What crops should you consider growing as a new gardener? That is a good question. Last year brought a lot of new gardeners, and this year is bringing even more. I hear from a lot of friends, who are new to gardening, that they don’t know what to plant. Especially in limited space. So, here are my top 10 crops for new gardeners.
I have been gardening pretty much my whole life. However, as an adult I started gardening about 25 years ago while living in an apartment. We had a balcony filled with pots, most for growing vegetables. Even though we are currently gardening on about 1/3 of an acre, space still matters. Check out my blog post on finding space to garden here.
Tomatoes
My first two suggestions are tomatoes. Every garden should have tomatoes. My favorite tomato of all time is the Yellow Pear tomato. It is delicious, gives a large harvest, but is somewhat compact as tomato plants go. The Yellow Pear is one of those tomatoes you want to sit out in the garden and just eat. The other tomato that I highly recommend for new gardeners, especially with little space, is the Celebrity. The Celebrity is just a good all-round tomato. Good for eating, good for cooking with, and it can be quite prolific. Both of these tomatoes can be easily planted in pots with the proper trellising. This is why I include them in my top 10 crops for new gardeners.
Peppers
Next up are peppers – sweet and hot. Peppers are another plant that is easy to grow in a pot. All that is required is a simple stake to keep them upright. It’s important to note that most sweet pepper plants are not prolific. In fact, some plants only produce 4-6 peppers per plant. I always put my money of Banana Peppers. There is a lot of reward from just one plant. Banana Peppers are very versatile in the kitchen as well. You can fry them, stuff them, and even ferment them. Now, let’s look at hot. I think most people lean towards the jalapeno, and I do grow them. However, my suggestion for a new gardener or a small garden is going to be the Hungarian Wax. I find them more prolific than the jalapeno and you get bigger peppers too. And like the banana pepper they are very versatile in the kitchen.
Zucchini and Cucumbers
Now, we can’t forget zucchini and cucumbers. While I have never grown zucchini in pots, it can be done. Here is a great article showing how. My favorite zucchini used to be Black Beauty. However, last year I discovered my new favorite is the Eightball. It is such a good producer and the shape of the fruit makes it ideal for so many recipes. Next, let’s talk cucumbers. My favorite way to grow cucumbers is on a trellis. Again, something that you can easily do in a pot if you are limited on space. You could even use a tomato cage in a pot as a trellis for cucumbers. My favorite cucumber is the Chicago Pickling Cucumber. They only take 55 days to bear fruit which is important if you are a northern gardener like myself. Also, they are a versatile cucumber that can be eaten or pickled.
Leafy Greens
We cannot forget our leafy greens in the garden. There are a lot of options we could consider for a small garden: kale, spinach, lettuce, swiss chard, mesclun. If you are new to gardening, I suggest sticking with something you like to eat. For me, I pick spinach and lettuce as part of my top 10 crops for a new gardener. My favorite spinach is hands down Bloomsdale Long Standing. Spinach does not like hot weather, and it will bolt (turn to seed). As Bloomsdale’s name indicates it will last longer without bolting. Lettuce is another great option for someone starting to garden. If I were just starting out, I would probably go with something like Butter Crunch or a mesclun mix. Just remember that spinach and lettuce are not going to love the heat of summer, so they are something to plant in the spring or even the fall.
Herbs
Lastly, we can’t go without mentioning herbs. Herbs are something anyone can grow. As long as you have a sunny windowsill, you can grow herbs. My two favorite herbs are basil and mint. I’m growing about 5 different varieties of each in my garden this year. However, to simplify it for a beginning gardener, I would only grow one of each. The two I would pick would be Genovese Basil and Sweet Mint. They are both very easy to grow and have so many uses in the kitchen. One caution, mint is one plant you must grow in a pot. It is invasive and will spread like crazy, taking over your garden if you don’t.
Honorable Mentions
So, there you have my top ten picks for new gardeners, or any gardener for that matter. You may be wondering what about beans, peas, and root crops. Those are all great things, and if you have space in your garden, I say plant them. A few favorites would be Old Homestead beans (I prefer a pole bean), Lincoln Garden Pea, Breakfast Radishes, Detroit Dark Red Beets, and Danvers Half Long Carrots. I hope to do another post soon on buying seeds and plants for our gardens.