At this time of the year, gardeners are susceptible to the lure of colourful, quirky veg catalogues. But hold fire! A little restraint is our friend. By focusing on reliability, yield and flavour over exotic looks, we are likely to have an easier and more successful year on the plot.
The following fruit and veg should produce hassle-free harvests. They may not look like the most exciting crops, but they will result in more food on your plate, having been tried and taste-tested for a high chance of success and good flavour. Their reliability and resistance to problems makes them easier to grow, and they’re also simple to harvest and prepare, so you’ll be left with more time to enjoy eating them.
Vine tomatoes
Vine tomatoes are a bit of hassle, but there’s a payoff. Side shoots need to be removed, forcing the plant to grow up to 2 metres tall with the support of a cane or 3mm twine tied to a polytunnel or greenhouse beam. They also require weekly watering and feeding with an organic tomato fertiliser. Your reward for this faff is that they pump out tons of toms all summer into autumn using little space. Try cherries ‘Golden Crown’ and ‘Apero’, salad ‘Tigerella’ and beefsteak ‘Brandy Boy’.
Sow in 9cm pots in spring on a sunny windowsill, lightly covered with a little compost, then plant out when all frost is finished.
Mangetout
Mangetout are as easy to grow as peas, and there’s no podding to do as they’re eaten whole. Picked before the seeds swell, they are much less prone to pea moth caterpillars burrowing into the seeds. ‘Snow Wind’ is a prolific, stringless cultivar.
Sow seeds 3cm deep in 9cm pots of compost on a windowsill, or in an unheated polytunnel or greenhouse, any time in spring, or directly into the ground when it begins to warm up. Plant 10cm apart in rows 60cm apart, adding 1m pea sticks every 20cm or so for climbing. Alternatively, use a bamboo wigwam spiralled with twine.
Courgettes
Courgettes are so productive in summer they’ve become a bit of a joke among gardeners, but they shouldn’t be sniffed at. Classic ‘Defender’ and yellow ‘Jemmer’ are excellent, and ‘Romanesco Latino’ is a dense, less watery courgette useful for grating or ribboning.
Sow in a greenhouse or polytunnel, or on a windowsill, 2cm deep in 9cm pots of peat‑free compost from May. Plant out when they have two or three adult leaves. Give plants 50cm of space all round, and add lots of peat-free compost into the soil. ‘Patio Star’ is small enough to grow in a 40cm pot.
Chard
Chard is a sub-species of beetroot cultivated for its edible leaves and stems. When sauteed, it’s a nutritious leafy side dish, and it’s also easy to grow. Sown in spring, plants usually produce leaves right into winter. While the magpies among us may be drawn to bright cultivars such as ‘Pink Flamingo’ and ‘Rhubarb Chard’, for flavour and texture the winner is ‘Fordhook Giant’. With succulent white stems and large leaves, it’s outstanding for meals.
Sow seeds 2cm deep in 9cm pots, or direct in the ground, spacing them 30cm apart in rows 30cm apart. Water the trench before sowing and covering the seeds to avoid washing them around.
Rhubarb
Rhubarb is so simple to grow you’ll never need to buy it again – it’s a tough plant-and-forget perennial. ‘Timperley Early’ is a classic, but I favour those that retain their red colour all summer. ‘Canada Red’ is a vigorous cultivar and ‘Raspberry Red’ has smaller but very sweet stems.
Buy rhubarb crowns in winter to early spring, or plants in pots during the growing season. Plant in sun to part-shade, with 50cm of space all round, incorporating some peat-free compost, or grow in a very large 50cm-plus pot.
Autumn raspberries
Sweet, tasty raspberries are easy fruit to grow. The secret is to concentrate on autumn-fruiting cultivars that crop for a couple of months from late summer. These are easier to care for than summer-fruiting types; simply cut down all stems in winter, leaving them to re-shoot and fruit. They don’t even need support. ‘Polka’ and ‘Joan J’ are both vigorous.
Buy bare-root raspberry canes in winter, or potted plants in spring and summer. Plant 45cm apart in rows 1.8 metres apart.
Winter squash
A gardener’s secret weapon. One of the easiest plants to grow, winter squash produces fruit packed with nutrition and volume for plenty of filling meals. They store through winter in a cool spot such as a hallway. Stripey ‘Sweet Dumpling’, olive green ‘Crown Prince’ and orange ‘Kabocha Sun Spot’ need no support as they trail on the ground.
Sow seeds 3cm deep in 1-litre pots of compost in a polytunnel or greenhouse, or on a windowsill, or from late May. Once they have two adult leaves, find a sunny spot and plant outside by digging a bucket-size hole filled with fresh compost and soil. Make sure they are 1 metre apart – they’re large plants.
Kale
It was a toss up between purple sprouting broccoli and kale for this entry, but kale wins for minimal hassle. Sown in spring, this hardy green veg will crop all the way through winter. While cavolo nero-type ‘Black Magic’ is tasty, ‘Red Russian’ has flat leaves less prone to whitefly and more easily washed than curly kales. It’s delicious too, and if left to flower, it can self seed for even easier kale.
Sow 1cm deep in pots of compost, or directly in the ground. Space plants 50cm apart in rows 60-70cm apart.
Beetroot
The main thing that makes beetroot so easy to grow is that it’s hardly ever touched by wildlife. Unlike other root crops, such as potatoes and carrots, which can be hollowed out by slugs or carrot fly, beetroot sits untouched, quietly growing until it’s ready to be picked and eaten.
Sow seeds directly in soil, in full sun, by making a 2cm deep trench and watering it before sprinkling the seeds every few centimetres and covering with soil. Watering first helps stop the light seeds washing to the surface, as with chard. Thin out weaker-looking plants to prevent overcrowding, aiming for one every 10cm.
French beans
French beans require hardly any prep, making them an easy pick-and-cook crop. Choose the right cultivars and they’re heavy-yielding for virtually no effort. I favour climbing cultivars such as ‘Cobra’ for huge quantities using barely a foot of space. However, if you would rather remove the need for supports, try bush cultivars ‘Boston’ and yellow-podded ‘Dior’.
Sow seeds 2-3cm deep in 9cm pots of compost from late May. Plant out, at 15cm intervals in rows 60cm apart, when they have two to four adult leaves and when all risk of frost is over.Dwarf French beans also grow well in large pots – you can put three plants in a 40cm pot.
