Growing your own food brings a host of benefits, and you don’t need to plant half your backyard to reap them. Consider starting with just an herb plant or two, a bed of seeds, or a few young tomato seedlings. Growing food is soothing, nutritional, and educational. Essentially, it brings you closer to the earth while making dinner taste a little better.

All you need is a yard, patio, or access to a community garden (and some goods seeds!). Nancy Awot-Traut, a horticultural expert at Burpee, recommends taking the time to pick your plants. “When selecting specific varieties of a plant, beginners should look for hybrids as they tend to be more disease-resistant, have better production, and tend to be more reliable than heirlooms,” she says. Once your seeds or seedlings are planted, they need only sunlight, water, time, and a little weed control—use a natural weed killer like Preen’s. Starting a vegetable garden with these plants puts you on the easiest path to home-grown produce. Read on for the easiest herbs, fruits, and vegetables to grow—so you can shop for dinner right at home.

Easy Vegetables To Grow

An important consideration when choosing vegetables for your garden is whether they’re cool-season or warm-season vegetables. Cool-season types—radishes, asparagus, lettuce, garlic, and onions—can tolerate a bit of frost, so you can plant them earlier in the season and perhaps plant a second crop to harvest in the fall.

The rest of the vegetables we’ve listed here are warm-season types, which cannot tolerate frost in the least. Plant these vegetables after the last frost in spring and harvest them before the first frost in the fall. To determine your area’s estimated first and last frost dates, visit the Farmer’s Almanac website and enter your zip code.

Cucumbers

Another vegetable that isn’t picky, cucumbers can be ready six weeks after planting. When you trellis cucumbers (recommended), the plants climb, giving you more garden-bed real estate for other vegetables. Plant this warm-season crop several weeks after your last frost.

Try your hand at lesser-known varieties, like the ball-shaped, mildly citrusy lemon cucumber. Once your cucumbers start to produce, you’ll likely get enough to pickle, so you can savor their home-grown goodness well beyond the season. “Homegrown cucumbers are incredibly fresh and flavorful compared to the store-bought ones,” says Awot-Traut. “You pick them at their peak ripeness, resulting in superior taste and texture.”

Bell Peppers

Bell peppers are sweet peppers that can grow into a variety of colors, including green, yellow, and red. They are very nutritious: high in potassium, great for your skin, and rich in vitamin C, and some vitamin A. They taste great in salads, stuffed, and even for snacking!

Bell peppers thrive in full sun and well-draining, moist soil. Make sure to plant them at least a week after the last frost. After harvesting, store bell peppers in the refrigerator inside of a plastic bag for up to 10 days, or in the freezer for up to a year. However, use frozen bell peppers within six months for the best quality.

Radishes

Gardening rarely exacts immediate gratification, but for those with less patience than most, radishes are an excellent choice. This nutritious root vegetable takes only a month from planting a seed to harvest. It doesn’t need exceptionally deep soil or lots of space, and can even tolerate a bit of shade.

You’ll be surprised at the varieties of radishes you find on the seed stands. Choose from peppery or mild flavors, round or carrot shapes, and shades of white, yellow, pink, red, or purple. And radishes aren’t just for adding to salads: Try them roasted!

Asparagus

Asparagus is an odd duck of garden vegetables, but that doesn’t mean it’s hard to grow. For one thing, it’s a perennial, meaning you plant it once and it comes back—for as many as 15 years. Another way asparagus is different is you harvest it first thing in the spring, but then have to continue to care for the plants through the rest of the growing season (so it comes back the next).

For a dedicated asparagus patch, start with crowns, which are one-year roots that are far easier than starting from seed. After planting you’ll have to wait one or two years before you can harvest, but it’ll be so worth it. Any way you cook it, you’ll love being able to snip fresh asparagus from just outside your door for a month or two every spring.

Leaf Lettuce

Leaf lettuce is a wonderful beginner’s garden crop: It can tolerate a light frost so you can plant it early in the season, it’s ready for harvest in as little as a month after sowing, and after harvesting, it keeps growing for a second, third, and maybe fourth cutting.

Lettuce is perfect for a garden with a shady spot because it can thrive in as little as four hours of full sun a day. While it doesn’t take the heat well, some varieties are better at it than others.

Speaking of varieties, there’s a lot to choose from when it comes to leaf lettuce. If you can’t decide, go with mesclun, which is a medley of lettuce varieties in the same seed packet.

