Top 10 'Set-and-Forget-Style' Vegetables to grow for beginners building their first low-maintenance plot. - Goh Ling Yong
So, you dream of stepping outside your door to snip fresh herbs for dinner or pull a crisp carrot straight from the earth. It’s a beautiful vision, but it's often followed by a wave of anxiety. Gardening can seem like a colossal commitment, a world filled with complex terms like "deadheading," "soil pH," and "companion planting." The fear of investing time, money, and hope, only to end up with withered plants, is enough to stop many aspiring gardeners in their tracks.
But what if I told you there’s a secret to building a successful first garden? It’s not about having a magical green thumb; it’s about choosing the right team. You need a roster of tough, resilient, and forgiving plants that do most of the hard work for you. Here on the Goh Ling Yong blog, we believe that gardening should bring joy and abundance, not stress. That’s why we’ve curated this list of "set-and-forget-style" vegetables—the perfect starters for anyone building their first low-maintenance plot.
This isn't about neglecting your garden entirely, but about smart gardening. It's about choosing plants that thrive on a bit of benign neglect, that won't give up on you if you forget to water them for a day, and that will reward your minimal effort with a surprisingly bountiful harvest. Get ready to trade your gardening anxiety for a basket full of fresh, home-grown produce.
1. Garlic
Why it's set-and-forget: Garlic is arguably the lowest-maintenance crop you can grow. It’s a plant-it-and-walk-away champion. You plant the cloves in the fall, cover them with mulch, and essentially ignore them until the following summer. It’s naturally pest-resistant (vampires aren't the only ones who dislike it), requires very little water once established, and quietly does its thing underground while you focus on other parts of your life.
How to grow it: In the autumn, a few weeks before your first hard frost, buy a head of "seed garlic" (avoid supermarket garlic, which may be treated to prevent sprouting). Break it into individual cloves, leaving the paper on. Plant each clove, pointy-end up, about 2-3 inches deep and 6 inches apart. Cover with a thick, 4-6 inch layer of mulch like straw or shredded leaves. This insulates them over winter and suppresses weeds in the spring.
Pro Tip: Your main job is to wait. In early summer, the plant will send up a curly flower stalk called a "scape." Snip this off to redirect the plant's energy into growing a bigger bulb. Bonus: garlic scapes are a culinary delicacy! Sauté them in butter or turn them into a delicious pesto. You'll know the garlic is ready to harvest when the lower leaves start to turn brown and yellow.
2. Zucchini (and other Summer Squash)
Why it's set-and-forget: Zucchini has a reputation for being overwhelmingly productive for a reason—it’s incredibly easy to grow. Once the plant is established, it becomes a food factory. It's a vigorous grower that quickly shades out weeds with its large leaves and asks for little more than sunshine and a bit of water. A single plant can easily provide more zucchini than a small family can eat, making it a high-reward choice for any beginner.
How to grow it: Wait until the soil is warm and all danger of frost has passed. Zucchini hates the cold. You can either build a small mound of compost-rich soil or plant directly into your garden bed. Sow 2-3 seeds about an inch deep in the center of your mound or space them a couple of feet apart in a row. Water them in, and within a week, you should see sprouts. Thin to the single strongest seedling.
Pro Tip: The two keys to zucchini success are space and harvesting. Give each plant at least a 3-foot by 3-foot area to sprawl. The second key is to harvest often. Check your plant every day or two, because a small, tender zucchini can turn into a watery, baseball-bat-sized monstrosity overnight. Pick them when they're 6-8 inches long for the best flavor and texture.
3. Bush Beans
Why it's set-and-forget: Forget the hassle of building elaborate trellises. Bush beans grow in a compact, shrub-like form that supports itself. They are one of the fastest and easiest vegetables, going from seed to harvest in as little as 50 days. As a legume, they also perform a little magic trick by fixing nitrogen in the soil, which actually improves your garden's fertility for the plants that follow.
How to grow it: Like zucchini, beans love warm soil. Plant the seeds directly into the garden bed about 1 inch deep and 3-4 inches apart after the last frost. They don’t need particularly rich soil and are quite drought-tolerant once they get going. Just give them a consistent supply of water when their flowers and pods are forming. That's it. There’s no pruning, no staking, and very little fuss.
