What vegetables are good for beginners to grow?
Whether you want to save money, have fresh nutritious food, reduce food miles for climate change, or prepare for food and fertilizer shortages, growing some or all of your vegetable requirements is definitely worthwhile.
The following are vegetables that are easier to grow and helpful for beginners, some can be planted in both seasons:
Warm-season planting, beans both dwarf and climbing, beetroot, cabbage, cauliflower, herbs eg parsley, mint in a container, sage, onions, potatoes, silver beet, and summer varieties of squash or marrow. (Mint in a container to stop it spreading).
Pumpkins and melons can be included in summer but they do require a larger area in which to spread.
Cool-season planting, beetroot, cabbage, cauliflower, parsnip, rhubarb, turnips, herbs eg parsley, mint in a container, sage, onions, and silver beet.
Carrots can be difficult, and Broad beans crop can be disappointing. Save them for later.
Preparing your vegetable plot.
Select a position in full sun and if not choose morning sun if possible.
Be aware of exposure to hot winds in summer and cold winds in winter, choose a sheltered position.
Prepare the top few inches or centimetres of soil beforehand by putting on layers (mulch) of well-decomposed compost or well-decomposed animal manure, ideally, this should be a year or more before planting, but months beforehand will do.
If in doubt as to whether your compost or animal manure is decomposed enough, using it as a mulch on the soil surface rather than digging it in, limits the contact between the compost and soil particles.
In case of plant disease pathogens or excess nutrients, mulching allows more time for beneficial bacteria to kill pathogens and more time for nutrients to be leached into the soil slowly.
Keep in mind that building soil up to balanced fertility and a more complete micro-organism ecosystem takes several years. So don’t be too disappointed if your first-year crop is not as bountiful as you had hoped, it will be with time.
The vegetable plot’s fertile soil state is desirable to enable the production of nutritious crops. Also, fertile soil allows the growth of healthy plants that are more resistant to insect and disease attacks. This is a bold claim, and one well known to organic growers.
Organically growing healthy plants that are more resistant to pest and disease attacks is a complex subject but involves thicker cell walls offering more defense, and varying hormones such as bitter-tasting salicylic acid accumulation in cells deterring insects.
Jamiołkowska, A. (2020). Natural compounds as elicitors of plant resistance against diseases and new biocontrol strategies. Agronomy, 10(2), 173. Google Scholar. Agronomy | Free Full-Text | Natural Compounds as Elicitors of Plant Resistance Against Diseases and New Biocontrol Strategies (mdpi.com)
A pH test can be performed on the soil to ensure the acidity-alkalinity is correct. Test kits can be purchased from most hardware stores or garden centres.
A pH of 7 is neutral and desirable, after the application of compost and animal manures it may be a little acidic at 6.5 which is also good for vegetables and most plants.
Soil pH.. A measure of the acidity or alkalinity… | by Peter Miles | Medium
Resist any urge to apply fertilizers at this early stage as it is unnecessary, even when your vegetable seedlings are actively growing the compost will supply the plant’s nutrient needs. If plant growth slows or the leaves start to go a pale green any fertilizer should be applied sparingly, that is in small amounts.
Imagine a small bird landing on your tomato trellis and defecating, this natural nutrient prize is how much fertilizer should be applied to that tomato plant. Too much fertilizer will grow algae in a watercourse and a sea downstream from your vegetable patch.
Dog faeces causing nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. | by Peter Miles | Medium
How to plant a tree.. Including the Dryland Planting… | by Peter Miles | Medium
Some tips:
Don’t be too ambitious with the number of different types of vegetables until you are more familiar with the soil and weather conditions in your vegetable plot.
Be careful with seedlings before and after planting ensuring that they do not dry out.
Watering may need to be done daily during warm months and when seedlings are young. When plants are larger, ensure that enough water is applied to reach through the foliage and penetrate the soil.
Further mulching with straw will protect the soil from the impact of raindrops and irrigation water, and shade the soil from the sun, conserving soil moisture and keeping soil and surface roots cool.
When you start to grow more vegetables and enlarge your vegetable garden, practice crop rotation, growing the same variety of vegetables in different positions each year.
This mainly breaks root disease life cycles by not providing the same plant roots each year. It also varies the nutrient demand on the soil as varying crops have slightly different nutrient requirements.
I hope you enjoy growing your own vegetables. One last point, label the seedlings with the plant name and date planted, both easily forgotten, this will add to the enjoyment as you watch them grow.
References:
Dwight J. (1972) Gardening Handbook (2nded.) South Australian Housing Trust. Adelaide, South Australia: SA Housing Trust. Book.
Houbein, L. (2015). One Magic Square. Mile End, South Australia: Wakefield Press. Book.
