Start Your Spring Garden the Easy Way

So you want to have a beautiful and productive garden this spring, but you don't have a ton of space or time or gardening knowledge? Well, you're in luck because I'm about to show you easy plants you've got to grow this spring.

To qualify as an easy vegetable in my book, the plant can be direct sown in the garden and has to thrive with very little care and almost no supplemental nutrients. That means no expensive transplants from the gardening center or fussy care routines. Plus, every single plant has to deliver a decent-sized harvest, so you'll get more food with less work.

Sound good? Here are the 10 plants you cannot miss planting this spring.

Arugula

There is not an easier plant in the easy plant category than arugula. You can start harvesting just 20 to 25 days after planting. And let me tell you, the taste of homegrown arugula is about a thousand and one percent better than arugula from the grocery store.

HOW TO PLANT ARUGULA: Sow arugula seeds directly in your garden starting as soon as 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date. Plant using a seed spacing ruler to help you space seeds 1 to 3 inches apart, depending on how frequently you plan to harvest outer leaves. Press the seeds gently into the soil. Be careful to not bury these small seeds too deeply. Replant every couple of weeks for a continuous supply.

HOW TO TEND ARUGULA: Keep the soil moist until the seeds have germinated, and then water regularly once your plants are up and growing. For pest protection, keep your garden covered with mesh or spray arugula leaves with diluted garlic extract at first sign of pests. Add an organic source of nitrogen (like compost) when needed to boost leaf growth.  

HOW TO HARVEST ARUGULA: Cut the outer and lower arugula leaves when they reach 3 to 4 inches long. Arugula is a cut-and-come-again salad green, so your plants will continue to grow as long as you leave the center intact. Harvest weekly after 45 days.

Learn more about how to grow arugula.

Radishes

If you want to grow root crops this season, radishes are the one to start with. They're the fastest growing and the least fussy about their space. They grow nicely amongst all these other spring plants that take up more space in the garden, and they give you a harvest in just over one month's time.

Radishes are in the same plant family as arugula. So when those seeds first come up, you might think you have more arugula, but your plants will be forming the most nutritious root under the soil surface.

HOW TO PLANT RADISHES: Begin direct sowing radish seeds 6 to 8 weeks before your last expected frost date. Use a dibber to make holes that are ½ inch deep and spaced 1 inch apart. Place one seed in each hole. Use the flat side of the dibber to settle the seeds. Water in carefully. Don’t allow the soil to dry out before seeds have fully germinated. Successively plant new rows of radish seeds for a continuous harvest. 

HOW TO TEND RADISHES: Water regularly, about 1 inch per week. Add some organic compost around the base of each plant 2 weeks after planting. Keep the planting area free of weeds.

HOW TO HARVEST RADISHES: Roots are ready to harvest about 30 to 45 days after planting. Water the garden the night before harvest. Gently tug at the base of the greens and shake root free of dirt.

Learn more about how to grow radishes.

Cilantro

Cilantro grows really well from seed, and the seeds are fairly large and easy to place. Cilantro will grow a bit taller than your small leafy greens, and it's great to grow right alongside your greens, radishes, and onions.

Once cilantro bolts, its flowers will welcome all the bees and the butterflies to your garden space. If you leave the plants in your garden long enough, you'll be able to harvest coriander, a spice you can use in your kitchen. Or you can save the cilantro seeds for next spring.

HOW TO PLANT CILANTRO: Direct seed cilantro with 1 to 4 seeds per square foot, starting 1 to 2 weeks before your last frost date in spring. Bury seeds ½ inch deep. Keep soil moist until germination.

HOW TO TEND CILANTRO: Water regularly. Add an organic source of nitrogen or compost when needed to boost leaf growth. Prune damaged or discolored leaves.

HOW TO HARVEST CILANTRO: After 45 to 60 days, cut from the outermost branches and work your way in. Harvest frequently to encourage more leaf production. Cut the thick center stalk to delay bolting when the weather warms. Replant every 4 weeks for continuous harvests.

Learn more about how to grow cilantro.

Lettuce

You know those plastic boxes of salad that cost $7.99 at the grocery store? Well, with just one seed packet, you can easily replace those tasteless leaves with delicious, homegrown salad all spring long.

When you start with seeds, you have so many lettuce options to choose from. Some of my favorites are red leaf lettuce, black seeded Simpson, buttercrunch, and bibb lettuce. You can also grab a spring mix pack and grow lots of tasty varieties at once. You'll get a beautiful mix of greens for your salad bowl.