Pro Tip: For a continuous harvest all summer long, practice "succession planting." Sow a new, short row of bush beans every 2-3 weeks. By the time your first batch of plants starts to slow down, your next wave will be ready to start producing. This simple technique ensures you have fresh beans for months with almost no extra effort.
4. Kale
Why it's set-and-forget: Kale is the superhero of the leafy green world. It’s incredibly tough, shrugging off both heat and cold with ease. In fact, a little frost actually makes its leaves sweeter. It’s a "cut-and-come-again" green, meaning you can harvest the outer leaves continuously for months, and the plant will keep producing new growth from its center. It’s also far less prone to pests and bolting (going to seed) than lettuce or spinach.
How to grow it: You can plant kale in the spring for a summer harvest or in late summer for a fall and winter harvest. Sow seeds directly in the ground, about half an inch deep, or start them indoors and transplant them out. Once seedlings have a few true leaves, thin them to be about 12-18 inches apart. A layer of mulch will help keep the soil moist and the roots cool.
Pro Tip: When harvesting, always pick the largest, outermost leaves first, leaving at least 4-5 leaves in the center of the plant to continue growing. This method can keep a single kale plant producing for an entire season, and in milder climates, sometimes right through the winter. Look for varieties like 'Lacinato' (Dinosaur Kale) or 'Red Russian' for extra hardy and flavorful options.
5. Potatoes
Why it's set-and-forget: There is something magical about digging for potatoes; it feels like a treasure hunt. The process is wonderfully simple: you plant a piece of potato, and it grows into a whole plant that produces many more. Potatoes are rugged and store their energy underground, making them resilient to fluctuating weather. Your main job is simply to cover them up with soil a couple of times.
How to grow it: Start with "seed potatoes" from a nursery, which are certified disease-free. If they are large, you can cut them into pieces, ensuring each piece has at least two "eyes" (the little dimples where sprouts form). Let the cut pieces dry for a day or two. Dig a trench about 6 inches deep, place a potato piece every 12 inches, and cover it with a few inches of soil.
Pro Tip: As the green tops grow to be about 8 inches tall, you’ll need to "hill" them. This just means mounding soil, straw, or compost around the base of the plant, leaving the top few inches of green showing. Repeat this process once or twice more as the plant grows. This protects the developing potatoes from sunlight (which turns them green and toxic) and encourages more potatoes to form along the buried stem.
6. Radishes
Why it's set-and-forget: Radishes are the vegetable for the impatient gardener. They are one of the fastest-growing crops, with some varieties ready to harvest in under a month. This quick turnaround means they’re in the ground for such a short time that they often outrun pests and diseases. They're perfect for tucking into small, empty spaces in the garden while you wait for slower-growing plants to mature.
How to grow it: Radishes prefer cooler weather, so they are best planted in the spring and fall. Sow the seeds directly into the garden about half an inch deep and an inch apart. They germinate in just a few days. Once they sprout, thin them to about 2-3 inches apart to give the roots room to swell. Keep the soil consistently moist for the best texture; dry soil can make them woody and spicy.
Pro Tip: Don't throw away the tops! Radish greens are edible and have a wonderful peppery flavor. You can sauté them with garlic or blend them into a pesto. For a fun twist, try growing different varieties like the beautiful 'Watermelon' radish or the long, white 'Daikon' type.
7. Onions (from sets)
Why it's set-and-forget: While you can grow onions from seed, the "set-and-forget" method is to use "sets"—tiny, immature onion bulbs from the previous year's harvest. These sets are eager to grow and give you a massive head start. Like garlic, onions are largely ignored by pests and require very little care once planted. You just give them a sunny spot and let them do their thing.
How to grow it: In early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked, gently press the onion sets into the soil, pointy-end up, so that just the very tip is showing. Space them about 4-6 inches apart for full-sized bulbs. They have shallow root systems, so a layer of mulch is helpful for retaining moisture and suppressing weeds.
