Easy Veg

Well, the peas, lettuce, broad beans, and arugula are either in the ground or going in soon. Should I stop there? Truth is, I don't have a lot of time for my edible garden this spring AND I'm moving in the summer. So what can I plant that is going to be a) easy to grow and b) quick to mature? There are a lot of 'Easy Top Ten' veg lists around and some of them are a bit fanciful. Tomatoes? Yes, easy, if you have lots of sun. Zucchini? You need room. Carrots? You must have friable soil and protection from carrot root fly. So what can even the most time-constrained gardeners manage in the Pacific Northwest?

#1 on my list is arugula. It's tasty, it grows super-fast from seed (I've seen it germinate in 4 days), and tastes fantastic--peppery--and most pests seem to leave it alone.

#2 Probably other salad greens, though they do need cool weather and the slugs tend to like them. I love the Asian veg, too, like those from West Coast Seeds--mizuna, gai lan, mustards.

#3 Peas. They often get mildew up here, but only after the peas have ripened. I've grown them in containers outside the front door so the kids can just pick them as they pass by.

#4 Kale (see below, the 2009 spring crop). Grows through the winter and is my new favorite veg. I stir fry it with ginger and a bit of soy sauce.



#5 Swiss chard. Tasty, easy, and pretty, too!

#6 Fava beans, also known as broad beans. Stick the big old seeds in the ground in later winter and sit back. Two caveats: they do get aphids (see photo)--blast off these pests with water from the hose. And they are a bit of work to prepare. You have to boil, shell, then use them (the beans, not the aphids). But so yummy!



#7 Herbs. This really could be #1 because nothing is easier than perennial herbs: oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme. Annuals herbs can sometimes be a bit trickier--like tomatoes, basil just sulks until it gets hot--but coriander, parsley (it often comes back the next year), and lovage are pest- and trouble-free.

#8 Beans, especially scarlet runner beans. These aren't grown as often in North America as in England, but they are pretty popular here in the Northwest. Striking, and fun for children. The beans are big and meaty.

#9 Radishes. A good crop for 'intercropping' between rows of other plants; they can be ready for harvest in less than a month. Try eating the leaves as well as the root. Spicy!

I think I'll stop at 9, in order to feel that I'm being perfectly honest. Unless there's something I've forgotten?