Gardening is a great way to get in touch with nature and enjoy the outdoors. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced green thumb, there are some plants that are easier to grow than others. Lettuce is one of the simplest plants to cultivate in a garden. It can be sown directly in the soil or grown indoors for transplanting.
It is one of the few crops that can be grown all year round in our climate, but when it's hot it must be shaded and harvested in smaller sizes. Lettuce growth slows down in the shade; it also takes longer to produce seeds, or “sprouts,” meaning it can be harvested for longer. Thanks to its wide range of leaf shapes and shades of green and red, you'll never get bored of growing new varieties of lettuce. Leaf lettuces can be cut as they grow, and you can enjoy multiple harvests from the same plant by simply cutting what you need each time. If you want heads full of romaine lettuce and cabbage lettuce to form, thin out the plants.
Leave 8 to 10 inches between them. As you thin out young plants, save the delicate small leaves for salads. Peas are another easy-to-grow plant that can be sown as soon as the soil can be worked two weeks before the last average spring frost in your region, if possible. To harvest a continuous supply of peas during the summer, simultaneously plant varieties with different maturity dates. Then plant more seeds about two weeks later and continue this pattern, sowing no later than mid-June. Radishes are another easy-to-grow vegetable that can be harvested in as little as 24 days after planting and can be interspersed with slower growing vegetables.
You can plant radishes as soon as you can work the soil in spring. Sow each seed two inches apart or more, or thin out to this space after they sprout. Cover the seeds with about a half inch of compost or soil. Carrots are also easy to grow and require little maintenance. Prepare ahead of time for cucumbers; amend the soil with a fertilizer rich in nitrogen and potassium to support large plant yields.
If possible, plant cucumbers in the sun next to a fence. The fence will serve as a support for climbing and will act as a shelter. Corn will trap the heat that cucumbers crave and will also serve as protection from the wind. Kale is another easy-to-grow vegetable that only gets sweeter after being hit by a couple of freezes. Place the plants any time, from early spring to early summer, and the kale will grow until it gets too hot.
Replant in the fall, especially if you live in the southern United States. Try baked, sautéed, or steamed kale. Enjoy it in salads, milkshakes, tortillas, stews, or wherever you use spinach. Beets are also easy to grow and require little maintenance. The whimsical seed capsules contain two or three beetroot seeds, so the seedlings will always need to be thinned out.
Sow the seed capsules one inch deep and four inches apart. Finally, cherry tomatoes are easy to grow with a bountiful harvest that you can pick up as you pick them. They are also ideal for containers on the patio, porch or fire escape. Be sure to pinch off any saplings.
