by Pat Merewether

Created on: April 02, 2010   Last Updated: November 03, 2010

Vegetables require at least six hours of full sun, fertile soil and water in order to thrive.  If you can provide these few needs  you can grow your own vegetables.  The five easiest to grow are greens, beans, raddishes, squash and peppers.

Green 'leafies', or lettuce, spnach, Swiss chard, etc are perhaps the easiest of all veggies to grow.  Start them from seed in peat pots six weeks before the last hard freeze, or plant them directly into the soil when all chance of frost has passed. You can grow them in a very small space or even in pots of soil on your patio. 

Beans will produce a plentiful harvest  and are among the easiest vegetables to grow.  You may choose either a bush variety that grow on small plants and do not need to be staked, or vines that will grow up poles or even a fence. They come in green, yellow and even purple; however, the purple beans will turn green when you cook them.  Blue Lake bush beans are very tasty and very easy to grow and harvest, and come in bush or vining variety.

Rashes are very easy to grow.  Plant the seeds directly into the soil in late spring.  Gardeners often plant radishes in the same rows as lettuce or other small seeds because radishes germinate quickly and make it easier to keep track of  the location of slower germinating seedlings. 

Squash are very easy to grow, but require more space to spread out.  Summer squash, such as zuchinni, are the easiest type to grow and are harvested earlier than winter squash.  Winter squash, such as acorn or butternut are harvested late and are excellent for making soups and pies.

Peppers are easy to grow from seed or you can purchase small seedling plants at your local nursery. Peppers are at the number one pesticide-laden veggies, so it's a good idea to grow your own.  Start out with a variety, as there are green, red, orange and purple sweet varieties and also many hot and spicy peppers as well.    Peppers are another veggie that you can grow in pots if you have limited space.

These five veggies will provide you and your family with many yummy meals and growing your own will also allow you to know what chemicals are (or are not) in your food.

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