Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Easy Vegetables To Grow In Your Garden

Have you wanted to grow fresh veggies in your garden, but thought it would be too much work?
I can't tell you growing veggies is super easy, but there are veggies that are easier to grow than others.

First off, I live in the Charlotte North Carolina with HOT summers, so that affects what can be grown when. Your weather and soil are probably going to be a lot different. The best place to  find out what grows well is your local Farmer's Market and ask your neighbors who grow veggies. 

We've been harvesting lettuce and snap peas since mid April and now we have  a whole variety of veggies including carrots and potatoes. Will share some secrets I've learned about growing lettuce another time.

I found this vintage scale on Ebay a month or so ago and couldn't live without it.

Isn't she purdy?

Yukon Gold potatoes are yummy and pretty easy to grow. Both carrots and potatoes need to be planted early here in the South. I planted these back in February. Some of you who don't have such a hot summer can grow potatoes all the way until fall. I'm so jealous. Harvesting potatoes is as fun as going on an Easter Egg hunt, except your hands get dirty.

I would love to know what ya'll call these squash. My mom always called them summer squash, but then again, zucchini is a summer squash too.


So far zucchini and the saucer squash have been easy to grow and very prolific. Squashes like hot weather so they are definitely made for the South and summer!


Butternut squash is Mr. Fanatic's favorite!


Cucumbers are in the Curcubit family; squash, watermelon, cantaloupe and pumpkins are all members of the same family. Maybe next year I  can find some space for a watermelon.


Broccoli hasn't been so easy. I started off growing broccoli from seed, but something ate them once they sprouted. This should have warned me, but I still went out and bought a bunch of plants  from Lowe's. They took forever to grow, then the weather got very warm in May and I didn't think any of them were going to grow heads. Broccoli likes cool weather, so all y'all who have cooler summers could probably grow broccoli better than I can. After the warm weather, the cute little white butterflies came and laid eggs all over my broccoli and caterpillars hatched an ate a million holes in the leaves. Now that June is here along with the warm weather, the broccoli heads are going to flower.



We've harvested a few large heads of broccoli, but I think I'll try again in the fall when the weather is cooler. 
In the meantime, we have plenty of carrots, squash, cucumbers and lettuce to keep us happy.
Tomorrow I will be picking our first  ripe tomato...that is if our neighborhood possum doesn't get it tonight!

Would love to know what your favorite veggies are to grow.

Pam


PS: If you haven't entered the Cutting Edge Stencil Giveaway...you can enter HERE.

11 comments:

  1. WOW, how nice Pam! You have some good looking crops there. Cute scale too!

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  2. That is so nice, when you get a chance come take a look at my garden..Thank you for sharing.

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  3. Your little squash are known to me as Patty-pan squash. I'm in Illinois, and I just picked my first 2 sweet peppers and 3 cukes. Tomatoes won't be ripe here 'til 4th of July.
    I grow cukes, tomatoes, sweet peppers, zucchini, buttercup squash, 2 kinds of beets, 2 kinds of carrots, and several gourds for Fall decoration. I grow in raised beds, like you, and also Earthboxes, which are fabulous!!
    Your veges look great, & are the perfect vignette on your cute little scale. :-)

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  4. Oh my, you have me a bit jealous. It has been so hot way down south and our veggies sure suffered from it. Our heat index is so much higher than most places, so hopefully Fall will be better. Your vegetables are beautiful! Homegrown beauty indeed.

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  5. I haven't grown any veges in a long time except a potted tomato plant for hubby! I love seeing the big vines of pumpkins and eggplant! I love a fresh carrot out of the ground- its amazing how good they taste! Corn is amazing too but needs a lot of space to grow!
    Looks like you are enjoying a good crop of veges!

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  6. What a beautiful harvest from your garden...and i love the pretty squash....You certainly have a green thumb!
    Enjoy the bounty of your hard work...nothing is better than homegrown!

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  7. Pretty! lovely harvest! This is indeed a wonderful page.

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  8. Your carrots are so straight and carrot looking I am impressed. I grew some last fall and they all came out looking like Quasimodo!Your harvest looks lovely. I under planted my tomatoes with lettuce and leafy greens. Hopefully the shade will allow them to grow a little longer before they bolt.

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  9. Look at you with all those wonderful fresh veggies! I am so jealous of you! I would love nothing more than to be able to dig through wonderful "dirt" to look for those potatoes. Not so jealous of the continuous fight against bugs and critters that want to eat up everything though. LOL! Your hard work is paying off. What a beautiful and bountiful harvest!

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  10. Your veggies are so pretty! Growing up my parents always grew tomatoes. They're my fave!

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  11. Just getting around to reading the blogs in my reader, but your "saucer" squash are called pattypan squash woohoo thank you Farmville for teaching me something lol

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