Top Twelve Easiest Vegetables to Grow from Seed
1. Beans: pole beans, bush beans, soy beans, lima beans, soup beans, runner beans… any beans. Two years ago, I accounted for every single bean I planted except for three. I finally found those three growing in the front yard – I believe an animal of some kind had carried it away from its original site and planted it there. Of the many, many beans I planted over the last 2 years, every one of them emerged and thrived.
2. Squash: You saw the squash seeding experiment above. I planted blue ballet squash in Geyserville in mid-August, and we harvested at least 25 squash before the frosts came in mid-November! Here in Seattle we planted quite late last year, plus the summer weather was unusually cold and wet and we didn’t quite give our squash enough space nor light… so we had a tougher time growing them. But I suspect that will change when all the cards aren’t stacked against squash growing this year! They still make my top-12 list because when they grow, they grow and grow and grow!
Once upon a time, there was a row in the middle of this photo…
and then it became filled with a deluge of squash:
3. Mesclun Lettuces/Mustard Greens: I’ve planted several mesclun mixes, arugula, red mustard greens, and bronze arrow lettuce. Most of them have done well, whether planted in situ or ex situ. Due to successional planting, we have had wonderful mixed green salads throughout the summer, fall, winter, and spring. (They need protection from high and low temperatures – see this post for more information).
