New to gardening veggies? Here are some easy starters | The Compleat Home Gardener

Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, May 20, 2026

On Thursday, May 21, at 6:30 p.m., there will be a free webinar on “Container Garden Do’s and Don’ts.” Visit Saving Water Partnership for sign up at savingwater.org/lawn-garden/gardening-classes. Once you register a link will be emailed to you to enjoy the class from your computer.

Then on Saturday, May 23, at 11 a.m., the Walrath Nursery Gig Harbor will host a free garden talk on “Best Plants to Use Now.” For more information go to walrathlandscapesupply.

The third week of May is a good time to get your vegetables into the ground.

In most gardens, especially raised beds and containers, the soil is warm enough for tomatoes, peppers, squash and other warm season crops.

If you have a garden that is slow to warm up and exposed to cold winds, consider waiting until June to plant these heat lovers. You don’t need a piece of ground to grow your own food. Here are the four easiest to grow edible crops for beginning gardeners.

TOMATOES

As long as you have a sunny spot you can have tomato growing success. The bush or determinate tomatoes do best in a container and a black plastic pot that absorbs the summer heat is a plus – especially for dirt cheap gardeners. A five gallon nursery pot is a size to start with but a larger container such as a 10 or even 15 gallon recycled pot will dry out less often. Grow tomatoes in the hottest spot of your patio or deck. Reflected heat off a building is even better. Varieties that do well in our cool summer climate include Early Girl, any of the cherry tomatoes (Sweet 100, Sweet one million) Siberian tomatoes, Husky gold, or any variety that takes less than 75 days to maturity.

Tip: Tomatoes do not like to be crowded among other plants. A bit anti-social, they will do best with elbow room which allows for good air circulation.

ZUCCHINI

The summer squash of many urban legends, zucchini can produce so many squash you will be depositing them on the door step of your neighbors just to get rid of them. When growing zucchini in a container make sure you choose a bush type rather than a trailing zucchini. Just like a tomato, zucchini needs sunshine and heat and a black plastic nursery pot makes a great container.

Tip: Pollinating insects or a tiny paint brush can move pollen from the yellow male flowers to the female blooms to increase production. The female flowers are the blossoms with a swollen stem section just behind the flower.

SWISS CHARD AND KALE

The leafy green and vitamin packed Swiss Chards and kale can be grown even if your outdoor space is partly shaded. You can tuck these greens into pots with flowers and harvest the lowest leaves all summer as the new growth will continue to appear. The Swiss Chard variety called ‘Bright Lights’ has colorful stems and is pretty enough to use as a ocal point in the middle of a large pot of blooming annuals.

Tip: Remove just one leaf every other day and eat it raw or tear it up into your salad. You can also stem or stir fry this healthy green. The vitamin D from leafy greens is absorbed much better when it comes from plants rather than a pill form.

LEAF LETTUCE

Another leafy green that will produce without a full day of sun. Lettuce does not have deep roots so you can grow any of the many varieties in a window box or any containers with at least 8 inches of soil. Keeping the slugs and snails away is much easier in a container than if you try to grow lettuce in the rain-soaked soil of Western Washington.

Tip: Pick colorful lettuce variety or even one with spotted foliage for more nutrition. A colorful lettuce can also be used to add edible color to a potted container garden.

Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For answers to gardening questions, visit plantersplace.com and click “As The Expert”. Copyright for this column owned by Marianne Binetti. For more gardening information, she can be reached at her website, www.binettigarden.com.