My Top 5 Challenging Veggies for Beginning Gardeners to Grow
So you plan to plant your first garden in 2021...as you're flipping through seed catalogs you are marking everything you want to order and to try. Seed catalog season is the BEST!
I will preface this list by saying I'm NOT one to discourage anyone from planting exactly what they want in their garden. I fully understand the excitement and the glee at growing your own food for the first time! I'm here to cheer you on in any way I can. This list isn't meant to discourage you, rather, to help you make an educated decision when planning your first veggie garden.
1. Sweet Corn
I am someone who will never NOT grow sweet corn. It is one of my favorites and always will be. The challenge with sweet corn is raccoons. They wait until literally the day before you intend to pick your corn and they literally rip the stalk right down. One raccoon can take out 20 stalks in one night. Squirrels even can take down sweet corn ears and stalks. They don't cause quite as much damage, but they definitely can get some of your ears if you aren't careful. If you plan to grow sweet corn, plan out your fencing situation to keep rodents out of your patch so that you can keep all the corn to yourself.
2. Squash and Pumpkins
Ironically, these are also some of my favorite things to grow. Squash and pumpkins are quite rewarding especially given that they take an entire season to grow to full maturity. However, if you don't have a lot of space for your veggie garden, they can - and will - take over. Even one or two vines, they will invade your entire garden space by August. Additionally, we personally have had issues with squash bugs, which destroy the leaves of the squash and pumpkin vines and also can eat into the fruits. If not caught early enough, they will infest the entire patch.
Again, I'm not wanting to discourage you if you are set on growing pumpkins or squash! However, set yourself up for success to make sure your vines have enough space and be on the lookout for squash bugs in your garden.
Some banana peppers from our garden in 2020.
3. Peppers
We grow a wide range of different varieties of peppers every year and they have especially thrived in the hottest of summers, however often they will be slow to maturity if the conditions aren't to their liking. It also takes an awful lot of patience to wait for the different color peppers to turn color and reach their full maturity. Out of all the heat-loving plants we grow, these seem to be one the most particular. Keep in mind that peppers need to be planted as starts, not directly sown. If seeds are directly sown into the garden they will not reach full maturity during Minnesota's short growing season.
We love to grow both pickling cucumbers and slicers, like seen above!
4. Cucumbers
Again, I'm not saying to not grow cucumbers especially if you are a cucumber lover, however be aware of the potential issues. Cucumber beetles are prevalent in many cucumber patches throughout Minnesota. You might see a vine that looks like it is wilted, or cucumber blossoms that have holes in them, those are prime examples of cucumber beetle damage. If you notice beetles and/or significant damage, especially if that plant is wilting, remove that one plant to avoid further spread. We have had this happen and it can literally happen overnight - one day the plants look healthy as can be, the next day the leaves are wilted.
I have had issues with cucumber pollination in the past. A cucumber is a plant that has both male and female flowers. The pollen of the male flower needs to reach the female flower for cucumbers for fruit to develop. I have started planting annuals such as zinnias or marigolds near my cucumbers to entice pollinators.
Additionally, if you are growing cucumbers for pickling, you will need many plants to harvest a full bushel of cucumbers at one time (we are talking multiple dozens). If you are a canner and want to grow for pickling but don't have quite enough space in your garden, I would recommend to go to the farmers market to supplement your cucumber harvest. Many farmers will sell 1/4, 1/2, and full bushels of pickling cucumbers. At the beginning of cucumber season I often will make a batch of refrigerator pickles if I only have a few veggies, or we also really like to eat them raw.
5. Fruit Trees
I know I know...these aren't "veggies"... When deciding on a fruit tree for your yard, be aware of the maintenance involved. A "typical" 5 year old fruit tree you can buy at the garden store will likely not produce fruit for 3-5 years after planting. Many assume that it is going to fruit right away and unfortunately that is not the case which can cause frustration among new fruit tree growers. Fruit trees will produce consistently usually around 8-10 years old. They also often produce every other year, so you likely will get a bumper crop in year 1, but only a couple dozen if that in year 2. This is very common. Again - these are a favorite of mine to grow so I'm not saying don't plant one...know the challenges ahead of time and have a plan in place.
Additionally, routine maintenance such as staking in the spring and pruning in the winter can help the trees to produce ample fruit that is high quality. This could be a whole blog post on its own!
My purpose here is not to discourage you. If you want to grow things on this list, by all means do so! I personally have never been one to let a fruit or veggie that is "difficult" to grow scare me off and if you really want to grow peppers or fruit trees or pumpkins...by all means do so! Simply do your research first so you are aware of the maintenance involved. I am always going to be your biggest cheerleader with your garden - especially your FIRST garden! - so please be sure to reach out if you have questions!