So you're new to growing your own (or perhaps you're not) and you want to know which vegetables are so easy to grow that you really don't have to put any effort in to get them growing?
In this list, from my own personal experience, I have listed the 10 vegetables that I personally find incredibly easy to grow. No, I don't mean throw the seeds at the ground then leave them. As with all plants, you have to care for them, water them and so on but they require the least amount of attention and always seem to yield some great results.
So here it is, my list of 10, from 10 to 1:
10 - Peas
Peas just seem to grow like nothing else I have grown. I seem to plant a handful of seeds and more than a handful of plants appear out of the ground. To plant peas, I create a drill of around 2.5cm and 4cm wide, I take the pea seeds and push them into the sides of the drill in a zig zag pattern (I'm a little bit precise when it comes to sowing, but feel free to chuck them into the drill). Then cover with a good quality fine compost.
A few weeks later, you will see your pea shoots poking up through the soil. Resist pulling any out, even though they are divine in salads. I tell you what though, when your pods have formed and are full in shape, pluck them from the plant, slice open your pod and eat the peas raw from the garden. They'll be like nothing you've had before, sweet, juicy and just delicious.
9 - Salad Leaves
I love growing salad! Why? Because it takes absolutely ZERO effort to grow them. No really, no effort whatsoever! You could take a packet of mixed salad seeds, sprinkle them all over your lawn and before you know it, you'd have a carpet of salad as a garden.
Try this, do you have any crack down a path in your garden? Perhaps along the edge of a bed there is a slight gap? Then throw in a little compost, then your seeds, followed by another topping of compost. Water. Leave. A few weeks later you'll have salad popping up.
I actually use mixed salad seeds as a way of separating up vegetables in my raised bed. Instead of using string to mark out areas, I use salad leaves. Bonkers? No not really. It works wanders.
8 - Tomatoes
Some people might actually have a panic attack at me saying that tomatoes are easy to grow but they are. I remember a few years ago, we grew some tomatoes in a make shift bed while we were sorting the garden. We let them do their thing, and they yielded a reasonable amount. Anyways, a year later these plants were popping up through the ground where the tomatoes used to be. They were baby tomato plants! They were popping up through the ground as 'wild' tomato plants. Where we had neglected to pick all the tomatoes, they have dropped into the ground and then grew the following year.
I'm not saying that you can just put a few mouldy tomatoes in the ground and let them grow. But it just goes to show it's not that difficult.
7 - Mint
Many of you might be aware that mint is one of those wild herbs. It will grow anywhere, and once it gets routed it will grow as big as it possibly can. Herb Sink? Well... I've actually grown mint in the herb sink on it's own and it filled the sink and could have quite easily expanded. How did I get it to do this? Watered it when the soil was dry. Mint is one of those crazy growing herbs that will come back time and time again, year after year. I'd recommend buying a plant though, especially if you're new. The investment is worth it. Stick it in a pot and let it do it's thing.
6 - Oregano
Unknown to many, oregano is very much like mint in that it goes a bit wild. In a month or so, my current oregano plant has doubled in size, both in height and in spread. That is why when growing oregano you should also give it an isolated pot to itself. Again, like mint, oregano just needs a water here and there, no crazy routine to care for it.
5 - Beetroot
If you can get the sowing part right, then beetroot will reward you. I'm personally not a fan of thinning, so when I can help it, I sow my seeds already thinned. If you can manage this with your beetroot then they won't really need any caring whatsoever. Simply plant your seeds in rows with a spacing around each seed of 5cm. This will allow the beetroots to grow in the soil without affecting the ones that surround it.
Many guides will tell you to leave 10cm, 15cm and so on... Don't! Especially if you have a limited plot. You need to grow your produce as close together as possible and 5cm is fine for beetroot.
4 - Radishes
This came as a surprise to me. I had heard of a lot of horror stories regarding radishes. Gardeners having them nibbled at, getting diseases and so on. But that didn't stop me. I repeated the same process as planting peas and before I know it, the radish leaves were appearing. I noticed a couple were being nibbled by something but I carried on as normal, watered when dry and let them do their thing.
After a few months, the radishes had beaten the nibblers and were huge, larger than I had initially anticipated. I pulled one from the ground to find this round, sweet radish. It was delicious.
So trust me, they are really easy to grow. The only thing is you want to ensure you pull them out of the ground before they become too large as their taste becomes woody and unpleasant.
3 - Spring Onions
Another shocker to me, another with horror stories that have never affected to me. That is why I highly recommend growing spring onions. The thing with spring onions is that they will grow anywhere. I've taken a lot trough like pot, throw in the compost, sprinkled with seeds and then covered and to my surprise, they are popped up. Because each of the seedlings is so easy to grab, thinning is simple. I'm sure you know how big spring onions are so just thin them so there's enough room for them to grow. Simple and won't take long at all. I highly recommend growing spring onions.
2 - Strawberries
It's getting more shocking, I know. But this list was not just about the easy through to the easiest. I also wanted to clear up some misconceptions of growing your own. Strawberries grow all over the place in the wild with no one to care for them, no one to water them and so on. You could use a strawberry planter if you want, or even a hanging basket, but I grow them in one of my raised beds. I must admit though, I've never grown strawberries from seed.
Simply plant them spaced evenly, and let them do their thing. If you see runners coming from your plants, just give them a little push into the ground and you'll soon have a carpet of strawberry plants.
1 - Carrots
"But what about Carrot Root Fly!!!!!" What about it? A lot of gardeners, whether beginners or veterans, seem to have this idea that Carrot Root Fly is everywhere and will destroy your crop no matter what. It doesn't work like that.
As long as you sow your seeds thinly, and sow them with onions, garlic, spring onions or a strong scented herb, then you'll be just fine. If you can do that then you'll grow terrific carrots. There are a few things to look out for, such as having a fine compost to grow them in, but all of this is easy to do.
So there you have my top 10 vegetables for growing in the garden to make growing your own easy. Don't let anyone tell you that growing your own is difficult... Ever... Ever... Again!
If you do find yourself still struggling to Grow your Own, or if you want more free information then visit Grow This N That for your collection of completely free Grow your Own guides. Click Here to grab yours now!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janet_Hurrason
No comments:
Post a Comment