11 Easy to Grow Vegetable Seeds You Can Direct Sow Now and Enjoy an Organic Harvest this Summer

Photo by Jeremy Bronson

If you never got around to starting any seedlings this spring and now you’re fretting about the expense of buying vegetable plants at the garden center, fear not! Many vegetable seeds can be sown directly in the dirt, where they’ll happy germinate and provide you with a nice harvest. Here’s a list of easy-to-grow vegetables (most of which prefer full sun) that you can plant from seed now:

• Beans – pole beans and bush beans are easy to grow, and if you harvest them regularly they’ll keep producing.
• Beets – grow in loose, moist soil.
• Corn – easy to grow if you have a large garden plot; corn needs lots of space.
• Cucumbers – bush or vining varieties are both easy to grow, and give them plenty of water so they don’t get bitter.
• Lettuce – plant now! Lettuce prefers cooler temps. If you sow some seeds every week or two, you’ll have a constant supply of fresh lettuce.
• Melons – grow well in hot, dry weather but like lots of water. To avoid crossbreeding, plant melons away from pumpkins, cucumbers and squash.
• Onions – less expensive than buying onion sets, be sure to buy onion seeds suited for your climate and amount of sun. Onions store well, making them and especially economical crop.
• Peas – plant now! Peas prefer cooler temps. If it’s already hot in your area, try planting peas in the fall.
• Radishes – like to be grown in moister soil.
• Spinach – especially easy to grow. Plant in full sun or part shade.
• Squash – zucchini is an easy, prolific plant for beginners to grow, especially if you have lots of friends who like zucchini!

If the danger of frost has passed in your area, prepare your garden bed and amend the soil if needed. Plant the seeds on a calm day at the depth specified by the grower and top gently with a layer of fine soil.

Need a great source for your seeds? These are some of my favorite companies, and they all offer non-hybrid, heirloom varieties:

• Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
• Fedco Seeds
• Heirloom Seeds
• Johnny’s Selected Seeds
• Seed Savers Exchange
• Seeds of Change
• The Tasteful Garden
• Territorial Seed Company

Happy planting, and I’d love to hear what you’ve got growing in your gardens right now!

About Eliza Cross

Eliza Cross is a full-time writer and the author of five books about home design and food. She has been blogging about simplicity and sustainable living since 2006.

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