If you've seen the prices in grocery stores recently, then you know fresh fruits and veggies are getting really expensive. But growing your own food in your garden is a great way to save money over the long term, and you're less likely to be caught short by supply chain issues. Plus, homegrown foods just taste better, and everything you cook with them tastes better, too.
So what's a person to do if they don't have a green thumb? Start with the easy ones! These are the foods you can grow in your garden that are relatively low effort and more difficult to kill through overwatering, neglect, or just general lack of growing know-how.
Beets
The root crop, beets, thrives in spring, early summer, and fall. You'll most likely harvest your last crop in mid-June and begin harvesting again in late September or early October. Maturation is usually between 55 and 70 days, depending on the variety. Plant succession crops every week to ensure you have all the beets you want. When you harvest, don't throw away the leaves, which are delicious and very nutritious.
Carrots
Carrots are simple to grow. Make sure the soil is loose enough to allow this root crop to grow freely. You'll want to grow carrots in the spring and early summer, as they don't tolerate summer heat very well. Your last harvest will most likely be mid-June. You can plant your fall harvest around the end of July for a harvest in October. Check your seed package for maturation dates and plan accordingly.
Cucumbers
You can grow cucumbers vining on the ground, but for best results, try growing them vertically. Cucumbers don't like wet soil, so water them regularly, but just to keep the soil slightly damp. Harvest daily to keep the cucumbers producing. Cucumber production begins to slow midway through the growing season. You can breathe new life into your plants by sprinkling 2-3 tablespoons of Epsom salt on the ground around the plant.
Pickling home-grown vegetables is a great way to preserve them so they last all year long.
Garlic Chives
Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) are perfect for anyone who wants the taste of garlic in a convenient clump-forming plant that won't overtake your garden. This plant is part of the onion family, although you can't eat the bulb like an onion. Instead, you'll harvest the grass-like long shoots. Just cut what you want, and this perennial will keep producing all summer and year after year. It may just become one of your favorite plants.
Green Beans
Bush or pole green beans are easy foods to grow. Bush green beans tend to continue producing through summer heat better than pole beans. Most beans stop growing when temperatures reach 98°F and higher. As soon as the temperatures drop to the mid-90s, the plants begin growing/producing again. Be sure to check the beans daily for harvesting, as they grow very quickly. The more you harvest, the more they will produce.
Lettuce
Salad lovers, rejoice. Greens are easy to grow. There are all kinds of leaf lettuce varieties you can grow. Harvest by cutting the outer leaves and leaving the plant intact. Plant in a partially shaded area. Be sure you plant varieties that won't bolt in the hot summer heat. Just water regularly, and you can enjoy fresh salads every day!
Okra
Okra is a very easy food to grow. Plant the seeds two feet apart, allowing them plenty of room to spread out. These are big plants and prolific producers. Plant lettuce between the okra plants so that the okra leaves form a protective canopy over the lettuce plants. Harvest okra pods every two to three days or more often to keep the plant producing.
Potatoes
We sure love a spud, and the great news is that they're so easy to grow. You'll need a large field or garden spot for creating the hills needed. Some gardeners use tubs or barrels to grow a limited amount of potatoes, but you'd need a container with good air ventilation. The biggest pest threat is the potato beetle. Deer will eat the leaves of sweet potatoes, but not any other variety, since those leaves are toxic to deer.
Radishes
Add a little spice to your salad by growing radishes. You'll plant succession crops every two weeks to ensure you have a continuous crop during the spring and early summer, as well as the fall. Like carrots, summer heat isn't very friendly to radishes.
Spinach
Spinach is best grown in spring and early summer and again in the fall. New Zealand spinach is one variety that can tolerate mid-summer heat. Succession planting will ensure a constant harvest. You can harvest individual spinach leaves or cut the stem about two inches from the soil line to encourage new growth.
Swiss Chard
Swiss chard thrives in full or partial sunlight. In the North, you'll plant in the spring or early summer to have a fall harvest. Southern gardeners can grow Swiss chard from early fall to late spring. You can harvest the entire plant, or a more preferred method is to harvest the outer leaves, allowing the plant to continue producing.
