Start planning your garden now: The easiest vegetables and fruits to grow (Video)

Now is the time to plan this spring's garden. This year, why not go organic. Going organic is really important when it comes to plants you are going to eat, because eating chemicals whether in the form of fertilizers or pesticides, is not very appetizing. Fresh organic vegetables not only taste much better, but are much healthier for you too.

If you’re a beginner, consider starting your garden with the 10 crops discussed below. All are easy to grow, and this combination offers lots of possibilities for cooking some delicious dishes. It is easiest to start these crops by setting out started seedlings, but most are easy to grow from a packet of seeds. Plant your garden directly into the ground after all danger of frost is gone.

Basil.
Many herbs are easy to grow, but basil is a good choice because it’s a nice complement to tomatoes. Basil is easy to grow from seeds or from transplants. An essential additive to cooking, this aromatic herb isn't just for lovers of Italian cuisine. You can grow basil in pots or in the ground, and even indoors on a sunny windowsill. Basil likes a sunny, well-drained area. When the leaves reach a desirable size, just pluck them from the plant. The basil will continue to provide fragrant and flavorful leaves that you can also dry and use long after summer is past. Genovese, Sweet, and Magical Michael basils are good varieties to try.

Green beans.
Easy to grow and prolific. If you get a big crop, they freeze well, and they’re also delicious in salads, stir fries, and steamed with a sauce or butter. Fresh green beans are very low in calories, and contain no saturated fat. Nevertheless, these lean vegetables are a very good source of vitamins, minerals, and plant derived micro nutrients. Green beans are also a very rich source of dietary fiber.

Onions.
Start with small plants, and if they do well, you can harvest bulb onions. If not, you can always eat the greens. Onions are rich in dietary fiber, folate and vitamin C. These bulb-shaped vegetables add flavor to an assortment of foods, like dips, soups, salads, casseroles, and much more. Archaeologists have traced the first known onions back to the Bronze Age in early Palestinian settlements.

Peppers.
Bell peppers are easy to grow. You can let peppers from the same plant ripen for different lengths of time to get a range of colors and flavors. Bell peppers are packed with vitamins A and C, and with significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6. These vitamins provide tremendous health benefits for both fat burning and overall good health. Plus, bell peppers are very low in calories with a healthy dose of fiber.

Potatoes.
An easy to grow staple that stores well when kept cool. The best thing about growing potatoes with kids is the harvesting. Pulling Yukon Golds or Viking Purples from in the ground is exactly like hunting for buried treasure, and the kids will enjoy helping you dig them up. Potatoes are good for the skin because they are rich in vitamin C and B complex, and minerals like potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc. Potatoes are easy to digest and facilitate digestion, because they contain a large amount of carbohydrates.

Radishes.
Radishes do well even in poor garden soil, and are ready to harvest in only a few weeks. Existing in shades of red, purple and white, these root vegetables were first cultivated thousands of years ago in Europe. Radishes are a great source of potassium, folic acid, magnesium, and calcium. They taste great as a garnish for salads, and are commonly used in salad dressings.

Salad greens such as lettuce and spinach.
Lettuce has no saturated fat and cholesterol, plus it's a good source of iron, vitamins B6, K, A, and C. Lettuce is high in dietary fiber, and contains traces of omega fatty acids. Folate is another benefit which helps fight heart disease. Like other dark greens, spinach is an excellent source of beta-carotene, a powerful disease fighting antioxidant that's been shown, among other things, to reduce the risk of developing cataracts. Plus, it fights heart disease and cancer as well.

Strawberries.
Perfectly ripe strawberries are unbelievably sweet, and the plants are surprisingly hardy. Put this perennial in a sunny spot and keep it well weeded. Few things taste sweeter than plump, sun-warmed strawberries picked at the peak of ripeness. This is a great fruit to grow because most commercial varieties are subjected to too many pesticides. Standard strawberries will yield 5 to 10 quarts of berries per 10 ft. rows.

Tomatoes.
There’s just no substitute for a perfectly ripe homegrown tomato, and it’s hard to go wrong when you start with strong plants. If you get a big crop, you might consider canning or freezing. Originating in South America, this plump red herbaceous fruit is rich in nutrients like niacin, potassium and phosphorous. Tomatoes also have antioxidants like lycopene, anthocyanin, carotene, and vitamins A, C and E. Tomatoes can add a juicy shot of flavor to a variety of dishes, such as salads, sandwiches and pasta. With just a little water and a lot of sun, tomato plants will grow and fruit all summer long. Tomatoes are fragrant and nutrient-rich, and nothing can beat the taste of a freshly picked homegrown tomato.

Zucchini.
This squash won't take up as much room in your garden as many other types, and it’s very prolific. You won't need more than a few plants for a bumper crop. Also, zucchini grow very quickly, and they're quite spectacular with their big leaves and yellow blossoms, which are also edible. Zucchini is packed with beneficial nutrients including vitamins C and A, potassium, folate, and fiber. All of these contribute to a healthy heart by decreasing the risk of stroke, reducing high blood pressure, and lowering cholesterol. Zucchini is good in a stir fry and in salads, and of course in zucchini bread.