Low-Maintenance Vegetables for Easy Success

Whether you are a new gardener, or a seasoned gardener looking for low-maintenance plants that don't need to grow in in the best spots in your garden, this is the article for you!

In this article I run though ten plants (non-perennials) that are ideal for the new gardener because they are very easy to grow. Some plants - let’s face it - are easier to grow than others. Many new gardeners lose confidence when their gardens do poorly - so I think they should plant things that are easy to grow. For me, easy plants are those that do not need a lot of attention; grow in average to poor soils; have good natural pest resistance; can find their own water; and don’t need¹ full sun all day. While they all respond well to perfect sun, perfect water, and perfect nutrients - they simply don’t need those things as badly as notorious “heavy-feeders” such as corn, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, squash, melons, and tomatoes. So, whether you are a new gardener, or a seasoned gardener looking for something to plug into that spot where nothing seems to grow that well, maybe try something on this list and see how that works out.

1) Potatoes

Potatoes have it all. Yes, they are cheap to buy - but they taste so good when they are home-grown, and they are so easy to grow! Put them in the ground, mulch, walk away, and 2-3 months later when the plants look totally dead - you have potatoes! Most pests only do minimal damage to potatoes, and they can just be ignored, with the exception of the Colorado potato beetle, which can be difficult but not impossible to eradicate - but otherwise these are the ideal low-maintenance plants. Sow when dandelions turn yellow.

I can think of few things that are easier to grow than potatoes.

2) Beans

Beans are very easy to grow. There are bush and climbing varieties and both have their merits. Bush varieties are probably the easiest because they do not require a trellis, whereas climbing varieties, if provided a good trellis, will produce more beans over a longer period of time.