What to grow?
Veggies for beginners
The worst thing a new vegetable gardener can do is start big, starting small allows you to manage your time much easier, for a new gardener this is something I can’t stress enough. Believe me… I know how tempting it can be when flicking through the seed catalogue, seeing fruits and vegetables that aren’t well known in the UK and instantly wanting to try them. Choosing out what you want to grow can be hard but starting small is definitely the key. The main things to look for in your first year of gardening is, vegetables that are considered easy to grow and what gives the best yields… most importantly though, grow something tasty and enjoyable. We have devised a list of 10 vegetables, fruits and herbs that a first-time grower should try out.- Basil – Basil is very easy to grow, the great thing about basil is that it can be grown in a container and doesn’t take much space up at all. Many people grow basil from their windowsill. Basil tastes great and can be used as an ingredient in many foods from soups to Italian cuisine, you name it.
- Beetroot – Beetroot is another easy row veggie… it is very popular and is certainly one for a beginner to grow. One of the only things to be worried about when growing beetroot, the like soft sandy soil, along with most root vegetables. Beetroot is best grown in raised beds and also in containers however the container must be quite deep, to give it room to grow down.
- Kale – Kale is very simple to grow… it will tolerate the cold weather however you can also buy varieties that are more heat tolerant, however if you’re in the UK you don’t need to worry about this.
- Cucumber – Cucumber is a vine plant so will need something to support it, chicken wire or some sort of cane will work fine. Did you know cucumber is actually a fruit? The great thing about growing cucumbers is that you get a high yield therefore don’t need many plants.
- Green beans – yet another easy growing veggie… green beans are climbing plants so again will need something to help them climb however, you can also get bush varieties that don’t climb, I would recommend these as it saves time.
- Lettuce – pretty much all lettuce varieties are very easy to grow. Remember lettuce prefers colder weather so try your best to keep it in a spot with less sun than other plants that may need the sun more.
- Radish – many people don’t actually eat a lot of radish, but this vegetable grows so fast it takes about 30 days from seed till harvest and is very easy to grow.
- Spinach – be mindful that spinach is another cold whether green and won’t tolerate a lot of heat therefore needs to be grown in the winter months. It is extremely easy to grow however you will need to grow a lot of it because as soon as you cook it, it will rapidly shrink in size.
- Swiss chard – if spinach is something you like to eat all year round, I recommend growing swiss chard… this is because they are very similar in taste and can tolerate more heat. This means when your spinach can’t take the heat anymore, swiss chard will continue to grow.
- Tomato – my final fruit is tomato plants. Tomato’s are easy to grow and have there are many different varieties of them meaning you can grow different ones each year. The great thing about tomato’s is that the size of the yield is enormous.