Authored by Andrea in Food and Agriculture 
Published on 07-23-2009

There is nothing more heartbreaking than an unsuccessful harvest. After investing your time, money and energy into planting, watering and weeding, you long for the joy and excitement of seeing food growing. You look forward to enjoying the fruits of your labor at the dinner table. It helps to have some crops you can count on to survive the challenging growth process.

These five crops have great survival records. They don’t require excessive attention or work, and they bring forth fruit expediently and abundantly.

Salad Greens, inclusive of lettuce and spinach, grow quite easily. The key to their success is to continually quench their thirst for water. In addition, these plants don’t present serious problems with plant disease or insects. In 40-50 days, they are ready to fill your salad bowl.

Carrots are also an easy crop to grow. They require just a bit more weeding and regular watering to produce the sweetness we all know and love. Be careful not to over-water carrots to avoid root rot. Be sure to relocate your carrot crop after two years for continual productivity.

String beans are a favored crop because they grow rapidly and each stalk is so plentiful. This makes them a great investment. The key to string bean growth is the soil. Grow them in warm moist soil; never in cold soil. Harvest time is rich with this crop.

Radishes spring up in 20 days! They adapt and grow in various types of soil. Water them regularly and they will lead the charge of ready produce.

Squash grows so fast that if you don’t harvest it on time, it will overtake your garden. It flowers quickly and just a few days later it is ripe for the picking. You receive all this abundance without any extra fuss; just regular watering and weeding is required. Be sure to pick the squash before its seeds become oversized and tough and you will be sure to enjoy a delicious, buttery tasting treat.

Including these five crops into your planting schedule, will reward you with a hearty harvest and inspire you to forge ahead to plant and successfully harvest other, more challenging crops as well. Your bountiful dinner table will reflect a labor of love and the rewards of wise choices.