These 9 Vegetable Plants Are Nearly Impossible to Kill

by Matt Gibson

Looking for hard to kill vegetables? Maybe you love gardening, but are troubled with guilt due to a less-than-stellar history when it comes to keeping your plants alive long enough to harvest. Putting off having a vegetable garden because you aren’t looking forward to the laborious task of digging up a plot, weeding, watering, and all the rest?

These vegetable plants are perfect for beginning gardeners who want to start their own vegetable garden—or proficient gardeners who are ready to reap the rewards of easy-peasy homegrown veggies. This list should be just the thing to increase your confidence and encourage you to dust off your gardening gloves and break out the spade and shovel for the upcoming growing season.

These hardy veggie plants are typically very difficult to kill once you have them established. It’s time to give your sore back and packed schedule a rest. Fill your garden beds with these tough vegetable plants that will help to stock your fridge, add lots of fresh, healthy produce to your diet, and save you some cash at the grocery store.

Peas

Peas are lots of fun to grow and harvest, and they’re very hard to kill once they are planted and settled in. Because of their extremely high success rate, peas are commonly used as a starter plant by patient gardeners teaching children how to grow veggies. Provide a lattice or mesh support for the pea vines to attach to as they grow, and they will sprout up and extend vertically and horizontally, providing a plentiful harvest that you can pick, shell, or eat right off the vine if you so choose. Don’t eat all your peas raw in the garden, though. Bring the bulk of your pea harvest inside, then find a tasty recipe or two to bring your peas to the dinner table as a side dish, or even a main course. 

Plant Name	Sunlight Requirements	Water Requirements	Soil Requirements	Plant Spacing	Time to Harvest	Growing Tips
Peas	Full sun to partial shade	Moderate	Well-drained, fertile soil	2-4 inches	60-70 days	Provide lattice or mesh support for vines; avoid over-watering

Jalapeno Peppers

Hot peppers, such as the popular jalapeno, are surprisingly simple to care for, and they’re extremely difficult to kill as long as they get plenty of direct sunlight as well as an ample, well-draining water source. These resilient peppers reach maturity in just a few short weeks, and each plant can produce a surprising amount of peppers. If you are not pickling your peppers or making a salsa from your harvests, you may soon find yourself with more peppers than you know what to do with. As with most gifts of the garden, a basket of freshly picked jalapeno peppers makes for a welcome and spicy gift for friends and family, provided they can take the heat.

Plant Name	Sunlight Requirements	Water Requirements	Soil Requirements	Plant Spacing	Time to Harvest	Growing Tips
Jalapeno Peppers	Full sun	Moderate	Well-drained, fertile soil	14-18 inches	70-80 days	Ensure ample, well-draining water source; harvest when peppers are firm and glossy

Cherry Tomatoes

Many varieties of tomato are easy to grow and very hands-off to care for once the plant’s roots have grown strong. Larger tomato varieties usually produce smaller harvests, while medium-sized tomatoes and smaller varieties, such as cherry and grape tomatoes, produce massive amounts of fruit throughout the growing season.

While heirloom and beefsteak tomato varieties are famously finicky and can be tricky to plant and grow, the smaller varieties are nearly trouble free. The easiest of all tomato varieties to grow is the cherry tomato, which is tolerant of excess heat and water levels and resistant to blight and root rot, not to mention it provides more than enough fruit for a large family to enjoy.  

Plant Name	Sunlight Requirements	Water Requirements	Soil Requirements	Plant Spacing	Time to Harvest	Growing Tips
Cherry Tomatoes	Full sun	Moderate	Well-drained, fertile soil	24-36 inches	60-80 days	Provide support (e.g., cages or stakes); water consistently; check for common tomato diseases

Eggplant

All it takes to have success growing eggplants is a combination of water and sunlight. As long as those two components are present, eggplants will grow rapidly and can be harvested and enjoyed in various sizes and shapes throughout the growing season. The amount of sunlight and water you provide is up to you. Eggplants will adjust to most any growing environment or climate, and have a very high success rate while requiring very little attention or care. All you need to decide is how to cook all the eggplant you’ll grow.

Plant Name	Sunlight Requirements	Water Requirements	Soil Requirements	Plant Spacing	Time to Harvest	Growing Tips
Eggplant	Full sun	Moderate	Well-drained, fertile soil	18-24 inches	100-120 days	Stake or cage the plants; watch out for pests and diseases

Squash

Another great vegetable for children or adult gardeners to plant is the yellow squash plant. This vine-ripening beauty is easy to care for, grows like a weed, and produces several new pieces of fruit each week. Mature squash plants will soon have you swimming in squash, with more than enough to give away as gifts to share the rewards of your harvests.

Plant Name	Sunlight Requirements	Water Requirements	Soil Requirements	Plant Spacing	Time to Harvest	Growing Tips
Squash	Full sun	Moderate	Well-drained, fertile soil	24-36 inches	40-50 days	Provide space for sprawling vines; watch out for pests and diseases

Zucchini

Very similar to the squash plant, zucchini is a popular choice for beginner vegetable gardeners due to its bountiful fruiting and speedy proliferation. Harvest the fruits once they’ve reached eight or nine inches in length, or they will reach massive sizes but grow weak in flavor and lose nutrients. Often called a vegetable that is impossible to kill, zucchini in the garden will keep your refrigerator stocked for the season to come.

