10 Fast Growing Vegetables
As spring fever sets in, you may be looking for a jump start on fresh vegetables readily available from your own garden.
There are plenty of fresh vegetables that you can plant for a quick harvest. Many of these you can start inside several weeks before the last frost in your area which will give you a jump on the season.
This crop of veggies is always a good idea and planted alongside an indoor herb garden, you can have fresh produce in as little as 30 days.
1 - radishes
30 days
Radishes are very easy to grow and also one of the fastest growing vegetables. Their edible roots are ready to harvest at 20-30 days. Radishes bolt quickly after this and their pale pink flowers can be enjoyed in salad. The plump and crunchy seed pods are sweet and tasty.
Sow seeds outside in prepared ground or pots filled with potting soil, either indoors or outside. Planting new seed every few weeks will give you an abundant and continuous crop.
Great fresh, they can also be enjoyed longer by pickling and preserving for later use.
2 - Turnips
30-45 days
Fast growing turnips are a dual-purpose crop. They produce tender greens as well as sweet roots. They are cold hardy, become sweeter in cool weather and can tolerate fall frosts.
Raw or cooked, they are loaded with iron, vitamin C and calcium. Turnips are rich in Vitamin C and contain good amounts of Vitamins B-6, A and K in addition to trace minerals. The greens of turnips are even more nutrient dense with loads of Vitamins A, C, K, calcium and folic acid.
3 - Spinach
35-50 days
Spinach is a cool weather vegetable that prefers spring and fall planting. Even in warmer weather, you can harvest baby spinach before they begin to go to seed.
Spinach leaves are super versatile and so good for you. Use them for salad, add to pasta and quiche dishes or sauté with garlic and olive oil.
Harvest regularly to stimulate growth and keep the plant from going to seed. Succession sow every week or 10 days for an extended harvest.
4 - Summer squash
50-55 days
There are so many delicious varieties of summer squash to be enjoyed. The plant grows both male and female edible flowers before producing the squash. Leave some for the vegetable to be produced, but they can be eaten fresh, battered and fried or stuffed.
Harvest by cutting the stem just above the squash and continue harvesting through fall. They will continue to produce vegetables as long as the male flowers are able to pollinate the female flowers.
5 - garden beans
40 - 50 days
Bush beans require no trellis and are the earliest to harvest of the different varieties. Make sure and give them warm soil or the seed will rot. Crunchy and loaded with folic acid, fiber, vitamins A, C, and K, they are easy to grow and quick to deliver.
Snap the beans off at the thin stem between the vine and bean. They are ready to be picked when pods are firm and crisp with small seeds.
6 - Arugula
21 - 40 days
Arugula is a cool weather vegetable and the gourmet, peppery leaves produce edible baby leaves only 3 weeks after planting. Trim these from around the outside base of the plant, just above ground level.
If the arugula bolts, the smoky, sweet flowers are edible, but the leaves will be too hot and bitter to eat. You can start another and succession plant every 20-30 days.
7 - beets & beet greens
30-55 days
Beets are cold tolerant, easy to grow and produce edible beet greens at 30 days and full beets at 55-60 days. They do need lots of sunlight and can be grown in containers. Steamed, roasted or pickled you can enjoy your harvest year round with preservation.
8 - tomatoes
42 - 60 days
Many people are surprised to learn that there are varieties of tomato plants which fall into the quick producer category.
The Sub Artic Plenty variety can produce 3-4 oz tomatoes in as little as 42 days and requires no trellis as a bush variety.
Bloody butcher tomatoes are early producers and ripen in 8 weeks. Harvest both when red and plump by plucking from the vine or bush.
Homegrown tomatoes are great fresh or stewed for canning and sauces.
9 - Cucumber (national pickling)
55-60 days
Developed by the National Pickle Packers Association decades ago, this variety is quick to produce and will continue to provide delicious cucumbers all season long.
You can pick them at 2 to 3 inches for gherkins, or at 4 inches for fresh eating as slicers, or at 6 inches for full maturity.
They provide potassium, vitamin C and calcium.
10 - BABY CARROTS
45 - 50 DAYS
Growing fingerling carrots will reward you with small but flavorful bites in a shorter amount of time than the longer varieties. The shorter, Nantes types include Baltimore, Scarlet Nantes, Little Finger, Bolero and Danvers.
You can even grow them in pots or window boxes with enough depth. Carrots are loaded with vitamin A (from beta-carotene), vitamin K vitamin B6, biotin, and potassium.
In addition to these 10 quick producing vegetables, there may be others in your region that will do well and bring you a fast, abundant harvest. No matter what you choose to grow, you can enjoy the satisfaction of a quick producing, early start harvest to get fresh vegetables to your table.