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- Jeff Somers
- Radishes. What’s great about radishes is they make do with whatever soil you have to work with, and they grow incredibly fast—literally in three to four weeks.
- Lettuce. All garden greens (including spinach and arugula) grow very easily—and very quickly—but lettuce is probably the easiest. A cool-weather crop, just plant your seeds in the spring and fall, water them regularly, and in about 4 weeks you’ll have gorgeous baby lettuces popping up, ready to eat.
- Green beans. Green beans are not only delicious, but they store well. They can be frozen or pickled, so if your bumper crop of green beans is a little too bumper (which can certainly happen, as they’re easy to grow) you don’t have to mulch them.
- Onions. Onions are incredibly useful in the kitchen, and incredibly easy to grow. You can either buy dormant bulbs, which will mature faster, or start with seeds.
- Kale. Not only is kale extremely healthy, but it’s also extremely hardy and a great vegetable to add to your veg garden. The plants will grow throughout most of the year and will continue to give you an impressive harvest throughout the tougher winter periods.
- Broccoli. Sown at the right time, broccoli has the ability to grow throughout winter and well into spring. They generally offer repeated harvest for around two months, giving you the chance to up your fibre and vitamin C intake.
- Parsnips. When searching for the best vegetables to grow over winter, it’s best to opt for cool-season growers - and parsnips are one of them. When you have these things on tap, they’ll be a perfect addition to your roast dinners or hearty winter soups.
- Beetroot. Although beetroot is a very wintery vegetable, many home growers tend to stick to supermarket-bought beetroot during the colder months due to the complicated nature of growing beetroot at home.
- Oak Trees. You probably already know that Oak trees produce acorns. You might even be aware that these incredible nut harvests are edible. But have you ever noticed how some years the ground is covered with acorns, while other years it seems like there’s almost none?
- Apple Trees. Animals will travel from far and wide to reap the benefits of a fruiting apple tree… deer, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, squirrels, and pretty much every other herbivore and omnivore.
- Spruce Trees. At the end of summer, the spruce cones ripen and inside each little cone hole is a tiny seed packing a pretty big punch of calorie dense protein & fat.
- Eastern Redcedar. As I mentioned in another article on coniferous tree identification, the eastern red cedar is actually in the Juniper family, so they produce bitter little blue medicinal berries that are enjoyed by cedar waxwings.
- Radishes
- Lettuce
- Green Beans
- Onions
- Strawberries
- Banana Peppers
- Zucchini
- Tomatoes
- Basil
- Potatoes
What’s great about radishes is they make do with whatever soil you have to work with, and they grow incredibly fast—literally in three to four weeks. An ideal cool-weather crop, plant radishes in the early spring or fall and then plant again every two weeks or so a few times. This will ensure you have delicious bulbs starting in just a few weeks an...
All garden greens (including spinach and arugula) grow very easily—and very quickly—but lettuce is probably the easiest. A cool-weather crop, just plant your seeds in the spring and fall, water them regularly, and in about 4 weeks you’ll have gorgeous baby lettuces popping up, ready to eat. Doing additional plantings every two weeks will ensure you...
Green beans are not only delicious, but they store well. They can be frozen or pickled, so if your bumper crop of green beans is a little too bumper (which can certainly happen, as they’re easy to grow) you don’t have to mulch them. Beginners, look for a bush variety instead of a pole variety, as they require less infrastructure. Plant them in the ...
Onions are incredibly useful in the kitchen, and incredibly easy to grow. You can either buy dormant bulbs, which will mature faster, or start with seeds. Plant them in early spring, pretty much as soon as the soil is thawed and workable, then keep the soil damp at all times with regular watering. You’ll get results in just a few weeks, and there a...
Hardy and durable, strawberry plants are very easy to get going in your garden and don’t require much by way of care. The simplest thing to do is purchase bare-root plants from a nursery, as they’re incredibly cheap. Plant them in a sunny spot in the spring and about three weeks later you’ll see them producing fruit—but don’t let them. The one draw...
Pepper plants in general are very easy to grow in any garden, but many pepper varieties don’t do well in extreme temperatures (under 65 or over 85 degrees). If your area sees those kinds of temperature swings, you can wind up with a lot of pepper plants but no actual peppers. Banana peppers are the exception: They don’t mind temperature fluctuation...
Like all squash, bush zucchini is incredibly easy to grow—and each plant will produce a lot of zucchini, so be conservative unless you want to dedicate your life to figuring out the many ways you can cook it. Once a plant begins producing, you’ll need to harvest every single day, no joke. Zucchini likes a lot of sun, so choose a sunny spot and plan...
If you know someone obsessed with their tomato plants, you might be under the impression that tomatoes require several advanced degrees and a disturbing level of passion to grow, but this isn’t the case. Tomatoes can be very easy to grow if you choose a bush cherry tomato variety that grows along the ground. Wait until spring has warmed up a bit an...
Basil is a flexible herb that complements a lot of the veggies in your garden—and it’s simple to grow. Plant basil seeds about two weeks after the last frost in a spot that will get plenty of sun. Water regularly, and then go relax for about three to four weeks. As the weather warms up, your basil plants will start to go gangbusters, and you can be...
There’s are reasons Sam Gamgee’s favorite food has been a staple around the world for thousands of years: it’s super easy to grow, it’s incredibly nutritious and flexible in the kitchen, and it stores well. Pick a spot that will get plenty of sun and pre-fertilize the soil. Then go buy or make some seed potatoes and cut them up (make sure each piec...
Jan 20, 2018 · Our editor, Clare Foggett, highlights the best advice for growing a bumper crop of potatoes so you can enjoy a fresher flavour from your own garden.
- Rachael Funnell
The process creates high-performance, faster-growing plants that deliver heavier crops, with up to 75% more fruit than standard veg plants. In addition, grafted veg offers better resistance to soil-borne pests and diseases, and can often be grown outdoors, eliminating the need for a greenhouse.
Dec 4, 2023 · Michael Spencer of Houston, Texas, managed to grow a bumper crop of tomatoes, okra, potatoes, onions and more during a drought with these tips.
