5 Easy to Grow at Home Foods
Salad Greens
Lettuce, spinach, and assorted greens are incredibly easy to grow, take up little space, and can be used almost immediately. Because they require less sunlight than many other veggies, they can be tucked under larger plants, or used as space-filler in your flower garden.
When to plant:
Pretty well anytime! Lettuce can be planted anywhere from about six weeks before your last expected frost (late winter/early spring) to two months before the first expected frost (late fall). Because most types take only a few days to sprout, you have plenty of time during the year to grow and use salad greens.
How to plant:
Salad greens are incredibly forgiving, and can grow in numerous conditions. Ideally, however, they will be planted in loose soil, about a quarter of an inch deep and an inch or so apart.
Care:
Greens largely look after themselves, but do water them often and try to avoid placing them where they will be in direct sunlight for long periods of time.
Strawberries
Fruit plants can be a bit difficult to grow if you don't have tons of space and sunlight to offer them, but strawberries are a tasty exception. While they do need some sun, they don't demand near as much as other fruits do, and can be grown in a pot, and even indoors if you have a sunny window sill to place it on.
When to plant:
If planting outdoors, early spring, as soon as the ground is thaw is ideal. Indoors, they can be planted anytime, as long as they can be placed in a sunny spot or offered artificial sunlight.
How to plant:
Trim any older or wilted leaves and flowers, then plant just deep enough that the roots are covered.
Care:
For the first couple of weeks, water daily or every second day. Once the plant has firmly taken root, water when the top inch of soil is dry. Prune often.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a hit for apartment dwellers and homeowners alike, thanks to their diversity and ease of growth. If you have limited space, smaller varieties in hanging baskets or windowsill pots are best. If you have an outdoor garden and can invest in (or build) cages and stakes, your options are almost unlimited!
When to plant:
For indoor plants, as soon as you're getting enough sun on your balcony or windowsill to offer the plant a few hours of sunlight per day. Outdoor plants can go in as soon as the soil is thaw.
How to plant:
For beginners, buying a pre-started hanging basket or potted plant is ideal. If transplanting to a garden, allow a foot around the plant in every direction, and enclose in a cage or insert a stake near the plant to allow it support as it grows.
Care:
Tomatoes are very easy to care for, which makes them great for new gardeners. A few hours of sun each day and water enough to keep the soil moist (though, some swear that watering less often improves taste, so if you forget now and then, all is still well!).
Green onions
Green onions are so easy to grow, this entry needs almost no instruction. Have some green onions in your crisper right now? Take those bulbs/ends, plant them in a couple of inches of soil, water, and wait. In a week or so, you will see your onion plant come to life. They do best when exposed to a little sun each day, but you could completely ignore them and likely still have onions to show for it.
Radishes
Radishes are a healthy, easy to grow vegetable that add colour and crunch to salads, can be cooked into almost any meal, or eaten raw.
When to plant:
Radish plants do best if planted 4-6 weeks before the final frost.
How to plant:
Plant seeds about an inch deep into loose, moist soil, about one inch apart. Because they do not take long to grow to harvest, plant a few seeds every 2 weeks for a consistent harvest.
Care:
Keep soil moist but not waterlogged, and expose to several hours of sun per day.
