15 Easy Fruits And Veggies Every Beginner Gardener Should Grow

There is immense joy in growing your own produce. Watching something grow from a small seed to a meal on your plate is blissful satisfaction. However, there is no doubt that gardening can be tricky. You don't want to put in all that effort just for failed germination, dead plants, or poor harvests. Thankfully, there are many fruits and vegetables that are easy to grow. As someone who runs a gardening business, I've got plenty of experience in knowing the easy plants from the tricky ones. Hopefully, you can learn from the mistakes I made when I first started out

Each of these fruits and veggies has been carefully picked based on how simple they are to germinate, grow, and harvest. I'll explain why each one made the cut, the easiest way to grow it, and any potential challenges you'll encounter. Whether you have a large garden or just an indoor windowsill, you'll have plenty of choices here. Not only will these plants give you tasty rewards, but they'll also give you confidence to grow more in the future.

If there were a winner for the easiest and quickest vegetable to grow, it would probably be lettuce. This is especially true for those who haven't grown from seed before. Many seeds take care and patience to germinate, but lettuce will usually sprout in under a week, even without much heat. It's a cool-weather crop that can be sown outdoors from early spring and will survive a light frost.

There are plenty of lettuce varieties, so you can either choose your favorite or one that suits your space. While it will thrive in the ground, it will also grow happily in pots and window boxes. Loose leaf varieties are particularly great as you can harvest however many leaves you want, and it will continue to grow back. For other types, you simply cut the whole head off when it's mature. The biggest issue with lettuce is heat. Lettuce can bolt when temperatures go over 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Here, it will grow a main stalk so it can go to seed. At this point, the leaves will turn bitter. This can be counteracted by keeping it in a shaded spot, so it doesn't get the full force of the afternoon sun.

Think cool temperatures will be an issue? If so, tomatoes are here to the rescue. Tomatoes are sun-loving plants that thrive when getting the maximum light possible. Seeds germinate quickly but do need some warmth, but a windowsill will usually suffice. As with almost all seeds, you want to keep the soil moist. It's best to start them off indoors in spring and move them outside once the last frost has passed. Tomatoes can either be indeterminate (tall and need support) or determinate (bushy).

As with lettuce, there are many different types of tomatoes, so make sure you'll be getting your favorite variety before buying seeds. They can be grown in pots, but they can become very top-heavy when the fruits develop, so I'd recommend at least a 12-inch pot. Pinch out side shoots, remove leaves touching the ground, and look out for any pests. The biggest headache with tomato plants is that they are incredibly thirsty and will start to wilt in dry soil. It's not a necessity, but buying tomato feed fertilizer is likely to give you bigger and better tomatoes. Once grown, the plant will give you a constant supply of delicious food.

Whether you want sweet bell peppers or hot jalapeños, these are fun plants to grow. They require many of the same conditions we've just looked at with tomatoes. These are plants that will thrive when getting as much sun as possible. Germination can take a couple of weeks on a warm windowsill, ideally south-facing. It can be helped by a heated propagator, but that's not essential.

They do well in pots and generally won't become as top-heavy as tomato plants. That being said, their high watering needs are more difficult to manage when potted. As with tomato plants, peppers will start to wilt when the soil becomes dry, but they do bounce back quickly once they've had a drink. One of the fun aspects of peppers is that they can be harvested at different times, with the likes of bell peppers becoming sweeter the longer they are left on the vine. While it may often be called tomato feed, this type of fertilizer is perfect for any flowering or fruiting plants, so use it for your peppers, too.

Here's another example of a plant that loves tomato fertilizer. I've always found strawberries to be one of the most rewarding crops. That's because there is huge satisfaction in finding out how juicy and tasty a strawberry is when plucked straight from the plant. The biggest issue with strawberries is that they are slow starters. They can take a few weeks to germinate, and the seedlings will grow slowly at first. Due to this, you're best starting them off in late winter. However, you can still plant them in the summer. That's because strawberries are a perennial, meaning they come back every year. However, you can always skip a step and buy some young strawberry plants.

