For people with limited time or who cannot garden easily due to disability, age, pain or other reasons, selecting easy-care vegetables can be a great option to ensure that you still get some fresh produce from the garden without having to do heavy gardening work. You may still need to get a family member, friend or neighbor to do some digging or garden prep work if you can't do that, but by selecting easy care vegetables, the rest of the growing process should be fairly straightforward.
Types of easy care vegetables[edit | edit source]
The following vegetables are suggested because they don't need a lot of fussing once planted and won't attract too many problems:
- Radishes
- Beetroot
- Spinach
- Green beans (you'll need a suitable support)
- Peas (you'll need a suitable support)
- Bok choi, Chinese cabbage and similar varieties (fast growing, great for stir-fries)
- Onions, shallots, spring onions, chives
- Lettuce
Vegetables to avoid[edit | edit source]
There are some vegetables that require more maintenance work to ensure that they grow well, are guarded against pests/diseases and are protected from the elements. You might wish to avoid these if you don't want the added work involved. For example, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, celery and kohlrabi can require more intensive effort to bring through to maturity.
Any vegetable that attracts a lot of pests will create more work in the garden. You can often get around this by making your vegetable space diverse rather than rigidly sticking to one or two crop types but this does require more planting and weeding and may not be a suitable option if you're after an easy-care vegetable patch. Ask helpers to pitch in, as they may be able to get it started for you, making the rest of the growing season much easier.