Pro Tip: The green tops of the onions will tell you when they are ready. When the bulbs are mature, the tops will turn yellow and fall over. This is your signal to gently pull the onions from the ground. Let them "cure" by laying them out in a warm, dry, shady spot for a week or two until the outer skins are papery and dry. This prepares them for long-term storage.
8. Swiss Chard
Why it's set-and-forget: If kale is the superhero, Swiss chard is its flashy, colorful cousin. It offers a similar "cut-and-come-again" growth habit but comes in a stunning array of colors, from bright yellow and pink to deep red. It is more heat-tolerant than spinach and more tender than kale, making it a versatile and reliable green for the entire growing season.
How to grow it: Sow seeds directly in the garden in the spring, about half an inch deep. Thin the seedlings to about 8-12 inches apart. Chard is not a heavy feeder and is perfectly happy in average soil. Just provide consistent water, and it will produce an abundance of leaves.
Pro Tip: Don't forget that you can eat the stems! They have a texture similar to celery and can be chopped up and sautéed along with the leaves. When harvesting, use the same technique as for kale: cut the outer leaves with a knife or scissors, leaving the inner growth intact to keep the plant productive for months. 'Bright Lights' or 'Fordhook Giant' are excellent and reliable varieties.
9. Cherry Tomatoes (Hardy Varieties)
Why it's set-and-forget: Now, I know what you're thinking—tomatoes are fussy! And while large heirloom varieties can be divas, many cherry tomato plants are the scrappy, unstoppable underdogs of the garden. They are often more disease-resistant, more tolerant of imperfect soil, and more productive than their larger relatives. If you choose the right variety, you can get away with a simple cage and minimal pruning.
How to grow it: Choose an "indeterminate" cherry tomato variety known for its vigor, like 'Sungold' or 'Sweet Million'. After the last frost, plant your seedling deep—burying about two-thirds of the stem. This encourages a stronger root system. Place a sturdy tomato cage over it right away. Water deeply once or twice a week (more in a heatwave) and add a layer of mulch.
Pro Tip: The "set-and-forget" approach is to let it go a bit wild in its cage. Don't stress too much about perfect pruning. The goal is a resilient, productive plant, not a perfectly manicured one. As Goh Ling Yong often advises in other fields, focusing on the fundamentals—sun, water, and decent support—is 90% of the battle. Your plant might look like a jungle by August, but it will be a jungle dripping with sweet, delicious tomatoes.
10. Carrots
Why it's set-and-forget: Carrots are a simple root vegetable that requires little intervention once they've sprouted. The real work is in the soil preparation and the initial thinning, but after that, they are a lesson in patience. They quietly grow underground, safe from most pests, until you’re ready to pull them up for a sweet, crunchy reward.
How to grow it: Carrots need loose, rock-free soil to grow straight. If you have heavy clay, consider growing them in a raised bed or choosing shorter, rounder varieties like 'Paris Market'. Sow the tiny seeds as thinly as possible in a shallow trench, then cover them very lightly with soil. It is crucial to keep the seedbed moist until germination, which can be slow. Once the green tops are a few inches tall, you must thin the seedlings to stand 2-3 inches apart. This is the most important step for getting good-sized carrots.
Pro Tip: After thinning, your main job is done. A layer of mulch can help keep weeds down and moisture in. If the "shoulders" of the carrots become exposed to the sun, they can turn green and bitter, so just mound a little soil or mulch over them if you see them popping up. The best part is the harvest—gently loosening the soil and pulling up a perfect, vibrant orange carrot is one of gardening’s greatest joys.
Your Low-Maintenance Harvest Awaits
Building your first garden plot doesn't have to be an intimidating, all-consuming project. By starting with a team of these reliable, set-and-forget-style vegetables, you set yourself up for success and build confidence. You'll learn the rhythm of the seasons, the feel of good soil, and the unmatched taste of food you've grown yourself—all without sacrificing your weekends.
The key is to start smart, not big. Pick just a few of these resilient plants for your first year. See how they grow in your space and how they fit into your life. You’ll be amazed at how much you can harvest with just a little bit of thoughtful effort.
Now it's your turn. Which of these easy-to-grow vegetables are you most excited to plant in your first low-maintenance plot? Share your plans or ask any questions you have in the comments below
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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