My favorite variety is the alpine as not only are they delicious strawberries, but they produce beautiful white flowers before the fruit grows. Strawberries are quite compact, making them perfect for pots. If planted in the ground, beware of varieties that send out "runners." These are shoots of the plants that will develop new roots. Left unchecked, a strawberry plant can spread quickly. Finally, birds and other animals will try to enjoy your strawberries before you do. Netting may be needed, which you can either do over the whole plant or just on the strawberry bunches.

Now we get to our first plant where the tasty bit is below the ground. They usually germinate in a few weeks and can be sown in the ground from early spring, or in a seed tray if you want more control over the process. The biggest demand here is that carrots thrive in loose soil. If the soil in your beds or garden patch is heavy or clay-based, it may be better to grow them in a deep container.

Poor soil quality will lead to stunted and oddly shaped carrots. It can be hard to know when the perfect time to harvest is, but it's usually three months after sowing. Even if you pull one up early, you can still enjoy a tasty baby carrot while you allow the rest to grow a bit longer. Keep a lookout for pests, especially the carrot fly, which can damage the roots. Aside from that, carrots require very little maintenance aside from occasional watering.

Harvesting carrots is boringly easy; you just pull them up. With potatoes, on the other hand, digging them up and finding out your harvest is a lot of fun. All you need to grow potatoes is, well, a potato. It's best to use seed potatoes from a garden center as these will be disease-free and created especially for planting. However, you can also use your old supermarket potatoes. They grow perfectly well in containers or grow bags.

As with carrots and all root vegetables, you want to ensure you have good soil if planting directly into the ground. To get the best harvest, you want to occasionally add compost to the bottom of the stems to protect the potatoes from sunlight. This process, called "earthing up," will produce higher yields and better-quality potatoes. Keep them well watered, and you'll know they are ready to harvest when the flowers start to die back. Once that happens, you can start digging and enjoy your bounty.

Here is one crop where you want to buy a young plant from a garden center. That's because their seeds are hard to germinate and need to go through a cold treatment before they grow. However, they are on this list because once you've got yourself a plant, you can easily get tasty raspberries for many years to come. Not only that, but you can turn one raspberry plant into an unlimited number of raspberry plants. Raspberry plants send out shoots through the ground, which can be cut off and replanted to make a whole new plant.

However, these shoots are also the reason you'll want to plant your raspberry plant in a pot, as they can quickly take over your garden otherwise. When nicely contained, they will come back every year after some pruning. They don't need much feeding or watering when they are established, as they become extremely hardy. Pests aren't often a huge concern, but a pesticide usually quickly solves any problem. Eventually, you'll get a ready supply of delicious raspberries, which will be a much cheaper and fresher alternative to anything you can buy from a store.

Growing gooseberries is very similar to raspberries, but they can be easier to grow from seed. There are some varieties that need to go through a cold treatment, but others, such as the cape gooseberry, do not. That being said, as with raspberry plants, they are often sold as either bare roots or young stalks. One big positive for this plant is that many varieties don't send out runners like raspberry plants, so they can go into the ground without needing to worry about aggressive growth.

Once planted, gooseberries need very little in the way of ongoing care. You'll want to keep them watered during dry spells, and you want to give them an occasional look for any pests. Perhaps the biggest downside of gooseberries is that they are unlikely to fruit in their first year. You may have to play the waiting game, but once you do, it will give you a plentiful supply of delicious fruit each year.

Spinach is a wonderful ingredient that can be used in a huge variety of recipes. It is quick and easy to grow, with germination often taking around a week. It will grow well in either containers or garden beds for easy harvests. As with lettuce, it's a plant that thrives in cooler climates, so you want to give it some protection on those sunniest days by keeping it in a shaded spot. It can also bolt like lettuce; this can also be prevented by keeping it moist with regular watering.

One of the great aspects of spinach is that it'll give you a continuous supply of leaves. Cut whatever you need from the outside of the plant, and it will keep regrowing from the center. It's also one of the best crops for those with limited space, as it should still thrive on windowsills or patio pots. Given that it's a low-maintenance yet nutrient-rich food, it's a top pick for any first-time vegetable grower.

There is a debate about whether these two vegetables are the same. However, when it comes to growing them, scallions and green onions both require identical conditions. They are great for beginners and those with small gardens, as they grow quickly, are easy to care for, and don't take up a lot of space. Germination happens quickly, too, usually within two weeks. For those looking to grow in containers, they only need a pot around 8 inches deep and at least 1 inch of spacing.

