10 easy to grow vegetables for beginners.

Growing your own veg has never been so popular. It's fresh, organic, saves air miles and plastic, plus it's rewarding and saves money.

But, being honest, Veg tends to be more demanding than garden plants. Extra maintenance in terms of feeding and watering and there are plenty of diseases which attack vegetable plants, as do slugs.  

I find that even after growing vegetables for years, most veggies are more disease-prone and time-consuming than garden plants and capricious. In 2021, nearly all of my late lettuces bolted, and my fail-safe crops of onions were not and failed. Previous years have ranged from a glut of courgettes to a lightweight crop. This year, beans were in abundance, and the kale has flourished. 

Every year presents a different scenario, with the potential for brilliant success or occasional setbacks. But don't let that discourage you. 

Why not start with the easy veg? Without doubt, some vegetables are easier to grow than others.  Listed below are the easiest veg to grow. 

You'll notice I don't mention tomatoes on this page. That's because they are lovely, but a harder vegetable to grow; lots of maintenance and blight can be a problem for outside grown toms.

All beans are easy to grow and to raise from seed. They germinate easily, which avoids the cost of buying small plants. A packet of seeds will remain viable for more than one season.

Illustrated are (1) Broad bean with a lovely crimson flower,(2) scarlet and white runner beans, various coloured French beans and (3) garden peas. 

They are not entirely disease-free; broad beans can develop rust, and peas mildew, but they are fairly robust and yield a good crop. 

Although of the same family, they do not all grow the same way. Broad beans are very hardy. You can even plant them in autumn and they will overwinter, compared with the rest of the bean family, which are all slightly tender. Broad Beans are not self-supporting; runner beans and peas are.

For a complete growing guide, tips and advice: Broad Beans, Runner Beans, French Beans and Peas. 

Onions and garlic do not need a lot to keep them happy and grow well.

Well-drained soil and sun.

You may think that onions are a bit of an ordinary crop to grow, but they are reliable. It is always good to plant something in the veg garden that you can be (usually!) confident will turn a good harvest at the end of the year. So if you have blight, bolting, lack of pollination and other problems, the chances are your garlic, onions and spring onions will still do well.

You can grow garlic and spring onions in containers, but not onions because they require more space.

How to plant and grow onions and garlic