5 Vegetables to Grow in Your First Garden

Are you new to the world of gardening? Don’t worry--you’re most certainly not alone! Every master gardener was a beginner at one point. The best thing you can do is just start! Here, we’ll tell you about five veggies that are great for someone just starting out.

1. Zucchini Squash

Talk about a producer! One plant will give you enough zucchini to feed a family. Zucchini does well in a variety of soils and a single plant will produce multiple squashes. It’s awesome chopped up into soups and sauces, or sautéed in butter. You can use it as a side dish or even make it into bread! That’s why growing it in your garden can be so useful. This is a great one for beginning gardeners.

So what do you need to know before you start? Zucchini like rich, well-drained soil the most (as do most plants) but they can still do okay in all different kinds of soil. They like heat and do best sown well after frost is passed. Growing two plants fairly close together so that they’ll pollinate each other will really help them thrive. I would try Black Beauty as a great variety to begin with. It is famously reliable and will do well almost anywhere.

2. Tomatoes

If you’ve never had home-grown tomatoes, you’re missing out. There is nothing to compare to a home grown tomato. Store bought doesn’t come close. Tomatoes from your garden go perfectly in pasta and other dishes, or just by themselves fresh off the vine. With lots of varieties to choose from, you’ll have plenty of options for your garden this year.

Tomatoes are most often transplanted from containers to the garden itself. They have a long growing season, and are one of the most productive plants you can grow in your beginner garden! There are all kinds of methods to getting bigger and better production but even the most novice gardener will get some nice tomatoes as long as they give their plants enough sun and keep things watered. Seeds are easy to start in an egg carton or some cups at the windowsill until frost has passed. Romas have less juice and so are great for making salads and bruschetta, Black Cherokee is famous for it’s amazing flavor, and Marglobe is a good all around classic. Those might be a few good ones to try. Cherry tomatoes are also lovely in salads or just to pop in your mouth.

3. Bush Beans

Every little garden should have some bush beans in it. They take up very little space, are easy to get up, and will give you loads of AMAZING beans for a long time throughout the summer months. If you don’t like string beans then you’re probably thinking of the little wilted green/gray slop that comes out of a can from the grocery store that are tolerable in casseroles. Fresh garden beans are a whole different ball game. Boiled over the stove until they’re soft and sprinkled with salt and butter, you will feel like you’ve died and gone to heaven. I like to grow a combination of green and yellow. Blue Lake Bush and Golden Wax are both awesome, and you should have lots of success with them.

4. Lettuce

Lettuce is really fun to grow because it has such a short span of maturity. In 55 days you’ll have beautiful fresh lettuce on your table. It is an extremely diverse family of vegetables with everything from little micro greens to big heads of iceberg lettuce. Lettuce is best grown in the spring and fall chill. If grown in the heat of the summer it will usually be bitter and go to seed. These plants prefer sun but can do well with a little shade. If planting an outdoor garden isn’t an option for you right now, you can even grow lettuce indoors at a sunny window! Some great classics to start with are Buttercrunch, Vates Kale, and Green Spinach.

5. Peppers

Peppers can really grow well in a variety of places, even without full sun depending on the variety. When I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I was assigned to work in Kentucky to learn Spanish so that I could work among the Spanish speaking congregation. Hispanics often LOVE hot peppers and they are commonly used in almost everything they cook. I used to love going up to the doors of the most forgotten little apartments or trailers and noticing a little pepper plant next to the door or at the side of a house.

Jalapeño plants will give you dozens of these little green gems that you can mix into salsas, sauté for burgers or make into poppers. A lot of varieties have beautiful shiny green foliage that mix in beautifully to bouquets and arrangements. It’s best to start seed indoors and then transplant out. Don’t be intimidated about seed starting. You can just get any kind of container lying around the house and push the seeds into the soil. In a couple of weeks you’ll see happy little sprouts peeking out their heads and soon enough will have your own delicious peppers. A few good varieties to start with are Hot Tam Jalapeño and California Wonder.

Which vegetable do you want to start with? Let us know in the comments below! We would really appreciate you using our hashtag in your Instagram posts #growhalden. We love to see what you are doing in your garden.