As with most vegetables, they need well-drained soil to prevent rotting, but must be constantly moist for the best growth. They are also easy to grow because they like full sun, but will still grow well in partial shade. You'll enjoy a quick harvest, too. In the right conditions, your little vegetable can be ready in as little as six weeks. To harvest, you simply pull up the white bulb when it's around the size of a pencil.

The beet is a fantastic vegetable. Not only is it easy to grow, but it's versatile and can be used in a huge number of different recipes. The seeds germinate within a few weeks, and sowing them is easy. You can either place them straight into the soil or grow them in seed trays if you want better chances of germination. If sown in the ground, make sure to thin the seedlings to give each plant the best chance to grow, with around 4 inches of space required.

Once established, you'll need to keep the soil moist as this will prevent the roots from becoming tough or woody. As with many root vegetables, full sun is preferred but it will still grow well if it's shaded for a part of the day. Harvesting can be done by simply pulling up the vegetables when they look mature. The leaves are also edible, making it a brilliant double-duty crop.

One of the issues with root vegetables for beginner gardeners is that all the tastiest growth happens below ground. This can give you doubts about when the crop is ready, and doesn't give you the same satisfaction as when you can visually see the growth. In contrast, the zucchini is one of the most rewarding crops you can grow. It grows on the surface and very quickly. You can germinate seeds in as little as a week, and they can be sown outdoors as soon as the last frost has passed.

They require plenty of warmth and water, but aside from that, zucchini don't have any special growing requirements. The biggest consideration here is the size, as zucchini plants can spread out, so you don't want anything else too close to them. You'll be able to see for yourself when it needs to be harvested, but this is when they are around 6 to 8 inches long. A regular harvest will encourage more zucchinis to grow through the warmer months.

If you wanted to grow an easy root vegetable from seed, there is no better option than turnips. It can make a beautifully rich side, along with having many other uses. They grow quickly, and it's very difficult to get it wrong with their growth. Seeds will germinate rapidly and can be sown directly into well-drained soil or grown in pots. They can grow well through most of the year and can even be kept in the ground for winter harvests. You want to give each turnip around 6 inches of space to ensure its growth isn't stunted.

They enjoy plenty of sun, but it's best to keep them shaded during any intense hot spells to prevent bolting. Their biggest demand is simply a high level of watering, which is to be expected for most plants. You can enjoy baby roots after around six weeks, with a fully grown turnip ready to harvest around 10. Harvesting is easy, as they can often just be lifted straight up from the ground, or with a little digging if you get too much resistance.

Rhubarb can be grown from seeds, but many people find it easier to grow from bare-root crowns. As with raspberries, once you have the plant, it will give you a plentiful amount of food for many years to come. That's because rhubarb is a perennial that will grow back every year. Once the plant is established, it will require very little maintenance. All you need to do is make sure the ground doesn't dry out during the hotter months.

However, you don't want an area that will get waterlogged, as this can lead to rotting. During the winter, the plant will go dormant until it bursts back to life in the spring. It's also a plant that isn't particularly vulnerable to pests, so it's a great option for giving new gardeners plenty of confidence to grow more. You can pull the stalks away to harvest the plant and enjoy its sweet flavors with some beautiful rustic recipes.

Green beans can be a fun choice for beginner gardeners. Bush varieties are easiest as they can grow compactly and don't need support. Pole beans do require a trellis or some other support structure, but can be rewarding to watch them climb up and eventually produce the beans you desire. Germination will usually happen within two weeks, depending on the temperature, and they can be sown directly into well-draining soil. Both types will enjoy regular sun but will need regular watering. Growing peas is very similar to beans, if you want an alternative, but they are more like lettuce and spinach in regard to needing cooler temperatures to thrive.

You can usually start picking the beans around two months after sowing, and frequent harvesting will encourage more growth. This growth will continue throughout the growing season, giving you a plentiful supply of this versatile vegetable. They are a great option for kids as they'll love picking off the pods and helping you with the harvest — it's very difficult to harm the plant while doing so. The straightforward growing needs make it another great option for those looking to enjoy their own fresh produce.