HOW TO PLANT LETTUCE: Direct sow lettuce seeds 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date. Use a seed spacing ruler to space your seeds 1 to 3 inches apart, or mix your lettuce seeds with coarse sand and sprinkle them over the garden area to disperse them. Press or rake the seeds into the soil so they have good soil contact. Water the planting area well. Continue sowing seeds until temps rise above 85°F.

HOW TO HARVEST LETTUCE: Water consistently. For pest protection, keep your lettuce covered with mesh or spray the leaves with diluted garlic extract at first sign of pests. Add an organic source of nitrogen (like compost) when needed to boost leaf growth.  

HOW TO TEND LETTUCE: Like arugula, lettuce is cut-and-come-again, so begin cutting the outer and lower leaves when they reach 3 to 4 inches long, leaving the center intact. Harvest weekly after 45 days, and remove the plants once they bolt (start to flower).

Sugar Snap Peas

Sugar snap peas are a super easy vegetable to grow in the spring. All you need is a small trellis to support these vines as they climb. You'll get tons of tasty, protein-rich pods, and your garden will get some extra nitrogen from the roots. Win-win! Honestly, the hardest part about growing peas is keeping the vines well picked so your plants keep producing.

HOW TO PLANT SUGAR SNAP PEAS: Sugar snaps can be planted by seed directly in the garden as soon as your soil is workable in the spring. Soak pea seeds for 10 to 12 hours before planting. Use a dibber to dig a trench that's not quite 1 inch deep alongside your trellis. Space seeds about 4 inches apart. Water thoroughly.

HOW TO TEND SUGAR SNAP PEAS: Water every other day for the first 2 weeks, and maintain at least 1 inch of water per week during the season. Prune plants regularly to prevent issues and promote fruit growth. Use gentle twine to tie the vines to the trellis as needed.

HOW TO HARVEST SUGAR SNAP PEAS: About 70 days after planting, begin harvesting the first pods as soon as they’re about 3 inches long. Pick pods weekly to encourage more production.

Learn more about how to grow sugar snap peas.

Spinach

Spinach is the ultimate in easy vegetable growing when the temperature is nice and cool. I recommend growing a ton of spinach now, when the weather is right, and taking double harvests. Enjoy half now, and freeze the other half for healthy summer smoothies.

HOW TO PLANT SPINACH: Direct sow spinach seeds 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost. Plant using a seed spacing ruler, placing one seed per hole and spacing seeds 1 to 3 inches apart, depending on how frequently you plan to harvest outer leaves. Use the spacer to press the seeds gently into the soil. Be careful to not bury too deeply. Water the planting area well. Continue sowing seeds until temps rise above 85°F.

HOW TO TEND SPINACH: Water consistently. For pest protection, keep spinach covered with mesh or spray affected leaves with diluted garlic extract at first sign of pests. Add an organic source of nitrogen (like compost) when needed to boost leaf growth.  

HOW TO HARVEST SPINACH: Cut the outer and lower leaves when they reach 3 to 4 inches long. Harvest weekly after 45 days, and remove the plants once they bolt (start to flower).

Learn more about how to grow spinach.

Parsley

Parsley is a little bit slower to start from seed than cilantro, but it's one you definitely want to plant this season. You'll get a large, beautiful plant from each little seed, and bonus: parsley lasts longer in the garden than cilantro and dill. In fact, parsley is what we call a biennial, meaning it wants to stay in the garden for two years before it goes to seed. Biennials tend to be super low-maintenance, and parsley is no exception.

HOW TO PLANT PARSLEY: Direct seed parsley with 1 to 4 seeds per square foot as soon as your soil can be worked in the spring. Bury seeds ¼ inch deep and keep soil moist.

HOW TO TEND PARSLEY: Water regularly. Add an organic source of nitrogen or compost when needed to boost leaf growth. Prune damaged or discolored leaves.

HOW TO HARVEST PARSLEY: After 45 to 60 days, cut from the outermost branches and work your way in. Harvest frequently to encourage more leaf production. Cut the thick center stalk to delay bolting when weather warms. 

Learn more about growing parsley.

Bunching Onions

I love having onions in the garden. They work so well with so many other plants space-wise; they also provide organic pest protection for your leafy greens.

The beautiful part about bunching onions, besides being such easy vegetables to grow, is that they'll give you loads of onion greens that you can toss on top of everything this spring—salads, baked potatoes, omelets, and more. And then if you wait a couple of months, you'll also get the onion bulb to harvest, as well.