Garlic

If you’re looking for the easiest edible plant, look no further than your grocery store. A head of garlic, of course, has many cloves, and each of them can be planted skin-on. Simply bury a garlic clove in a shallow bed (about one inch deep) with its pointy tip facing the sky.

With water and a few days, a green shoot surfaces, climbing at a surprising rate. In time, that underground clove grows into a new head of garlic for use in the kitchen. Don’t forget to save some of those homegrown cloves for next season’s planting.

Onions

A cousin of garlic, which is also in the allium family, onions are also easy to grow and have a slew of health benefits, but you probably won’t find starts in the grocery store. You can plant onion seeds, but it’s much easier (and faster) to start them from sets, which are little onion bulbs sold in clumps of 50 or so, that you can find at garden centers or farm stores.

If you think harvesting 50 onions at one time is too many, think again. They store easily, can be dehydrated to make onion flakes or powder, and are used in so many dishes and nearly every cuisine. It’s crying time!

Zucchini

You have to hold off planting zucchini until temperatures are consistently in the 70s, but it’s worth the wait. Zucchini can grow to hilariously big sizes but, in this case, bigger isn’t better. Pick them when small- or medium-sized for better-tasting ones.

When planting your garden, allow zucchini plenty of elbow room—at least three feet—as they tend to sprawl. Be sure to water and fertilize regularly, as they are notoriously heavy feeders. The best part about growing zucchini might be how well it pairs with other easy-to-grow plants like garlic, mint, and tomatoes.

Tomatoes

Simply put, tomatoes are unrivaled when eaten bursting ripe right off the garden vine. The next best part of growing your own tomatoes is access to a wide range of heirloom varieties that many grocery stores just don’t offer. Most tomato plants, especially cherry tomatoes, are great for container gardening on patios and other small spaces, provided they get plenty of sun.

Tomato plants require regular watering and stakes or cages, which can be a hassle. But given ample sunlight (at least eight hours per day), heat, and water, tomatoes are relatively easy to grow. The hard part is deciding which kind of tomato to grow: cherries for salads, Romas for sauces, or beefsteak for slicing. No one says you have to choose just one. If you’re feeling a little nervous, start small. “Cherry and small tomatoes are the easiest to grow,” Awot-Traut says.

Peas

More peas, please! Whether you’re feeling sugar snap, snow, or sweet, peas are are pretty easy to grow overall. They’re a cool season crop, so they can withstand frost if you catch some in early spring. Because of that hardiness, you can plant a second round come fall. Just note that these guys don’t stay in prime condition for long, so scoop them up as soon as they’re ready. If you’re not ready to eat them all at that time, check out these tips for storing peas.

Growing your own vegetables has a host of health benefits, but peas, specifically, are really good for you when they’re fresh because they’re filled with fiber, potassium, and Vitamin A.

Potatoes

Fries anyone? Potatoes are a fun crop to try your hand at because they’re easy to sow, quick to grow, and fun to dig out. You can start with seeds, but the easier way is to opt for “seed potatoes,” which are pieces of a potato or a whole small one. These versions have already started sprouting-just check to make sure you’re buying certified seed potatoes at your local nursery or garden center. Plant these spuds in a sunny spot about six inches deep with loose soil in the early spring.

There are tons of potato options out there, but Awot-Traut recommends German butterballs (they grow well in potato barrels and tolerate heat) as well as Yukon golds. “These are easy to grow and produce a good yield,” she says. Plus, they’re a chameleon in the kitchen because they can be boiled, baked and mashed. Try out this recipe for layered potatoes to see what we mean.

Broccoli

“Broccoli is easy to grow, especially when compared to other vegetables,” says Awot-Traut. They’re a cool season crop (read; plant in early spring) that can thrive in a variety of soil types. Best of all, they need minimal care and are packed with great nutrients.

To keep yours flourishing, try to keep your soil moist and make sure you have a foot or more between sprouts so they don’t need to compete for resources. They’ll reach picking status in a little under two months. Harvest the main head first, then pick the side shoots.

Easiest Fruit to Grow

We consider these fruits easy to grow and, as a bonus, they come back year after year without replanting. While gardening expertise is not needed, patience is, because these fruits (and most others) take a season or two for the plants to come into their own and flourish.

Strawberries

Strawberries are a versatile plant you can grow in pots, hanging baskets, or in the ground, as long as they get at least six hours of sun. They’re also versatile in the kitchen—as well as nutritious and delicious—and store easily.

