The 7 Hardest Fruits and Vegetables To Grow Yourself
Growing your own food can be a super rewarding hobby, but it’s not always as easy as planting a seed and waiting for it to sprout. Some fruits and vegetables are a tough test for even the most experienced gardeners because of their picky needs, tricky timing, or stubborn behaviors. If you’ve ever tried and failed to grow a vegetable garden, you’re not alone.
Let’s explore some of the hardest fruits and veggies to grow yourself and why they can frustrate even the most patient gardener. We hope you take our advice when deciding if you’re up to the challenge!
Cauliflower
Cauliflower isn’t just fussy; it’s a perfectionist! It demands cool weather, but not too cold. It needs steady moisture, but can’t stand soggy roots. It needs sun, but not harsh heat. Even if you get the planting timing right, you still have to do extra work and “blanch” the heads by tying the leaves over them to keep them white.
One unexpected heat wave or missed watering and you’re going to be left with bitter, brown, or misshapen heads. If you really want to grow cauliflower it’s doable, but only for gardeners who have the time to watch their garden closely and give their plants lots of care.
Celery
Celery grows painfully slow. From seed, it can take up to five months before you see anything worth harvesting. It needs constant water and steady, rich soil or you’ll be left with stringy, bitter stalks. Even worse, celery’s incredibly sensitive to temperature changes, going from happy to wilting if the weather shifts even a little. For home gardeners, celery often feels like more work than it’s worth.
If you still want to give it a try, know that patience and consistency are everything. It’s not impossible, but celery’s definitely not a set-it-and-forget-it crop.
Artichokes
Artichokes look exotic and beautiful, and might not seem like they would be that difficult, but they’re not small-space friendly. You might not know it, but they’re huge plants, often needing several feet of space to grow, and they usually don’t give you a harvest until their second year. In cold climates, that means you have to overwinter them carefully or go through the exhausting process of starting fresh every year.
They also attract pests, like aphids, which can wreak havoc on any nearby plants. Still, for gardeners who want a crop they can show off and have enough garden space available, artichokes offer a satisfying challenge.
Eggplants
Eggplants need heat. Not just a little warmth, but steady, summer heat. Cool nights or sudden temperature drops will slow their growth, and they’re very picky about the soil and water they’re willing to grow in. Eggplants also attract pests like flea beetles, which can riddle their leaves with holes. You can grow eggplants in containers or in raised garden beds if you can give the plants full sun and warmth, but they’re still a risky choice in areas with short summers or unpredictable springs.
If you still want to grow your own eggplants, expect to baby them with row covers and start them indoors if you want any chance at success.
Watermelon
Watermelon is often pitched to beginners as a simple plant to start off with, but it’s actually a risky choice for many gardens. These plants need a long, hot growing season and more space to spread out than you might expect. Watermelons are heavy feeders, sucking up nutrients and water from soil at a fast pace, meaning they need more constant care. Because they take so long to grow, the fruit may never fully ripen before the growing season ends in colder areas, leaving you with nothing worth eating.
Don’t waste your time and effort! If you still want to give watermelon a shot, successful gardeners often start seeds indoors, use plastic mulch to warm the soil, and stick to short-season varieties. It’s a bit of a complicated dance, but it can be done!
Peas
Growing your own peas might sound easy, but you have to be super precise with timing. Plant them too early, and they rot in cold soil. Plant them too late, and the heat will kill them off before they flower. Peas also need to be constantly harvested, or they stop producing. You have to make sure you know your local climate well and be ready to get your plants in the garden at just the right moment.
Peas grow fast and can reward you with a large harvest, but they can also be heartbreakers if you miss your very slim window.
Melons (Honeydew and Cantaloupe)
Melons hit all three categories of what makes a needy plant: heat, space, and time. Like watermelon, they do best during long, warm summers but will sulk or rot in cool, damp conditions. They are also more vulnerable to diseases like powdery mildew and pests like squash bugs. Getting the fruit to ripen perfectly can take some practice, especially when it’s hard to tell if they’re ready or not.
Many gardeners who have had success with growing melons use raised beds, black plastic, or greenhouses to give melons their best shot. It’s a fruit that will test your patience and garden management skills.
Are You Up To The Challenge?
It doesn’t matter if you’re looking to plant your first vegetable garden or just browsing for some new fruits to add to your harvest, never be afraid of challenging yourself. It’s the best way to grow your skills in anything that you do. That being said, if you’re not expecting a challenge, planting difficult plants can leave you frazzled, overworked, and only harvesting disappointment at the end of a long summer.
Now that you know what you’re getting into with these seven fruits and vegetables, if you still decide to take on the challenge don’t say we didn’t warn you!