Why should you plant some of the fastest growing vegetables?
In recent years, the trend of sustainable living and self-sufficiency has propelled the popularity of fast-growing vegetables among home gardeners. Tne fastest growing vegetables offer a quick and efficient way to produce fresh produce, aligning with concerns about food security, environmental sustainability, and health consciousness. Understanding basic gardening terminologies such as planting seasons, harvesting times, and plant varieties is crucial in maximising the efficiency of growing these fast-maturing vegetables like Tatsoi, scallions (green onions), arugula, and Swiss chard. The underlying themes here revolve around the benefits of home gardening for fresh produce, the sustainability of growing one’s food source, and the versatility of certain vegetables that can be harvested multiple times during a season.
Not all vegetables take from spring from fall to mature. If you’re getting a late start on your home garden or live in a region with a short growing season, fear not, there are many healthy, delicious vegetables that are quick to harvest.
Here are the 9 fastest growing vegetables to get your garden jumpstarted.
Garden Cress: 14 Days.
Top of our fastest growing vegetables chart, Garden Cress can be ready to harvest in as little as 2 weeks, The seeds can be planted in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked. Also a garden space-saver, a small (1 or 2 feet square) patch of cress will supply you with an abundance of this tangy herb.
Radishes: 21 Days
A cool season crop, spring radishes grow best in 50⁰F to 65⁰F weather. Once sown, you’ll see leafy green shoots above the soil in just three or four days. Keep planting seeds every week or two for a constant harvest through spring and autumn.
Scallions (Green Onions): 21 Days
Also called scallions, green onions are quick-growing plants that can be cut back to their base again and again throughout the season. Once their green shoots reach a height of 6 inches, they are ready for the first round of harvesting.
Tatsoi: 25 Days
A low-growing mustard green, tatsoi is a wonderful addition to salads and soups. Baby tatsoi leaves can be harvested when they reach 4 inches in length, or you can wait the full 40 days for tatsoi to mature to full size.
Lettuce: 30 Days
Another cool-weather vegetable that prefers temperatures between 60°F and 70°F, lettuce seeds should be sown in early spring and late summer. Of the five types of lettuce: loose-leaf, cos, crisphead, butterhead, and stem. leaf lettuce varieties like green leaf and red leaf are among the easiest to cultivate and are more tolerant of hot weather. Planting new seeds every 14 days will provide a continuous harvest.
Spinach: 30 Days
Able to survive in temperatures as low as 15⁰F, spinach is a cold-hardy vegetable that can be planted as soon as the ground thaws. Pluck outer spinach leaves from the plant as it grows or re-sow seeds every 2 weeks for successive harvests. Don’t wait too long to gather spinach because its leaves will become bitter once the plant reaches maturity.
Arugula: 30 Days
Since arugula seeds germinate well in cooler soil, they can be planted as soon as the garden bed can be worked after the spring thaw. Sow their seeds every two to three weeks for continuous harvesting.
Kale: 30 Days
A “cut-and-come-again” plant, kale’s young and tender leaves can be culled continually throughout the growing season once the plant is about 2-inches tall. Avoid picking the central bud, since this keeps kale growing and productive.
Swiss Chard: 45 Days
A colourful member of the beet family, Swiss can be harvested throughout the season by cutting off the outer leaves when they are about 3-inches long and are still young and tender. In addition to using the fresh leaves in salads, you can cut Swiss-chard stems from the leaf and cook them like you would asparagus.
Ready to try planting the fastest growing vegetables?
Growing your own food doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. With the right choice of the fastest growing vegetables, even the busiest gardener or smallest plot (hello, windowsill!) can become a source of fresh, nutritious produce. Whether you’re a beginner looking for quick results or an experienced grower hoping to extend your harvest window, these nine speedy vegetables are a brilliant way to make the most of your garden.
So, what are you waiting for? Grab your seeds, prep your soil, and start planting—you could be enjoying your first harvest in just a couple of weeks.
Got a gardening question for Cowen Landscapes? Send us a message and we’ll do our best to answer.
