[gypsy]

My faves for easy growing are
courgette
runner beans
broad beans
borlloti beans
onions
peas
leeks

[mumofstig]

And purely based on utterly disgusting tase, i wouldn't waste land growing:
Swedes
Butternut Squash
Pumpkins

oooh, they all taste great 

[tontom]

onions spuds tommies leeks and any brassica

[Cavolo Nero]

beetroot , spuds , radish , runner beans, and good old tomatoes

Pretty much what I'm growing this year, plus garlic and onions!

[fletcherbaker]

As a newbie ive been looking closely at this thread but what would you keep well away from if you were new to GYO

[Swing Swang]

Grow stuff that you have a passion for - doesn't matter if it's considered to be 'difficult' because you'll do more research and tend it with greater care.

Keep away from stuff you (or your family) don't like, because you'll either give it away/compost it/or neglect it (are you really going to squish CWB eggs on brassicas if you don't like your greens!).

SS

[GrannieAnnie]

Don't grow stuff just because you think you should.  Stick to the things you like and are more expensive in the shops.

Don't start off with things that take a lot of room, like sweetcorn, brassicas need a lot of room, so I'm not giong to do many tis year, after all farm shop up the road sells 2 cabbages or 2 cauliflowers for 70p!

As to "don't bother with" Bostoninbred!  Perpetual spinach, was brilliant, kept picking it for the chickens and it kept growing!  PEAS?   May not get many lbs for the space, but Pennydog and I love eating the peas as we are picking them.  Well I pick she eats!! lol

I love swede mashed with a little butter and black pepper, and Butternut squash makes a superb soup!

[lacewing]

tomatoes are hard!

i got about my first successful harvest last year from 6 plants and i've been trying for about 8 years!

my easy ones are

carrots
courgettes
potatoes
raspberries (can we include perennials?)
runner beans

 

Why are tomatoes hard?, they are one of the first things they teach children to grow.

[gypsy]

I do not think that toms are hard to grow but indoor ones do need daily attention and complain if they are neglected.  there is a bit of friendly competition  at our site and a lot of the old lads are very eager to point out to others if there is a problem with the crop, they always refer back to the war days of growing stuff so not to use food coupons.

[BostonInbred]

I grew pounds and pounds  of toms last year, and all were green and tough. Simply wasnt enough sun to ripen them up.   

[Kristen]

Why are tomatoes hard?, they are one of the first things they teach children to grow.

They are on my list of "maybe" for newcomers too:

Outdoor they are very late to crop (so not that worthwhile per unit area) and susceptible to blight - which can wipe out the whole crop (which is disheartening for a newbie)

Same with Main Crop potatoes - they have great crop-per-area, but if blight wipes the whole lot out it can put you off! And main crop spuds as cheap-as-chips (Sorry!) in the Supermarket.

[digalotty]

i would say these 5 are easy for me

  early  potatoes
  swiss chard
  lettuce  and mixed leaf
  radish
  tomatoes

[dougsta]

Interesting that carrots crop up so often. Mine always get done by the dreaded fly - but there's a nemotode out now for that so hopefully I'll get some this year - the children hate the supermarket ones so that's a good one to get right. But up until now would definitely not be on my 'easy to grow' list.

Tomatoes (if you have a greenhouse - otherwise blight is a problem)
Spuds - just mound em up
Cucurbits - take your pick, as long as they don't get cold and stay damp they're easy
Runner/French climbing beans - ditto
Radish

Not necessarily what I would grow but the easiest IMO

Hardest:

Cauliflowers
Celery
Carrots
Asparagus

[JayG]

i would say these 5 are easy for me

  early  potatoes
  swiss chard
  lettuce  and mixed leaf
  radish
  tomatoes

I would agree with that list, but would substitute runner beans for the tomatoes.

Runner beans will give you a crop even if they are not particularly happy, whereas tomatoes, although easy to get started, do require some knowledge and care to get them to produce well (and in time!), and of course blight is always a big risk when growing them outdoors.

[digalotty]

growing runner beans for the first time this year so thats why there not on my list 
maybe next years list then