Easy Fruits And Vegetables To Grow
Do you want to adopt a healthy eating lifestyle? If so, find out some easy fruits and vegetables to grow at home.
Store-bought fruits and veggies pale in comparison with fresh homegrown food. Most beginners worry about how to start a home garden, but it’s actually quite simple! Just select easy fruits and vegetables to grow and establish your home garden in no time.
What fruits and vegetables are easy to grow? The easiest fruits to grow include grapes, raspberries, blackberries, apples, strawberries, citrus, guava, figs, bananas, etc. The easy veggies that beginners can grow include onion, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, radishes, zucchini, swiss chard, kale, peas, peppers, etc.
You will also love, The Benefits of Organic Farming: A Comprehensive Look.
If you want to grow and enjoy healthy food, this post is for you. Read it till the end to know the detail of some easy fruits and vegetables to grow.
6 easy fruits and vegetables to grow:
Growing your own fruits and vegetables is great fun. You can easily start a home garden with a small piece of yard or a patio. For planting seeds, you’ll need good quality seeds of the easy growing fruits and vegetables, potting mix, seed trays, and you can even start seeds indoors. Once the young plants emerge, they need sunlight, water, and some space in the yard for transplanting. You can also purchase nursery-bought transplants and plant them in your garden.
If you are looking for versatile and low-maintenance plants, keep reading.
Carrots
Requirements for planting carrots | |
Soil Requirements | Loose, sandy, well-drained |
Sunlight | 6 to 8 hours |
Planting time | Spring for cooler climates and fall is an ideal time to plant carrots in a warm climate |
Soil pH | 6.0-6.8 slightly acidic |
Seed to maturity time | 7-8 weeks |
Hardiness zone | 3-10 |
Size | 4-6” roots, 1-2ft foliage height, 8-9” spread |
Carrots are among the super easy-to-grow veggies with remarkable health benefits. Whether you want to improve your eye-sight or add it to various dishes, it is an ideal veggie to grow for starters. Carrot is a biennial veggie but grown as an annual, meaning they are harvested in the first year before overwintering and bloom in the following year. You can also try different varieties of carrots, including purple, red, white, and yellow.
Lettuce
Lettuce Growing Requirements | |
Sunlight | 6 hours direct, tolerates partial shade |
Soil | Rich, loamy, well-drained |
Soil pH | 6.0-7.0 |
USDA hardiness zones | 2-11 |
Plant size | 6-12 inches |
More about Butter Lettuce and Romaine Lettuce
Lettuce is one of the easiest veggies to grow in your beginner garden. It is a cool-season crop that matures within 45-55 days. Enjoy the fresh crispy leaves in your salads or burgers. Start seeds in spring or fall or purchase small ready-to-grow garden plants. You can plant lettuce seeds directly in the ground or larger pots. However, you have to be careful since birds, backyard ducks, and geese can demolish your crop. Make sure to install the fence and scarecrow in your yard.
Onions
Onion Planting Requirements | |
Sunlight | 6 hours direct sunlight-Sun lover |
Soil | Rich in organic matter, sandy, well-drained |
Soil pH | Acidic to neutral 6.0-7.0 |
USDA hardiness zone | 5-10 |
Maturity time | 3 and1/2 months |
Onion is the must-have veg of every kitchen. Nevertheless, these are among the low-maintenance and easy-growing veggies. You can start onions with seeds, but typically, these are grown with sets. Plant bulbs in spring in colder climates, while fall is ideal for planting in warmer climates. Onions are biennials but grown as an annual. Make sure to plant each bulb 2 to 6 inches apart. Make onion powder or saute them in spices; they will do wonders in both ways.
Strawberry
Strawberry planting requirements | |
Sunlight | 8 hours direct sun per day |
Soil | Loamy or sandy soil |
USDA hardiness zone | Plant as perennials in zone 5-8 and as an annual in zone 9 to 10 |
Soil pH | Acidic soil 5.4-6.5 |
If you are looking for the easiest fruit to grow as a beginner, try strawberry. Homegrown strawberries are delicious and non-comparable to store-bought ones in taste. Strawberry plants form runners that develop small baby plants and increase harvest quantity.
Some varieties give fruit within one year. Spring is the ideal time to grow strawberries when the frost danger has passed. You can also grow them in containers. Strawberry blooms are susceptible to frost damage. Therefore, cover the plants with traps or blankets on cold nights. Mulching in the ground is crucial to prevent the rotting of the fruit.
Berries
Planting requirements of cranberries | |
Soil | Loam or sandy loam soil with rich organic matter |
Temperature | 3 months of chilly weather to set flowering (32°to 45°F) |
Sunlight | 6-8 hours of direct sunlight |
USDA hardiness zone | 2 to 7 |
Soil pH | 4.5-5.5
(acidic peat soil) |
Fruiting time | 3 to 4 years if started from seeds |
Benefits of Blueberries and Raspberries
Growing many berries is easy and needs the least maintenance. Butterflies and bees will love to visit your garden and taste the treat of blueberries and raspberries. You can plant raspberries and blackberries after the frost has gone. Ensure to select acidic soil and keep it moist until the seedlings establish.
Grapes
Requirements to grow grapes | |
Sunlight | Full day or 6-8 hours direct. Need sunlight exposure to ripen the fruit |
Pruning | Annual pruning in spring before new leaves appear |
USDA hardiness zones | 4-10 |
Soil pH | Wide range (6.5-8.5) |
Soil | Well-drained, deep fertile loams |
Grapes are the bunches of nutrition and need of every home garden. You just need to select the suitable variety suited to your area and learn the right pruning technique. The woody perennial vines will be ready to fruit within 3 years.
Final thoughts on easy fruits and vegetables to grow:
Growing your own edibles in the home garden is not only healthy but also fun. Involve your kids and grandchildren with you and pass the knowledge. Every bite of homegrown food reminds the effort behind bringing them from the garden to the kitchen table. If you want to start a home garden, consider and give a try to the list of mentioned easy fruits and vegetables to grow. The list is not ended here. Once you get experience, you can try others as well.
Sources:
Understanding Soil Nutrients for Cranberries
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