into the soil at the end of the season.

To learn more about growing lettuce, you can reference this article “How to successfully grow leaf lettuce in your garden”.

Garlic

Plant garlic is in the fall for an early summer harvest. Garlic is part of the Amaryllidaceae family that includes onions, chives, shallots, and leeks. As a bulb, garlic has individual cloves which are the seeds. The cloves are easy to handle, no need to plant multiple cloves per seedling, and no need to thin. Garlic receives an A+ in both germination and disease/pests. In regard to speed, garlic receives a C+.

Germination – Plant garlic 4-6 weeks before the ground freezes. Separate the individual cloves from the bulb. Each bulb should have 7-14 cloves and use only large, undamaged cloves. There is a direct correlation between the size of the clove and the size of the resulting bulb. Garlic will go dormant late in the season and you will not likely see any shoots above ground until early spring.
Speed – There is good and bad news regarding the speed of growing garlic. The bad news is that it takes approximately 8 months for garlic to mature. The good news is that you can plant and leave it to mature. If you live in cooler gardening zones, you simply plant in the fall and harvest in early summer.
Disease/Pests – There are a few pests that can impact garlic including thrips, onion maggots, and allium leaf miner. The best prevention is to cover the plants with row cover in early spring until one month before harvest.
Other considerations – Purchase garlic from a reputable seed producer. Therefore, it’s not recommended to plant garlic from a supermarket (usually the softneck variety) because supermarket garlic may be treated to prevent sprouting.

To learn more about growing garlic, you can reference this article “Successfully growing garlic in your garden”.

Snow Peas

Last, but certainly not least are snow peas. Snow peas are a cool season crop with edible pea pods. The pods are long and thin with only a trace of small peas inside the pod. Good growing temperatures are in the range of 55°F to 70°F. Snow peas receive an A+ in germination and disease/pest management. For speed, they receive a B+.

Germination – Direct seeding is the best method of growing snow peas. Plant the seeds outdoors as soon as the soil can be worked. Seeds will germinate in 9-13 days depending upon the temperature of the soil
Speed – Most peas will mature in approximately 60 days.
Disease/Pest – There are a few potential problems including powdery mildew and aphids. The best defense is to purchase disease-resistant varieties.
Other Considerations – A trellis is required to support snow peas as they grow. Some varieties can grow as tall as seven feet.

There you have it, five easy vegetables to grow. I wish you success and don’t hesitate to leave a comment with any questions you may have.

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Grace

Grace is a Master Gardener who is fortunate to garden in two vastly different USDA gardening zones. Firstly, during the spring and summer, she gardens in New Jersey in zone 6b. Secondly, she gardens in Florida in zone 9a during the fall and winter. Therefore, she has a great perspective on the benefits and challenges of gardening under immensely different conditions.