HOW TO PLANT BUNCHING ONIONS: Begin direct sowing seeds 4 to 6 weeks before your last frost date. Use a dibber to make holes that are ¼ inch deep and spaced ½ inch apart. Place one seed in each hole and cover. Water in carefully. Don’t allow the soil to dry out before seeds have fully germinated.

HOW TO TEND BUNCHING ONIONS: Thin plants to 3 inches apart to allow for bulb growth. Water regulalry. Add organic potassium or phosphorus as side dressing to plants. 

HOW TO HARVEST PARSLEY: Harvest the greens by cutting plants about 1 inch above the soil surface; allow time to regrow. Bulbs are ready to harvest about 90 to 100 days after planting, when leaves are browning and falling over. Shake off dirt and then leave bulbs in a cool, dry place to cure before consuming. 

Learn more about growing onions.

Dill

Herbs like dill bring balance to the ecosystem of your garden. This wonderful herb welcomes in tons of pollinators and beneficial insects, while also repelling certain insects that might otherwise be drawn to your lettuce greens. You can grow dill in pretty much any space in the garden since it grows more tall than wide.

HOW TO PLANT DILL: Direct seed dill with 1 to 4 seeds per square foot about 2 weeks before your last frost date in the spring. Bury seeds ½ inch deep. Keep soil moist until germination.

HOW TO TEND DILL: Water regularly. Add an organic source of nitrogen or compost when needed to boost leaf growth. Prune damaged or discolored leaves.

HOW TO HARVEST DILL: After 45 to 60 days in the garden, cut from the outermost branches and work your way in. Harvest frequently to encourage more leaf production. Replant every 4 weeks for continuous harvests.

Learn more about how to grow dill.

Calendula

Calendula is really a flowering herb, not a vegetable, but I couldn't end this list of easy plants without throwing at least one flower in the mix. You'll definitely want to add some flowers to your garden while you've got all your leafy greens, peas, and radishes growing this spring season to attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and hoverflies. And calendula is the best bloom to grow when it's nice and cool.

I love calendula because the flowers are large and so productive. Plus, these plants grow so easily. It's truly magical how these seeds become overflowing plants on the edges of my raised beds.

HOW TO PLANT CALENDULA: Direct sow calendula seeds 2 to 4 weeks before your last anticipated frost in spring. Bury seeds ½ inch deep. Grow 1 to 2 plants per square foot.

HOW TO TEND CALENDULA: Water regularly. Add organic compost if needed to boost growth or phosphorus-rich fertilizer once blooms appear. Pinch faded flowers to encourage more blooms. 

HOW TO HARVEST CALENDULA: After 45 to 60 days, harvest blooms just after they’ve opened by cutting the stem below the flower head.  

Learn more about how to grow calendula.

How to Fit These Easy Vegetables into One Raised Bed

You can grow all 10 of these vegetables in one 4x4 raised bed. Here's how:

1. Place an obelisk trellis in the center of the bed. Sow pea seeds all around the outside of the trellis. The peas will grow up the center of the bed and save a ton of growing space around them.
2. Plant radishes in a circle around the peas in the middle. The delicate roots of the peas won't interfere with the radishes swelling underground at all.
3. Place parsley, dill, and/or cilantro every foot or so around your radishes. While these herbs will grow much taller than the radishes, they're slower to start. Your radishes will have plenty of time to sprout and do their thing before your herbs get nice and tall.
4. Add some bunching onions alongside the edge of your raised bed. I like to do one about every 6 to 8 inches around the entire perimeter to deter pests from entering the bed.
5. In between the bunching onions, plant lettuce, arugula, and spinach. You could alternate them, or do lettuce on one side, spinach on another, etc. If you promise to harvest the leaves often, you could even squeeze in several rows of each green.
6. Plant calendula in each corner of your raised bed. The flowers will eventually spill over the sides and look beautiful. They'll also do double-duty as far as pest control goes.

Just imagine this garden completely filled with all these easy plants. In a few weeks, you'll be able to step outside and harvest lettuce leaves, pull a couple of radishes, cut some cilantro, and even pick a few edible pea shoots to make yourself the most delicious spring garden salad ever.

Time to Plant for Spring!

These plants are super easy to grow, but if you want to grow them the Gardenary way (all 10 in one raised bed), pay special attention to your setup. You need a raised bed, great garden soil, and at least one trellis.

If you're anything like me, you didn't grow up gardening, and so it can feel overwhelming at the beginning of each season. But the trick is picking easy plants like these. Don't wait until you've got everything figured out to start planting. These easy plants will set you up for spring gardening success.

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