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.

Go time to start thinking about what you want to grow in your garden this summer. Now is the time to order seeds because of a limited supply from the growers last year because of the heat and drought.

I am thinking about what worked and did not work in my garden last summer. What did not work: radishes. I have not been able to grow radishes for the last few years. They grow and bolt without forming an enlarged root, and that is even planting early. I will say this and end up planting a few anyway.

Kohlrabi, I wanted to grow because I remember growing it when I was a kid. It came in that free Gurney Seed Packet my mom would always get. So, grew a big patch last year. Do not remember the flesh being so tough tasting like a sour cabbage. I cook some for 45 minutes to soften them, still tasted odd. This will be out of the garden this year.

Heirloom tomatoes just did not produce (many people had the same problem). Some varieties had no fruit last year. As for hybrid tomatoes, more modern varieties produced much more. One plant of “Celebrity” tomato produced more than the heirlooms put together. So this year, more hybrid varieties than heirloom varieties.

Peppers also do great, better than tomatoes. For a sweet pepper, I plant “Cubanelle” which always produces more than I use. Maybe I should not plant 3 dozen plants, but they do freeze easily.

The parsnips and carrots are still in the ground. I remember thinking I had time to harvest (remember the nice, long fall we had) and then the snow came. Hopefully, I get to them this spring before they start to grow.

It seems cucumber varieties “Sweet Slice” and “Sweet Success” did great with a lot of fruits for 6 weeks. The melons also did well with “Ambrosia” and “Dulce” being the sweetest. Remember the sweet, thin rind melons do not last long.

Okra failed because I planted it too soon. We had some night temps down in the mid 40’s which stunted the little plants. Should have pulled them out and replanted them.

Love growing spinach even if it does not last that long, around 3 weeks of harvest. Leaf lettuce is always easy to grow compared to head lettuce. Just cut the leaves off and it will regrow.

Maybe I try some beans this year. Usually, I have not because of the rabbits, however, I place two more strands of electric wire on the bottom of the fence.

Onion plants started indoors and then transplanted outdoors to get much bigger than the sets. It is because you can pick the variety to grow compared to the generic white, yellow, and red onion sets.

The winter squash and even the summer squash did not do well, but I think that was the type of year. There is always hope for the future garden.