Easiest Veggies to Grow as a Busy Parent

Time is the most limited resource. You want gardening to be fun, not another task on your already full plate. Taking the path of least resistance or easing into a new activity can help you stay the course and eventually level up your skills. Be kind to yourself and try out some of the easiest to grow vegetables when first jumping into gardening.

5 Easy to grow vegetables for beginners:

As much as I’ll encourage parents to fail in front of their children, starting off something new only to be met with failure is also a surefire way to kill interest. I’ve grown a lot, and killed a lot and in time have worked out my go-to plants while juggling a busy family. So to give you the best leg up when diving into growing a vegetable garden here are my 5 easiest vegetables to grow for beginners in Southern Ontario.

Bush Beans

They are grown as classroom experiments for a reason. So easy. Crazy fast results. Rarely fussy about anything other then transplanting. The seed is easy for little hands to help out with and the crop is durable enough to hold up against aggressive hands. They want sunshine but otherwise, they don’t ask for much else.

How To: Direct Sow (outside in it’s final home) once last frost has passed. Bush beans (as opposed to pole beans) require no structures to climb on. Push the seed into the soil, lightly tap the soil back over the finger indentation and then water as needed.

Where to Buy: Beans are one of the easiest plants to harvest seeds from. I like to start my crops using seeds from Urban Harvest and then I collect and store seeds each year.

Strawberries

Edible, sweet, and spreading. Strawberries would fall into the category of ‘weeds’ if they weren’t so delicious as they will grow anywhere! Baskets, containers, gutter gardens, towers, in the ground and more. Opt for an ever-bearing variety and you’ll have snacking quantities from spring to fall. Chose a June-bearing variety if you want a bigger harvest all at once. Strawberries are perennials and if they are in the ground they will return year after year, putting out runners, making new plants and providing more and more fruit.

How To: These can be started from seed but it’s easiest to obtain a ‘runner’ from a friend or community member, or purchase bare-roots in early spring, and plant them directly outdoors. Your biggest struggle will be birds or squirrels, but these plants can be easily netted to assist with protecting your bounty.

Where to Buy: The bare root plants I picked up from Evergreen Brickworks garden centre had the best success rate. I have also added some from Costco, but with less then stellar results.

Sunflowers
Perhaps not what most consider when it comes to food, but many sunflower seed varieties are edible (for humans) and are definitely edible for birds and mammals (squirrels; mostly you will please the squirrels). These will also draw in pollinators providing assistance to less showy crops and entertainment for your family as the bees and butterflies swing by for a snack. I prefer to surround my vegetable gardens with sunflowers, because they make me smile, but most importantly as decoy crops. I plant them for the squirrels and birds. In doing so, the rest of my crops survive.

How To: Direct Sow (outside in it’s final home) once last frost has passed. Push the seed into the soil, lightly tap the soil back over the finger indentation and then water as needed. The biggest challenge you will face with sunflowers is squirrels sabotaging your growth. Plant more then you expect to need so that squirrels do not break your heart by taking your one and only plant.

Where to Buy: These are another really easy to save your own seed plant. You can plant seeds from bird seed bags which will give you a mystery crop. You won’t know what variety you are going to get! Free seeds are available from Cheerios. You can sign up for them by clicking here. Otherwise sunflowers are a staple in garden centres, big box stores and grocery store seed stands. You can peruse options at local supplies like Richters Herbs and Urban Harvest.

‘Cut and come again’ leafy greens

It also goes by the term ‘mesclun mix’ or in the grocery store you’ll find this blend as “spring greens” and is typically a variety of leafy greens, such as: arugula, leafy lettuces, endive, baby spinach, collard greens, Swiss chard (silver beet), mustard greens and more. Each seed brand will offer their own blend. What makes these blends great over traditional lettuces is, no spacing, less wait time to harvest and you cut only what you need as you need it, and then it regrows! Think of it like giving your lettuce a haircut rather then harvesting the plant. These plants if harvested regularly will stay small and have small roots. This means they will do well in recycled food containers, gutter gardens, pots and more. They are perfect for balcony gardens!

How To: Direct Sow once the ground is workable and no longer soggy (before last frost). Leafy greens often ‘bolt’ (switch from leaf growth to flower and become bitter) when the weather gets hot so take advantage of the cooler weather. Your biggest struggle with these will be slugs and snails if you are planting in the ground, bunnies if you have them, and missing the cool weather of late spring and early summer. You can sow again in September as the temperatures begin to cool again. Using a morning sun area, planting under bigger plants such as tomatoes or using shade cloth can also assist with our hot summer weather.

Where to Buy: Nearly all seed companies will offer a blend. We have a list of local to Ontario seed companies that you can review here, but Richters Herbs and Urban Harvest are some of my go to’s.

Garlic

Planted in the fall, and harvested the following summer (July), growing your own garlic has a cult-like following online because it is easy, flavourful and incredibly rewarding. You can order ‘seed’ garlic or pick up Canadian grown cloves from a farmers market in August or September and plant it in late October.

How To: Place a single clove into soil and mulch with leaves or straw ‘tucking’ it in for the long haul through winter. There is one task required, but it provides a bonus crop! Snip off and eat the garlic scapes (green sprout) when it curls to redirect energy back into the bulb.

Where to Buy: Start with farmers markets, looking for locally grown bulbs in August and September. Most garden centres will have carry it and there are great communities online where you can buy directly from farmers. This is the route I took, getting it direct from a garlic farmer through facebook.