10 Easiest Vegetables to Grow From Seed for Beginners

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Grow a tasty vegetable garden this year! Here are the 10 easiest vegetable crops to start from seed instead of transplants.

Why start from seeds vs. buying plants? Three obvious reasons:

1. Seeds are much cheaper.

2. Seeds offer more variety than plant store selections.

3. Starting from seed gives healthier start than store plants transplanted multiple times.

10 Easiest Veggies to Start From Seeds

Not a complete list, but common easy-to-start vegetables:

1. Beans

Thrive in warm, moist soil. Bush beans need no support. Pole beans climb poles, strings, trellises, or tepees.

See How to Grow Green Beans

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2. Beets

Roots develop quickly/uniformly in loose soil—remove clumps/stones before planting. For small beets, double seeds per row; crowding yields small roots. Mix red, yellow, white beet seeds for flavor/color variety. Buy mixed packets or blend your own.

See How to Grow Beets

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3. Carrots

Beginners often get short, deformed carrots. Provide well-drained, soft soil—mix in sand, really loosen. ESSENTIAL: THIN seedlings to proper spacing so they're not overcrowded. Be bold! Thin for proper carrot formation.

See How to Grow Carrots

4. Cucumbers

Prepare ahead: amend soil with high nitrogen/potassium fertilizer for large yields. Plant in sun next to fence for climbing support and shelter. Or near corn—corn traps heat cucumbers crave and acts as windbreak.

See How to Grow Cucumbers

5. Kale

Super-nutritious kale is an easy cabbage-family member. Set out plants early spring to early summer; grows until too hot. Plant again in fall, especially in south. Kale sweetens in cold weather. Try baked, stir-fried, steamed. Enjoy in salads, smoothies, omelets, casseroles, or anywhere you'd use spinach.

See How to Grow Kale

6. Lettuce

One of few vegetables fine in some shade; in extreme heat, prefers shady respite. Growth slows in shade; slower to bolt. For full romaine/head lettuce heads, thin to 8–10 inches between plants. Save thinned delicate leaves for salads.

How to Grow Lettuce

7. Peas

Plant as soon as soil workable—2 weeks before average last spring frost if possible. For continuous summer supply, simultaneously sow varieties with different maturity dates. Sow more seeds ~2 weeks later. Continue pattern, no later than mid-June.

How to Grow Peas

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8. Pumpkins

Easy and fun. Need warm, compost-rich soil (greedy eaters). Water often (thirsty). Plant seeds on mound, give 3-foot diameter for vines to sprawl.

How to Grow Pumpkins

9. Radishes

Natural carrot companions. Mix radish seeds with carrot seeds before sowing, especially if soil develops tough crust. Radish sprouts break up soil for later carrots. As you harvest radishes, carrots fill the row.

How to Grow Radishes

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10. Squashes (Summer and Winter)

Like pumpkins, squash/zucchini like well-composted soil, need space (3–6 feet), warm soil, lots of sun. Water at soil level, not leaves, to avoid powdery mildew. Soon you'll have so many zucchinis you'll leave them on doorsteps!

How to Grow Squash and Zucchini

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Now that you know easiest seeds, see our Tips to Starting Seeds Indoors.