A couple years ago, I saw a gift pack of seeds for the 9-5 gardener on the Hudson Valley Seed Co. website, and I thought this was brilliant. I was, and still am, a home gardener with a pesky day job during the hours of 9-5, and I loved the idea of a curated collection of plants that office folks like me could still take care of before and after work.
A friend told me she’s interested in learning more about low maintenance plants, as she doesn’t consider herself a gardener (yet!), and I have been eyeballs-deep in conference planning at work. And so, I present to you my top six self-sufficient, low maintenance garden herbs and veggies.
1. Chives
My neighbor Sue gifted me a dug-up bunch of her garden chives when we moved into our current place, and they’re always the first green I see in the early springtime. They’re so resilient and will come back to life on their own, when they know the time is right. I’ve left my small pot of chives under the deck, forgotten over winter, and when I go to retrieve it, the shaggy green stalks are as vibrant and soft as ever. Seriously, you don’t have to do anything! I call pruning and cleaning up the chives in spring “giving them a haircut.” After a long winter, taking the time to comb through your chives and remove any dead and frizzy pieces is an awesome meditation to get you ready for the season ahead.
Did you know the delicate purple flowers are also edible? They add a subtle onion flavor and splash of wild (or sophisticated) color to a salad or dish as a garnish sprinkled on top. Because I’m a container gardener with limited space and only one small pot of chives, I further pick the flower down to it’s individual little blooms within the whole head to get the most out of my small supply. The fresh stalks are perfect snipped into pieces for a salad, again, for a delicate onion flavor, or added to cream cheese in smaller pieces.
2. Beans
Bush beans are one of my favorite “set it and forget it” veggies to grow, and the flowers they produce are beautiful too. I’ve only just begun trying to grow flowers from seed, so beans have been a two-fer I really love.
Different types of beans will produce different colored flowers, and for the past couple seasons I’ve planted an organic tri-color bean blend from Hudson Valley Seed Co.. The photo above is for the familiar green bean, but there are gorgeous jewel-toned purple beans (and flowers) in that mix too. This is another way to incorporate a variety of flowers and colors in your garden without having to work with too many separate plants.
Bush beans don’t require a trellis or support structure because they will only grow to a smaller, “determinate” height, unlike climbing pole beans. Bush beans are the better choice if you don’t have the space for taller plants, or if you don’t want to bother with the additional supplies and maintenance. Once beans get going, you really need to check between the stalks and leaves for mature beans everyday. I’ve definitely left some on the plant too long, and after a point they just become inedible. Beans also need to be harvested frequently to keep up production, which can feel counter-intuitive to the new gardener. If you only have a few plants, you kind of want to keep the veggies on there! But frequent picking will yield bigger harvests, trust me.
3. Cucumbers
Cucumbers are so fun to watch grow, as they go from cute little spike-covered miniatures to the recognizable cucumber you know from the store. Cucumbers do require a support structure, but they’re still quite low maintenance and very satisfying to have in the garden. I direct sow cucumber seeds right into my pots or raised bed with the support structure in place, and they take off on their own. You can use a large tomato cage, three or four bamboo stakes tied together (my current setup), or an A-frame trellis, as pictured above, is you have a raised bed or larger space.
Cucumber flowers are beautiful, and they add a pop of bright yellow to your space. Once the fruit starts growing, you’ll need to check in on them to guide a tendril around your supports or otherwise help it out. Cucumber plants produce abundantly once they get going, and again, it’s important to check between the large leaves for growing cukes you might otherwise miss. You also need to pick these guys frequently for a continual harvest for snacking, salads, and pickles. You’ll know a cucumber is ready to pick once the little spikes fall off easily if you run your finger along the skin. If it’s still prickly, give it a couple more days and check again.
4. Jalepeños
Of all the different hot peppers I’ve grown over the last five years, jalepeños have proven to be the most versatile and low maintenance. We love spice in my house. What’s great about growing your peppers is that you can watch them change color everyday and pick them when they’re at your desired level of heat. Jalepeños work well in so many dishes, and they’re another “set it and forget it” plant I’d recommend you try when starting out.
These peppers don’t require a huge pot, but they do need some room and depth for their roots to grow. Complicated support structures aren’t necessary, but it’s helpful to have a stake in the center of your pot to help your pepper plant stay upright once it starts producing fruit. You can also do what I’ve done, and simply prop the pot against the side of your house. The lazy gardener’s way!
Jalepeño plants have small white flowers, and they produce in abundance at the height of the season in summertime. They love hot weather and you’ll have plenty of mild to hot peppers to use in cooking with your other fresh veggies and herbs this time of year. I like to prepare a lot of curries and different salsas. Being able to pick peppers right in the yard, rather than having to run to the store after work, has saved me more than a few times when a dish needed an extra kick or another layer of flavor.
5. Basil
A pot of basil is great for sticking your face into, but also for pizzas, pastas, and fresh caprese salads. I feel like most casual gardeners have at some point had a basil plant or two, and they’re a great starter plant. Pinching the stems at the right point (right above where two leaves are growing opposite each other) will help train the plant to grow bushier. This way, you can easily turn a couple of plants into a full pot’s worth of basil. Basil is an ideal herb to grow if you live with small humans in particular, because you can enlist their help to pick the leaves for a pizza making party.
While I think folks in my region (NY/NJ) are most familiar with traditional Italian-style basils such as Genovese, there’s a whole world of beautiful basils out there to try! The pot pictured above is Greek Basil, which is perfect for very small spaces as a compact plant. I’ve also started growing Holy basil (Kapoor Tulsi) for the first time this year. If you love Thai food, cinnamon basil or Thai basil, with its slightly anise or licorice flavor, have beautiful purple flowers and stems to add another hint of color.
6. Tomatoes
While I do think tomatoes require a bit more care and attention, I’m including them here because they’re very often a gateway veggie for beginner gardeners. There’s so much information out there about growing tomatoes for the first time, and you can certainly buy a pre-potted plant with a small built-in tomato cage from your local garden center. With a little preparation, tomatoes can be a low maintenance veggie to accompany all that basil you’re growing!
If you’re just starting out, I recommend planting a determinate variety tomato. This means that they’ll only grow to a certain height, which is shorter and much more manageable for pruning and supporting than those which grow tall. his means they also make for great small space or patio plants. The Sungold cherry tomatoes I grow are by far my favorite, but they reach quite tall and can become difficult to work with in my small space. T
Tomatoes are ready to pick when they’re a vibrant color and when you can snap the stem part right above the fruit at the joint. You’ll notice a little connector joint in the photo below, right where the stem bends above the fruit. Picking the tomatoes at this point, whether they’re tiny cherries or larger tomatoes, will help keep them fresh in your kitchen for longer.
Whether you’re just starting out as a home gardener, or your job and other obligations don’t allow for long stretches of daylight hours to care for your plant babes, there are lots of easy-to-grow and low maintenance plants to fill your space. These are some of my favorites, but they’re by no means the only ones! Depending on the time of year, you can grow various greens or other herbs, all of which we’ll explore in future posts as we move through the season together.