5 Easy-to-grow at home Veggies
Do you know that Gardening is one of the distraction techniques to reduce stress? The process of growing plants helps you to interact with nature and beneficial for your mental well-being too. A written survey instrument was developed in 2001 to collect information from home gardeners on the types of plants they grew, their purchasing habits, the types of gardening activities in which they participated and enjoyed, and their perceptions of how important various aspects of gardening were to them. Respondents rated the statements “Home gardens provide a reduction in feelings of stress” and “Home gardens provide interaction with nature” as very important.
https://www.actahort.org/books/639/639_35.htm
From sowing seeds to harvesting, is such a wonderful experience which gives you an indescribable joy and ecstasy. You can feel, the process of growing plants as growing your own kids. Like from crawling to childhood and then becoming adults, similarly from seed germination to bud sprouting and then flower blooming and giving fruits. When you see little plants emerging from soil and dancing and wavering with breeze and smell the fragrance of mud and flowers, all your stress and tensions are vanished. Having a spot for gardening or some pots for planting at home is a bliss.
You want to start gardening and grow something beneficial but having difficulty what to grow? Here is the solution for your problem. Take a start with growing some veggies. Vegetables have many benefits. From being healthy and full of vitamins, minerals and fibers to reduce stress and also can be used to impress your guests with some fresh soups, salads, teas and many other dishes. Last but not the least you can enjoy greenery in your free time by sitting near the window with a cup of coffee. Here is the list of 5 affordable, easy to grow and delicious vegetables with all the information and details you need to know.
Mint
Mint is very fast, vigorous and easy to grow perennial herb. It has pungent smell so you can easily differentiate it just by rubbing its leaves or stem between your fingers. It has many varieties like 0peppermint, spearmint, apple or pineapple mint etc. so it has many benefits too. It is used for making mint lemonade, mint tea, mint fruit mold and for mint taste in sauce, salads and yogurt. Relieves stress, headache and add aromatic flavors to food.
Vegetable: Mint
Best season for crop: Spring or anytime
Cost: Small plant cuttings ($ 0)
Total time required (from planting to harvesting): 15–30 days
Planting, care and harvesting
It thrives in moist, well-drained and partial shade areas. It grows easily by planting “small plants” in form of cuttings about 2 feet apart in moist soil. It grows rapidly if planted in garden and easily cover large areas. A good tip is to plant it in 10-inch pot with drainage holes or in garden near tomatoes or cabbage to prevent it from spreading and stealing nutrients from your crops. Minimal care is needed. It grows well in light mulch and moist soil so well-watering is required. Frequent harvesting is key to keep it in its best form. Harvest before flowering. Cut the stems 1 inch from the ground.
Pests and diseases
Rust, Leaf spot, Powdery Mildews and Stem Canker etc.
Radish
Radish is one of the most favorite salad and home-grown veggies. It’s very easy to grow and can be planted multiple times. It is rich in antioxidants and minerals like calcium, phosphorous, Vit.C and Vit.B6. used in making delicious soups, creams and salads.
Vegetable: Radish
Best season for crop: Spring and Fall
Cost of seeds per packet: $ 3.95
No. of seeds per pack: 250–500
Total time required (from planting to harvesting): 3 weeks
Planting, care and harvesting
Select a sunny spot in your garden. Soil should be loose, well-drained and rich in organic but not compact with compost. Directly sow seeds outdoor ½ to 1 inch deep and 1 inch apart in rows 12 inches apart. Thin them to about 2 inches apart when plants are one week old. Don’t crowd the plants or waterlogged the soil. Even and consistent moisture is required which is achieved by drip irrigation system and tin layer of mulch. Radish will be ready to harvest after about three weeks. Test before harvesting the whole crop by pulling one radish from soil. For some varieties, radishes are ready are harvest when root is approximately 1 inch diameter at soil surface.
Pests and diseases
Cabbage root maggot, Clubroot and Weeds etc.
Broccoli
Broccoli and cauliflower are the only vegetables that are flowers. Most people on diet have broccoli in their diet meal. You can eat broccoli both raw and cooked. It’s a cold-season crop but need some warm soil to germinate. Broccoli is rich in many vitamins like A, C and K , minerals like potassium, folic acid and iron and fibers. It is used in making chicken and broccoli alfredo, broccoli-noodle casserole and are also used in soups and starters.
Vegetable: Broccoli
Best season for crop: Spring and Fall
Cost of seeds per packet: $ 3.95
No. of seeds per pack: 100
Total time required (from planting to harvesting):
From seeds 100–150 days
From transplants 55–80 days
Planting, care and harvesting
For outdoors, sow seeds ½ inch deep and 3 inches apart. Once seedling reach 2–3 inches height, thin them so that plants are 12–20 inches apart.