Tomatoes
Fresh tomatoes taste so much better than any you can buy at the grocery store, and they're easy to grow. You want to make sure you have nutrient-rich soil for your tomato transplants. Once the first fruit sets, you can side dress every three weeks using a tomato-specific fertilizer for best results. The biggest pest threat is the hornworm. Control by removing the hornworms, being careful not to touch the stinging horn.
Zucchini and Summer Squash
Summer squashes are huge producers, and they're super simple to grow. Keep up with the harvest by checking for squash every day. The biggest threats are squash bugs and stink bugs. You can tell if you have an infestation when the huge leaves begin to droop. Extreme summer heat can also cause the leaves to droop.
Rosemary
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) is very easy to grow once it takes root and establishes itself in your garden. You may need to give it extra care until it's firmly established. After it's happily settled in, it can tolerate neglect and infrequent watering. You can plant rosemary as a companion plant to carrots, beans, and cabbage. You can plant with sage to support better growth for sage.
Oregano
Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare) is the most popular variety. Oregano is prolific and easy to grow. You want to keep it in a contained area, or it will quickly overrun your herb garden. You should regularly cut it back.
Thyme
Fragrant thyme grows so well in your herb garden, and it perfumes the air as it grows. Snip a few sprigs anytime you need to add it to a dish.
Dry or freeze your herbs so they'll provide tasty seasoning all year round.
Sage
Sage (Salvia officinalis) is a pungent aromatic and culinary herb. It's quick to establish in a garden. Harvest the leaves regularly to stimulate growth.
Basil
Basil is delicious in pastas, pestos, and salads, and it is so fragrant and easy to grow. Sweet basil offers a great aromatic and culinary choice. It requires more water than rosemary, but is low-maintenance. Plant as a companion for tomatoes to lend a better tomato flavor and to keep pests like tomato hornworms, white flies, and mosquitoes away.
Parsley
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is a popular choice for cuisine, adding a fresh, bright flavor to foods. Italian (flat-leaf) parsley is the most commonly planted, although curly parsley is often used as a garnish. The biggest pest threat is the parsley worm, which is actually the caterpillar stage of the Eastern black swallowtail butterfly. Parsley worms can strip a parsley plant of all its leaves in a matter of hours.
Meyer Lemons
Meyer lemon trees can grow up to 10 feet high when planted in a sunny location in your yard and have up to a 12-foot spread. However, if you're looking for a patio fruit tree, the Meyer lemon tree is an ideal choice, as the container or pot will stunt the tree's growth, keeping it manageable in size. You can take the tree inside your home for the winter months. Depending on the size/age of the tree you purchase, you may have fruit the first season. Rootstock trees will take 2 years to produce fruit. Fertilize monthly during the growth period when the first fruits appear. The lemon tree will continue to bloom and fruit until fall, when you'll stop fertilizing.
Strawberries
Strawberries are a very easy fruit to grow. You'll need well-drained soil. These are planted in hill rows so the berries can trail downward. Slugs are the biggest pest, but can be controlled easily. Just pour beer into a shallow jar lid or dish and set it at ground level near the plants. That's all you need to deter the slugs from eating your strawberries. You should only fertilize strawberries after the harvest season, never in the spring. You don't want your strawberries to produce the first year, so pinch off any blooms. This will ensure a bumper crop each season afterwards.
Raspberries and Blackberries
Known as brambles, raspberries and blackberries produce the second year, unless you buy one-year-old plants. The berries grow on the canes, so you'll cut the old canes each year after they've produced. The new canes that came up this year will then produce the berries next year. You will feed your plants every two weeks during the growing season, but you should stop mid-summer around the end of June. Follow the fertilizer manufacturer's directions for best results. Powdery mildew is the biggest threat to these berries and is caused by an overly damp/wet environment. The sawfly and fruitworm are the worst pests. If untreated, the leaves will wilt, and you'll have few berries.
Grow Your Own Way
There's a certain satisfaction to sitting down and eating a meal produced from foods you've grown yourself. And by starting with a few easy foods, within a few years, your garden will be producing bumper crops of all your faves.
