Beginning Gardeners

[digitS']

Jung Seed Co says, "For the beginning gardeners items like beans, beets, radishes, squash and zucchini can be directly seeded in the garden and are relatively easy to grow."

What do you say? What is easy to grow?

Why couldn't sweet corn be added for most gardeners? It requires a fertile soil and proper spacing so that it doesn't fall over ... weeelll, I can imagine that it would be difficult for some folks to have enough space and to water. I had problems with irrigation in 2020. I don't remember ever having such a bad corn year > still had some. The problem was location on the windward side of the sprinklers and just too far from them.

Steve
interesting that Jung calls them "items." you'd think that seed companies are focused a little too strongly on sales .

 

[Artichoke Lover]

I’d say it depends on your climate. Lettuce is easy to grow. Beans, radishes, squash, peppers are easy if you buy transplants. Most herbs are easy. Okra is easy if you live somewhere warm.


Corn I would say is a little harder since it can blow over, takes space and has to be block planted. I can’t tell you how many new gardeners I’ve seen plant 1 long row of corn and are disappointed when they end up with bare ears.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I can't grow beets to save my life. No matter where I live. I tried a couple or three rows of corn about 10 years ago. Couldn't keep it alive. Too hot where I was.

 

[ducks4you]

Nothing is really easy or really Hard to grow, IMHO.
Beets and radishes probably are. If you start your corn in clay soil it will probably fail bc it is a heavy feeder.
If your neighbors have squash bugs and squash vine borers, the new gardener will wake up one morning to failing squash and tears and their squash crop is decimated.
I REALLY need to start a survey about favorite/least favorite garden chores.
MY least favorites are planting/harvesting.
My favorite is ironically...weeding.

 

[baymule]

For me, fescue grows beautifully in the garden. The fact that I want it to keep itself in the pasture doesn’t faze it one bit.

Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, purple hull peas, green beans, beets, radishes, English peas, mustard greens and turnip greens all grow well. Squash is a coin toss. It either pounds me with tons of squash or squash bugs kill all the vines and I get practically nothing.

 

[ninnymary]

I don't know about beans planted directly in the ground. When I do that something eats them as soon as they sprout! So I have to start them in grow lights which is a pain.

Mary

 

[Zeedman]

interesting that Jung calls them "items." you'd think that seed companies are focused a little too strongly on sales .

Which sums up the focus of that whole corporate conglomerate more tactfully than I would have.

To a large extent, the ease - or difficulty - of growing a particular vegetable may be influenced by climate and/or geography. West of the U.S. Rockies, squash of any kind can be easy - especially summer squash. In the East & Midwest (where SVB is common) squash can be very frustrating. Cool-weather crops might be easy in the Maritime climate of the U.K. or the U.S. West Coast, but very frustrating in the hot summers of the Midwest.

Vegetables I would recommend for a first gardener to direct seed:
Bush beans (short DTM & more forgiving of close spacing)
Chard (highly productive & grows well in almost any climate)
Cucumbers
Leaf lettuce
Salad radishes
Butternut squash (seldom killed by SVB)
Cherry tomatoes (high yield, less spoilage & blossom end rot)
Hot peppers (not as temperamental as bells)
and onions, from sets sold locally

 

[ducks4you]

I don't know about beans planted directly in the ground. When I do that something eats them as soon as they sprout! So I have to start them in grow lights which is a pain.

Mary

Have you tried planting garlic next to your beans?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Jung Seed Co says, "For the beginning gardeners items like beans, beets, radishes, squash and zucchini can be directly seeded in the garden and are relatively easy to grow."

What does a beginning gardener's garden look like? What is the climate? What time of the year? You can always come up with qualifications but Jung is a national seed company. Instead of thinking locally as to what does best for you what veggies will probably do best nationally?

Since beginning gardeners are beginning you have to assume they have no expertise. Relatively easy precludes starting seeds indoors and transplanting later so direct seeding only. No transplants or sets, that's Jung's qualification. Jung is selling seeds so they are not going to tell you to go to your garden center and purchase transplants.

With those qualifications and assuming they are planted the right time of the year for that area, I'll give my opinion on their list.

Beans were grown by the Iroquois and in the deserts of the southwest, so certainly national in scope. Beans are relatively hardy, pests and diseases can damage them but probably aren't going to wipe them out. Bush beans are easier to grow than climbing beans. Probably not a horrible choice but to me the drawback is how many do you need to grow to get a meal. If space is limited, and it often is for beginners, beans are probably not the most efficient use of the growing area. Think container gardening.

Beet seeds are relatively easy to sprout and the seeds are big enough to handle, unlike some things like carrots. You can eat the greens as well as the beetroot. Sometimes they make a lot of greens, sometimes not. Sometimes they bulb up nicely, sometimes not. I haven't had a serious pest or disease issue with beets though some things can eat holes in the greens. Relatively easy to grow, yeah, but not always a good harvest of either greens or roots.
Radishes are probably the easiest to get a harvest. They are fast, few pests or diseases, and usually produce fairly well. Sometimes they don't bulb up but I think that's because there is too much nitrogen so they just grow greens.

Summer squash and zucchini go together. Easy to grow but they take room. Depending in where you live squash vine borer or squash bugs can kill them. If you can avoid those two pests they will produce enough to supply the neighborhood. I'd include them on the list because of the potential but if either of those pests find them they can break your heart.

Winter squash can have the same issues but you also need a lot of room the way they run. Many beginners would not have an appreciation of that.

So what do I think of their list? Not great but not horrible. I have trouble coming up with my own. Nationwide is my biggest problem. I assume you will sow the seeds at the right time of the year. To me lettuce has to make the list. I direct seed chard, kale, mustard green, and collards which I think can do OK most places but I'm not sure about direct seeding up north. I'd add cucumbers, those are pretty widespread though they can climb. I'd have to think on turnips.

I'm leaving some stuff off because of the room issue and the nationwide issue. Did Jung put as much thought into their list as I did or look at those restrictions? Maybe not. But with my qualifications I have trouble coming up with a list that that I'd recommend for Baymule, Steve, and Zeedman that they could all direct seed.

 

[ninnymary]

Have you tried planting garlic next to your beans?

No I haven't. I think it's birds eating my newly sprouted beans. Not sure if the garlic would deter them.

Mary