Plant Name	Sunlight Requirements	Water Requirements	Soil Requirements	Plant Spacing	Time to Harvest	Growing Tips
Zucchini	Full sun	Moderate	Well-drained, fertile soil	24-36 inches	40-50 days	Provide space for sprawling vines; watch out for pests and diseases

Beans

Both pole beans and bush beans are as incredibly easy to plant, grow, and harvest, and they mature and become ready to pick just a few short weeks after planting. Runner beans need a soil that is rich in moisture-retaining materials, and they require supports, such as bamboo canes for the vines to climb as they grow. Broad beans can be planted in double rows, each row supporting the other one, and some taller broad bean varieties require some twigs or small branches pushed into the soil to provide the bean plants something to lean on, as mature beans tend to make the taller broad bean varieties top heavy.

Once you have your plants in the ground and your supports in place, beans can be left to fend for themselves in the garden, needing only the occasional harvesting to allow them to reproduce. 

Plant Name	Sunlight Requirements	Water Requirements	Soil Requirements	Plant Spacing	Time to Harvest	Growing Tips
Beans	Full sun	Moderate	Well-drained, fertile soil	3-4 inches	50-60 days	Provide support for pole beans; keep soil evenly moist; watch out for pests and diseases

Radishes

 This crisp, flavorful, and peppery root vegetable can be enjoyed in soups and stew, or slice radishes thinly and toss them into your favorite salads for a refreshingly spicy but subtle kick of flavor.

Give each radish six to eight inches of space before planting another so that they will have room to develop root bulbs underground. Giving your radish plants a little room will ensure that there is no need to thin the plants out as the radishes start to expand horizontally beneath the soil. Radishes are not only super easy to sow and care for, but they grow from seed and are ready to harvest just a few short weeks from planting. We recommend the French Breakfast variety, which is the kind of radish typically found in grocery stores. This traditional variety produces red and white cylindrical root systems with a strong, complex flavor profile.

Plant Name	Sunlight Requirements	Water Requirements	Soil Requirements	Plant Spacing	Time to Harvest	Growing Tips
Radishes	Full sun to partial shade	Moderate	Well-drained, fertile soil	6-8 inches	20-30 days	Sow seeds directly outdoors; consistent moisture to prevent cracking; thin out seedlings

Salad Greens

If you and your family eat a healthy diet and you are growing produce in your vegetable garden, you can save a ton of money by including your own salad greens. Try growing several varieties that allow you to harvest leaves that will grow back after you cut them. We recommend a mix of mizuna, mustard, and rocket lettuce, each of which will produce at least twice during a growing season as long as you leave at least one centimeter of stalk on the plant when you harvest.

For around the same amount of money as a bag of prewashed lettuce leaves, you can get enough seeds to provide you with salad greens for an entire growing season. The tiny seeds will sprout up everywhere they are spread, so you will need to thin them out and give them adequate space to expand without fighting over water and nutrients. However, don’t toss out the thinnings, as these microgreens are high in nutrients, insanely tasty, and great tossed into salads and wraps.

Want More Hard To Kill Plants That You Can Eat?

Why stop at vegetables that are hard to kill? Try your hand at growing the following fruits and herbs in your garden as well:

Fruits

Apples: There are varieties of apple trees on the market are suited to every climate. With a little bit of patience and practically no individual care, you can harvest apples in abundance.

Apricots: These tasty stone fruits take very little hassle or care to grow, and they thrive in a variety of growing environments.

Strawberries: Strawberry plants produce juicy, bright red fruit all summer long. Wait until all of the berries on the plant have matured, and then harvest them all at once.

Raspberries: Mature raspberry plants produce lots of fruit that can be harvested throughout the summer. They can be grown easily in the ground or in containers.

Herbs

Basil: In the warm weather months of the spring and early summer, basil is easy to grow and maintain. Harvest the uppermost leaves first and enjoy in salads, soups, pastas, and pesto.

Thyme: Thyme requires only a bit of water and exposure to at least a few hours of sunlight each day. For optimal results, grow indoors in a container near a south- or southwestern-facing window.

Mint: Mint is probably the easiest herb to grow, and the plant is actually practically invasive. Set up strong borders or grow yours in a container if you don’t want your mint to take over an entire garden bed.

Chives: Garlic and onion chives are both easy to grow, and they’re widely used in culinary applications.

Parsley: Parsley is a versatile and easy-to-grow herb that can be harvested throughout the growing season. This fragrant plant prefers full sun to partial shade and can be grown in the ground or in containers. Harvest parsley by snipping off the outer leaves, and use it as a garnish or incorporate it into a variety of dishes for added flavor.

Rosemary: Rosemary is a fragrant, evergreen herb that’s not only easy to grow, but also quite hardy and drought-tolerant. This aromatic plant thrives in well-draining soil and full sunlight, and can be grown in the ground or in containers. Prune rosemary regularly by snipping off sprigs to encourage bushy growth. Use the fresh or dried needles in a variety of dishes, from roasted meats and vegetables to homemade bread and infused oils.

Wheatgrass: Wheatgrass is notoriously squeezed into juice, which is consumed as a healthy, immune-boosting superfood. It is also very easy to grow and impossible to kill once established.

Want to Learn More about Easy to Grow Vegetables?

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