If you are a first-time gardener, these are some hard to grow vegetables to think twice about.
Celery takes up a lot of water compared to other crops. Also, it likes cooler spring temperatures to properly mature. Some people blanch celery by hilling with dirt or wooden shingles to reduce bitter flavor. If you want to try, get young transplants for seeds that take over 120 days to grow. It is a perfect crop for winter temperate climates.
Sweet corn especially in rural areas has one main problem, raccoons! Use an electric fence. Also, corn is cross-pollinated which requires planting a block so the ears can get the pollen to make the ears. If you have a large enough space, try growing pumpkins or squash around the border to help keep the varmints out and the plants can grow into the corn rows.
Head lettuce needs uniform cool temperatures to produce a head. Out temperature fluctuates where the lettuce will bolt (go to seed) and not form a head. Longer day lengths also contribute to the bolting process. Grow leaf lettuce which is much easier to grow.
Sweet potatoes take a long time to set tubers, up to 120 days of warm temperatures. If the slips are planted too early in cold soil, they become stunted. Growing in raised beds or old tractor tires helps.
Carrots are hard because they can take up to a couple of weeks to germinate and the soil needs to be kept moist (not wet) through this process. High clay soil makes them stunted and twisted, so amend the soil before planting with peat or sand. You can grow the shorter, stubby varieties in this type of soil.
If cauliflower is unhappy due to temperature fluctuations or a dry, wet pattern, it will button. This means you have a little three-inch head, and that’s it. Also, even with self-blanching varieties, the leaves need to be tied up to assure a white head. It is best if they are grown to mature in the fall when it is cooler.
Artichokes grow in the Pacific Northwest, there is a reason that is the only place in this country they reliably grow in this country. You will see them in some seed catalogs and notice they can take two years to grow.