Wherever you plant them, make sure each plant’s roots have plenty of room to spread out. Many strawberry varieties produce runners, tips that spread out and root themselves nearby to become new plants. You can snip these runners so the plant’s energy focuses on bigger fruit or leave them to procreate more plants with smaller fruit.

Because strawberry fruits grow low to the ground, make sure to thoroughly wash them, whether you grow your own or buy them. Now, where’s that shortcake recipe?

Blackberries

Blackberries are a sweet treat with a host of health benefits and serve as the main ingredient for pies, jams, cobblers, and smoothies. They also freeze well, so you can stretch out a bountiful harvest to use throughout the year.

With many blackberry varieties, each preferring different growing conditions, check with your local garden center for a selection that grows best in your area. Blackberry shrubs come in erect or trailing categories, and the trailing types require a trellis or other support. Look for thornless varieties, which make picking much more enjoyable.

Blueberries

If you’re looking for a good place to start, think blueberries. They’re said to improve health and they’re just plain delicious. Is there anything better than a fresh blueberry pie in the summer? We didn’t think so.

“They’re a well-behaved, low-maintenance shrub that fit easily into the home landscape,” Awol-Traut says. Plus, they look gorgeous and produce little flowers in spring and vibrant red leaves in fall.

Figs

Ideally, figs need a sunny spot that gets at least six hours of light a day, but other than that, they aren’t picky. Fig trees are heat and drought tolerant and grow into beautiful trees that look magical in a yard. Plant these in the early spring or early fall. If you’re a small space dweller, check out this variety, the Fignomenal Fig, which can grow in containers.

If you’re looking for delicious ways to use your picks, check out this fig and almond crust tart, which is just *chef’s kiss.*

Easy Herbs To Grow

Next time your recipe calls for a sprig of mint as a garnish, a stem of rosemary, or fresh basil leaves, imagine walking outside with a pair of snippers instead of driving to the grocery store. It doesn’t get fresher than that! Herbs are easy to grow, don’t require much real estate, and add freshness and flavor to your kitchen creations.

If feasible, plant herbs near the kitchen for easy access, or consider growing some indoors. Start with these easy-to-grow and culinarily versatile herbs.

Mint

Mint is so easy to grow, it can become a bit of a problem. Its prolific nature drives it to take over the beds of neighboring plants. To prevent mint from spreading into unwanted areas, confine your plantings to a pot or other isolated area.

You only need one or two plants to start. In time, they’ll likely spread through the pot from rim to rim, flavoring breezes with their scent. Take advantage of their aroma and bug-repelling prowess with plantings near seating areas or walkways.

Rosemary

If you have a hot, dry, sunny place where you can’t get anything else to grow, try rosemary because that’s just how this plant likes it. Actually an evergreen shrub, this fragrant herb comes back year after year (although it may need to overwinter indoors in colder climates) and can grow up to six feet tall.

Growing rosemary from seed is challenging, so start with just a seedling or two from the garden center. Like mint, it grows readily, spreads quickly, and smells divine, so planted near seating or as an aromatic hedge is ideal. Then, you can grab a few sprigs to create delicious dishes like rosemary pecans or garlic and rosemary focaccia.

Basil

A staple in Mediterranean cuisine and a mainstay of pesto, basil is a great herb to have in your backyard. Growing your own gives you access to a host of different varieties—like cinnamon, lemon, licorice, and lime basil—and colors that range from bright green to shades of pink, red, and purple.

Basil plants improve the flavor of other plants nearby and, since they thrive under the same growing conditions as tomato plants, the pair makes especially good growing companions. Whether planting seeds or transplanting seedlings from the garden center, wait until your area is frost-free and make sure each plant gets at least six hours of sun.

Chives

While sometimes thought of as vegetables, chives are actually low-maintenance perennial herbs that are super easy to grow. While chives are often confused with green onions for their similar taste and appearance, they are different plants within the same allium family. You can raise them from seed or from young plants and they will grow well in a container. Chives have a mild onion taste and chopped up, are a delicious addition to eggs, baked potatoes, and salads—their cuisine opportunities are fairly limitless.

Parsley

Parsley is a great finishing touch to your dishes and your herb garden. It’s easy to grow and can thrive in small pots and planters, which makes it a favorite of apartment-dwellers everywhere. You can plant it from a seed or seedling, just be a little patient. They take about six weeks to get growing.

Once you’ve got your harvest, take time to clean, chop, and store it properly. Then, you can combine it with some of the other vegetables and herbs listed above for a delicious yard-to-table meal.

Source: realsimple.com