Growing your own veggies is satisfying, healthy, and enjoyable. It can be overwhelming not knowing where and when to begin. Start with onions or beans? Courgettes or even asparagus? While it’s good to grow the vegetables you enjoy for eating, it’s important to be aware of the ease with which a particular crop is to cultivate. If aubergines are your most-loved vegetable, why not consider growing them during your second veg-growing year, since they aren’t easy to cultivate?
In the end, you should cultivate crops that require minimal maintenance, are ready for harvest in a short period of time and are not afflicted by insects and diseases. These include vegetables like courgettes beans, beetroots, beans chillies, radish, rocket and potatoes.
Pick a sunny, sheltered place to grow vegetables. There are exceptions to this rule, such as salad leaves, and some herbs which may bolt (run to seeds) when they are in full sun and thus thrive in shade. Clean the soil by removing the weeds, adding compost that is well-rotted or manure, then rake to down to level.
Grow only the amount of space you can afford. When you’re not blessed with the space for a big garden, you can cultivate salad crops in window boxes pots or even growing bags. Avoid planting plants too close to each other and poke them out when needed – always be sure to follow the spacing recommendations from the seeds’ packet.
Stop snails and slugs from entering your garden by through physical barriers, such as copper tape. If you are able, begin with weak plants, like courgettes and salad leaves inside, and then move the plants when they’re large enough to stand up to attacks. Make use of slug pellets for wildlife (made with iron phosphate) as last resort.
Cleanse the plants thoroughly and even stake them if needed to prevent them from slipping over.
Beetroot can be planted directly into small drills in the soil and are harvested in several weeks. “Boltardy” is an extremely popular and solid globe-shaped beetroot. It is resistant to bolting (running to the seed) which makes it an ideal choice for novice cultivators. It produces roots of medium size, with a smooth, soft skin and deep red flesh.
For more advice on how to grow vegetables, visit this website.
Salad leaves
Salad leaves, such as the oak-leaf or rocket leaves can be planted inside pots. They are harvested according to a cut-and return basis, so that you aren’t required to care for the plants over a long period of time. You can purchase a variety of types of salad leaves to plant together to create a colorful salad.
Bush tomatoes
Bush tomatoes are less difficult to cultivate than the cordon varieties because they don’t require any support, as well as their side branches don’t require pricking. Bush tomatoes thrive in hanging baskets or a pot and in greenhouses as well as outdoors.
Potatoes
The potato is easy to cultivate – just put them on the soil or in an existing compost container, then cover the leaves in soil when they first begin to appear (known as “earthing up”) and harvest them after a few weeks. The first potatoes (planted in the early part of April) can be harvested as early as July, just before the hot, humid weather can increase the danger for potato blight. “Red Duke of York is a gorgeous red-skinned variety, while “Anya” has tubers that are long with a sweet nutty flavor.
Peas
Peas are easy to cultivate. Select a smaller selection, such as “Half Pint” that does not require the staking process. It is possible to grow them in containers. Young tips can be cut off or added to salads to make tasty spring treats and then later followed by flowers and pods.
Radish
Radish seeds are big, which makes them easy to sow and do not require thinning. They’re ready for harvesting in only several weeks. Radish “French Breakfast” is crisp, oval, white and red roots “Scarlet Globe” is vibrant scarlet that has white flesh.
Miners’ lettuce/winter purslane
Miners” lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) is so simple to cultivate that it has become a natural in certain areas in the UK. It is a reliable harvest of salads from October to March. It tastes like spinach.
Japanese as well as Chinese salad leaves
Japanese leafy plants like mizuna and mibuna as well as Chinese mustard are cultivated as cut-and-come again leaves. They need minimal care and can give you a range of flavors, colors and textures that can be enjoyed in salads and stir-fries. They can be planted in containers or the soil.
Chilli ‘Cayenne’
Chillies do well in pots in a window sill, or in a sunny and warm location outside. They require similar conditions for growth as bush tomatoes and continue to grow up until frosts begin to appear of the fall.
Courgettes
Courgettes are well-known for producing an abundant crop in just the plants of. To get the most out of your courgettes cultivate your courgettes in fertile soil and regularly water and harvest the courgettes only when they’re less than 10cm long. “Defender” F1 is a British variety, which is perfect for tiny spaces, and it is immune from cucumber mosaic.