For indoor seeds, when the germinated plants are 4–6 weeks old transplant them in the ground, 12–20 inches apart.
Keep them moist by watering and using mulch. Low-nitrogen fertilizer is used after three weeks of transplanting seedlings. When broccoli is ready, harvest them in morning when buds of the head are firm and tight before petals start turning yellow. Cut heads from plants in a slanting angle taking at least 6 inches of stem.
Pests and diseases
Cabbage root maggots, Aphids, Cabbage loopers and worms, Whiteflies, Clubroot, White rust and Downy Mildew etc.
Tomatoes
In 19th century tomato was called as “The Apple of Love” in France. The fruits are commonly eaten raw in salads, served as cooked vegetable and enjoyed as an ingredient for many dishes like tomato tart, sweet cherry tomatoes and beat crostini and tomato herb bread and salads. And how can we forget kids favorite tomato ketchup. They are rich in Vit. C, A and iron. Also, they are a source of Lycopene and antioxidants and are effective against certain cancer and beneficial for heart. There are at least 10,000 varieties of tomatoes, from small cherry ones to Ponderosa, which can weigh over three pounds.
Vegetable: Tomato
Best season for crop: Late Spring and Early Summer
Cost of seeds per packet: $ 4.25
No. of seeds per pack: 20
Total time required (from planting to harvesting):60–85 days
Planting, care and harvesting
Tomatoes are warm-season crop and because of long growing season requirements for seeds, small plants like “starter plants” are good choice to plant. Good starter plants are short and stocky with dark green color and straight, sturdy stems about size of a pencil or thicker.
Choose a site with full sunlight. Dig soil to about 1 foot deep and mix in aged manure and/or compost. Give it two weeks to break down before planting. For seeds, 55–70^ Fahrenheit temperature of soil is required to germinate. Sow seeds ½ inch deep in small trays indoors. Harden off your own seedlings for a week before transplanting them in the ground. Set them outdoors in the shade for a few hours on the first day. Gradually increase this time each day to include some direct sunlight.
Now comes a major part of planting tomatoes. Transplant your seedlings or starter plants in the warm soil. Water them after transplanting. Put stakes or cages in the soil to develop fruits off the ground and plants to stay upright. Add handful of organic fertilizer or bone meal (a good source of phosphorus). Do not apply high nitrogen fertilizer. Pinch off a few of the lower leaves, to place each root deep enough in the soil. Plant seedlings 2–3 feet apart to avoid crowding. When using pots or containers, plant one tomato plant per pot in loose, well-draining and organic rich soil. Provide sufficient heat and moist for well-growing plants.
When fruit is firm and red in color harvest them, regardless of their sizes. If temperature starts to drop and your tomatoes are not ripened, then:
1. Pull up the entire plant, remove the entire dirt and hang it upside down in basement or garage.
2. Wrap mature green tomatoes in newspaper and place them in some box. Keeping them in warm place will speed up their ripening process.
Pests and diseases
Aphids, Whiteflies, Tomato Cutworm, Tomato Hornworm, Blights and Powdery Mildew etc.
Lettuce (Leafy/Iceberg)
Lettuce is a member of the sunflower family. Lettuce is the second most popular fresh vegetable in the US behind potatoes. The lettuce we see today actually started out as a weed around the Mediterranean basin. Lettuce is rich in fibers and Vit.A. It is a popular vegetable for salads. Iceberg lettuce got its name from the way it was shipped in old train carriages. Ice was piled on the cartons of lettuce to keep it cold. As the trains bearing the lettuce came through towns, people would call out with excitement, “The icebergs are coming, the icebergs are coming!”
Vegetable: Lettuce
Best season for crop: Spring and Fall
Cost of seeds per packet: $ 5.25
No. of seeds per pack: 500
Total time required (from planting to harvesting):
Leafy lettuce 30 days
Other types 6–8 weeks
Planting, care and harvesting
Lettuce is also a cold-season crop. Seeds of lettuce can germinate in cold but slightly warm 13–18-degree Celsius is best temperature. Seedlings emerge in 7–10 days typically. Choose a sunny spot. Soil should be fertile, compost, loose and well-drained. Sow seeds 1/8 to ¼ inches deep. Thin the seedlings when they have 3–4 true leaves. Transplants should have 4–6 mature leaves and a well-developed root before planting into the garden. Leave 12–15 inches space between each planting row. For,
Loose-leaf lettuce: plant or thin to 4 inches apart.
Iceberg lettuce: plant or thin to 16 inches apart.
Water thoroughly at time of planting and fertilize after three weeks of transplanting. Keep soil moist, rich in organic by using organic mulch or organic alfalfa meal. Lettuce should be harvested before reaching maturity. Leaves taste better when they are still young and tender.
Pests and diseases
Aphids, Whiteflies, Cutworms, Lettuce mosaic virus and White Molds etc.
