Basic Vegetables to grow

by | Apr 20, 2013

There are easy vegetables out there that can supplement most people’s diet very happily with little effort.
My favorites for this coastal location:
1.chard
2. Kale
3. Zucchini
4. Cherry tomatoes
5. Lettuce
6. Peas
I really think the large trough planters are quite easy to irrigate and protect from predators. They are deep and can accommodate the roots of larger plants. They look lovely with mixed plants spilling over the sides. I like to have some French Thyme plants, chard, chives and kale in one. maybe pumpkins, winter squash or zucchini with nastursiums in another planter. If you are a big salad eater, one with rotating plantings of lettuce works. my good friend Jann, uses an old piece of fiberglass bent over and tucked in the edges, to create a greenhouse, in an old bathtub. Irrigation can be quite simple for these, just a drip line and some sprayers. The troughs I use are old ones that leak and I put them on the dirt, but they do leave a rust mark if you leave them on decks .

I love perennial plants, that keep working for me year after year. Asparagus, rhubarb, artichokes, arugula, thyme, chives, oregano, tarragon, sage. If you like growing simple plants and want to branch out, plant broccoli, cauliflower, beans( I love bush beans), onions, garlic, spinach, strawberries. Plant some fruit trees. A lemon in a windless, south facing spot, in good rich soil will do well here. I love apples, pears, plums, prunes all these trees can live in our coastal climate.