Easy Vegetables to Grow for the New Gardener

As more and more people shy away from store-bought produce in favor of organic products, home-grown vegetables are more popular than ever. Growing fresh produce at home is easier than you think. It's worth your green-thumb efforts because home grown-produce tastes better and is better for you when harvested without the use of harmful chemicals. Vegetables that are easy to grow for the new gardener, as well as colorful and delicious, include the following:

Succulent tomatoes

Tomatoes can be grown both in a garden and in pots on a balcony or a patio. All they need is plenty of sunlight, compost-rich soil and sufficient water. You can seed tomatoes yourself, but for the new gardener, it's much easier to buy seedlings from the nursery.

If you are going to plant the seedlings in the garden, plant them so that only the fourth branch from the top is showing. Set them with 12 to 18 inches of space between plants, and add some eggshells for calcium. To repel insects, spray each tomato plant with seaweed extract or compost tea.

Colorful bell peppers

Bell pepper seedlings need lots of room, at least 20 inches, if not more, between plants. They also need plenty of water. If you don't keep their roots wet, the peppers will taste bitter.

Adding mulch to bell pepper beds discourages weeds that rob the peppers of their moisture. Occasionally spray them with an organic insecticide to keep spider mites at bay. Bell peppers can be harvested when green. For sweeter yellow, orange and red produce, the peppers need to stay on the vine a little longer.

Nutritious green beans

Green beans are a popular vegetable. Plant the beans 20 inches apart after any chance of frost in your area has passed, and then watch them grow. They don't need much care, just some sunlight and water, and you can forget about them. When you plant in the spring, you can start picking in July and continue until September.

If you want to use bean poles, use structures that the plants can climb. Plant them with plenty of space to grow, give them a little water now and then and leave them alone.

Tasty carrots

Carrots like sun, so be sure to put the carrot seeds in a really sunny spot. Before planting, prepare the soil so that it's free of stones and other sharp objects. Developing carrots are fragile and can easily be damaged.

Water regularly, since the more water you give them, the sweeter and more succulent the carrots will be. Thin the seedlings by cutting their greens or gently pulling some of the roots. Carrots should be around four inches apart. To fight bugs, you can spray them with compost tea.

Among other easy vegetables to grow for the new gardener are radishes, lettuce and spinach. Just take a look at your local nursery. When you buy seedlings, the hard work is already done. With a little care, you can just watch your delicious, organic vegetables grow.