Foods to Grow for Beginner Gardeners

Growing your own food for the first time can seem like a daunting task. As with everything new, it is difficult at first. 

You may decide to consult a firm like Garden Club London to seek advice about such matters. On the other hand, if you have a DIY attitude, which is probably why you decide to garden, it would be better to try some simple foods for starters. 

 If you decide to grow your own food, the following simple foods are where you should start: 

Basil

Basil is one of those plants that can grow equally well in a container as in a large farm. Outside of the harsh winter, you can grow basil indoors or outdoors. 

When growing basil, ensure that your plants get plenty of sunshine and also keep the soil damp. Moreover, basil requires no fertilizer which makes it easy to grow. In fact, fertilizers can alter a basil’s flavor. 

Harvesting basil simply involves cutting the leaves from the top and working your way downwards. 

Green Beans

Green beans are one of the most adaptable plants on the planet. It can grow anywhere as long as it gets 1-2 inches of water per week and about 8 hours of daily sunshine.
Green beans seed packets will often have clear cut instructions as it pertains to spacing of seeds. You would be wise to diligently follow them. 

When flowers begin to sprout, it is your cue for harvesting. However, wait a few days just to be sure but do not wait too long or the beans might become uneatable. 

Lettuce

Lettuce is the ideal vegetable for a beginner gardener’s garden. Lettuce will usually mature less than two weeks after planting them. 

It is good to know that lettuce thrives in cold temperatures. If you want a continuous lettuce harvest, you should grow them in stages. 

All you have to do is space the seeds according to the instructions on the packet. Also, don’t forget to lightly water the seeds consistently.

Harvesting lettuce involves removing the entire plant from the base. On the other hand, you can cut the leaves with shears starting from the outside leaves leaving the rest of the plant to continue growing. 

Mint

Mint is so bountiful the hardest part about growing them is managing their spread to the rest of the garden. You can bypass this obstacle by planting mint in a pot. However, if that is not possible, you should create a boundary for the mint and harvest them as soon as they bloom. 

Tomatoes

You will rarely find a garden without tomatoes. They are adaptable and dependable whether you grow them in a container or in the ground. 

Tomatoes enjoy long periods in the sun and soils with good drainage. You should ensure to keep them upright using something like a cage or fence. 

Once there is no more frost, you can grow tomatoes. Moreover, giving tomatoes calcium makes them very healthy. 

To know if tomatoes are ripe, they will be in full color all around. You can harvest them when green during winter and let them ripen indoors but they will not be as flavorful and juicy as those that ripened on the vine.