What makes a vegetable easy
Good first vegetables grow fast, forgive a bit of neglect and can be harvested more than once. Leafy greens are the classic example. Within a few weeks of planting you can start picking, and new leaves keep coming from the center as you take the outer ones. Fruiting vegetables take longer and need more light and feeding, but watching the fruit form is a real pleasure. Below are a few crops roughly in order of how forgiving they are. Varieties differ, so also check the guidance on the seedling tag or seed packet.
Lettuce: the safest first crop
Lettuce likes cool weather and grows especially well in spring and autumn. Once seedlings settle in, the leaves multiply quickly, and picking a few outer leaves from the bottom at a time keeps the harvest going for weeks. Don't strip the whole plant; leaving the center leaves lets it keep growing. As days get hotter and longer, a flower stalk shoots up from the middle. At that point the leaves turn tough and bitter, so it's better to pull that plant and replant when it cools down. In weak light the leaves grow pale and leggy, so keep lettuce somewhere bright.
- Pick outer leaves and leave the center
- Midsummer heat makes it bolt easily
- Space plants so air can flow
- Try two plantings, one in spring and one in autumn
Scallions and green onions: regrow from scraps
Leave a few centimeters of the white root end from store-bought green onions or scallions and plant it in soil, and new leaves will grow back. There's no need to buy seedlings, and they cope fairly well in spots with less light. Cut leaves grow back again, which makes them handy for using a little at a time in cooking. After several harvests from the same root, though, the shoots get thinner and weaker, so swap in fresh roots now and then. You can also grow them in a glass of water, but the water spoils quickly and needs frequent changing, so soil is better for growing them longer.
Cherry tomatoes: worth trying if you have the light
Cherry tomatoes love warmth, so seedlings usually go in during late spring once the risk of late frost has passed. They need a well-lit spot like a south-facing balcony and a deep, roomy pot so the roots can spread. Because they grow tall, put in a stake at planting time and tie the stem to it. Pinching out the suckers that form between the main stem and leaf stalks while they're small sends energy to the fruit and improves airflow. The flowers pollinate themselves, but indoors without wind, gently shaking the flowering stems helps more fruit set.
Peppers: a fruiting crop that loves heat
Like cherry tomatoes, peppers go in during warm weather and need plenty of light. They seem slow at first but speed up once the heat arrives. The stems can topple under the weight of the fruit, so give them a stake. Trimming side shoots and leaves below the first fork improves airflow. If lots of flowers drop, suspect excessive heat, lack of water or insufficient light. Heat levels vary widely between varieties, so choose one that fits how you plan to use it.
Harvest early and often
With garden vegetables, picking a little early and often generally beats picking late. Leafy greens are tender when picked before the leaves get too big, and frequent picking keeps new leaves coming. Cherry tomatoes can be picked once they're evenly colored; leave them too long and the skins tend to split, especially right after rain or a heavy watering. Peppers are picked at different times depending on whether you want them green or fully red. Harvesting on time lets the plant put its energy into the next flowers and fruit.
Common failures and fixes
If leafy greens grow thin, pale and stretched, they're short on light. Move them somewhere brighter and give them more space. If a cherry tomato is all leaves and few flowers, suspect too little light or too much nitrogen fertilizer. Yellowing lower leaves with constantly wet soil usually point to overwatering, so space out watering. If small insects cluster on leaf undersides, act early using the pest guide. A crop that failed once often does better with a different planting time or spot, so keep notes.
- Leggy growth: low light, move somewhere brighter
- Few flowers: low light or too much fertilizer
- Yellow lower leaves: suspect overwatering
- Split fruit: sudden swings in watering
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