The Fastest Growing Vegetables For Your Garden

Following a few basic guidelines can help you grow a number of crops that require little intervention, including: Keeping the soil moist (not drenched), providing nutritious soil, providing plenty of sunlight, and keeping pests away. Here are some of the most prolific crops and fruits that you can count on to keep your dinner table full all year long.

The Fastest Growing Crops

Cress (7 days)

Cress is an easy-to-grow, spicy green that is hard to find in other places. It's a popular microgreen throughout the winter, and it has a peppery flavour that makes it unique. Cress is best grown in a shallow tray covered with wet paper towels, and then seeds are sprinkled onto the surface. Cress will germinate within a couple of days, and once leaves are about 2 inches in size, harvest as soon as possible. If grown outside, the peppery taste of cress can become too intense during hot weather.

Sunflower shoots (12 days)

If you think Jerusalem artichokes are distant cousins of sunflower seeds, you are right. You eat sunflower shoots as soon as they appear, so it's not strange that their distant cousin could be edible. Jerusalem artichokes are tiny, tasty, and packed with important nutrients. To harvest them, set out a seed tray containing a few seeds. You won't need a lot of growing space for this crop, as it won't mature. The shoots will appear after just 12 days and will consist of two healthy leaves. You can harvest them once they're ready. The shoots will be bitter in proportion to their size, so harvest them quickly.

Radishes (28 days)

Radishes are excellent for growing in your home garden because they are crunchy, fast-growing, simple to grow, and well-known for their tasty taste. You do not need to wait for a particular season to plant radishes; however, they will thrive in temperatures between 50ºF and 65ºF. You may plant radishes weekly to ensure a constant supply of these crunchy salad favourites.

Arugula (30 days)

Arugula has a peppery flavour that makes it palatable in a salad or as an alternative to basil pesto. It is named after the Italian word for green, ruchetta, rather than how quickly it develops. Arugula is also sometimes referred to as rocket—not because it grows quickly, but because the name is derived from the Italian ruchetta. The roots of arugula are relatively shallow, so it may also be grown in container gardens. The arugula will be ready for harvest in about three to four weeks after the seed has been planted. After the seeds have germinated, the seedlings should appear between seven and fourteen days. The arugula will be ready for harvest after three to four weeks. The tenderness and sweetness of arugula will improve as soon as it has been harvested.

Spinach (30 days)

Spinach is particularly hardy, often able to cope with below-freezing temperatures. It grows quickly and can be planted as soon as the ground has thawed. Pluck the outer leaves and re-sow seeds every couple of weeks for successive harvests. You should pick spinach regularly because the leaves will become bitter once the plant has reached maturity.

Baby carrots (30 - 40 days)

You can either let carrots grow until they are fully grown or harvest them early and enjoy the sweet roots. Whether you want to plant a lot of small carrots or eat them all at once, you don’t need to space them out. You may grow a lot of baby carrots in a container. You may also include the carrot greens in your diet. They taste wonderful in soups, salads, and smoothies. 

Kale (30 - 60 days)

In around 30 days, these robust vegetables produce baby leaves and in about 60 days they develop mature ones. Choose ‘Dwarf Red Russian’ or ‘Siberian Kale’ for colour, crunch, and flavour. ‘Tuscan Cavalo Nero’ Kale produces long, bumpy leaves. These mature faster than ‘Dwarf Green’ Kale, which produces curly leaves.

Turnips (42 - 110 days)

Mature turnip roots take two months to grow, but you can pull baby turnips sooner for a tender, mild-tasting, sweet root vegetable. When the leafy greens have reached a size of 2 inches, you may pick them and add them to salads or the roots will continue to grow.

Zucchini (45 - 55 days)

A zucchini plant will produce between 6 and 10 pounds of fruit. Coffee grounds can be sprinkled around the plant to boost its growth. The fruit is delicious stuffed with cream cheese or fried. Zucchini is also excellent as a pasta substitute when spiralized.

Bok Choy (45 - 60 days)

Chinese cabbage, bok choy (also known as pak choi) is a quick-growing vegetable. You can grow the bok choy in two forms: bok choy babies, which are less than 10 inches tall and standard bok choy, which grows 1 to 2 feet tall. You should water your bok choy constantly, as drought makes it bolt. In between 45 and 60 days, you'll be able to harvest your bok choy.

Lettuce (50 days)

It is a common knowledge that lettuce is one of the quickest-growing vegetables. Besides being a fast germinator and developer, lettuce also has a great reputation as one of the most delicious salads. You can just remove the leaves you need and the plant will continue to grow and produce. Moreover, you can just break off the leaves you need without the need to replant new seeds every 14 days. Lettuce prefers cooler temperatures between 60ºF and 70ºF, but some varieties are able to withstand hot weather. In hot climates, most lettuce may still thrive if it is grown in a shady spot or in pots on a balcony.

Broccoli (50 - 60 days)

Broccoli is one of the quickest germinators and provides the most nutrient-dense foods when harvested young. For quick harvests, plant “Quarantina” or “Sessantina”. Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable that is often used in stir-fries or as a side dish. It can be eaten raw or cooked. Broccoli grows in clusters and produces long, green stalks that are topped with small, green leaves. Sow the seeds directly in the ground, and water them regularly. When the plants are about two inches tall, thin them to one plant per pot. Broccoli will be ready to harvest about six weeks after planting.

Cucumber (50 - 70 days)

Pick cucumbers while they are young and small to get the fastest-growing varieties. The fruit grows faster if you harvest it regularly. Choose Bush Crop, Straight 8, or Sweet Success as these types of cucumbers are the fastest-growing.

Scallions (55 days)

It can take six months for onions to mature, but scallions are the crop that never stops giving. If you want to harvest scallions, simply cut the green shoot at six inches above the ground rather than pulling the entire root out of the ground. In 21 days, you'll be able to eat them. You can cut scallions just above the soil and add them to your salad bowl or soup as soon as the shoot has reached six inches in height. Even in the coldest regions, green onions are the first plant to appear in the garden as spring approaches and the last to die off in the fall when the weather turns chilly.

Beets (55 - 70 days)

The entire beet plant is edible, and it is sweet and delicious. The leaves may be used as an earthy addition to the salad bowl, or they may be snipped off one or two at a time to avoid limiting root growth. When the top of the beetroot globe starts to show, it's time to harvest them.

Peas (60 days)

Pea plants are easy to grow at home and take almost no gardening experience to plant. They are a cool seasonal crop that flourishes best in temperatures of around 13–18C. To grow your own, sow peas in two parallel lines in soil. Then, cover with soil and water well. Make sure your pea spaces are around 10cm apart. Then, cover with soil and water well.

Why You Should Grow Your Own Food

Mass production is becoming more and more common in our world, so why not consider what we can produce for ourselves? It's important to know where your food comes from, so grow your own. You will appreciate eating your own work more if you know where it comes from. You can save lots of money by growing your own food, especially if you pick up some of the best growing techniques. You may also save a lot of time. You will probably be able to save time by growing your own food.

Growing Your Own Food Saves Money

Growing your own food means one great thing - cutting down on grocery costs! Besides decreasing the bill in the grocery, you’re also saving on time, gas, and effort of going all the way to the market to buy fresh goods. 

Your Own Food = Better Food 

Not only does growing your food cut down on cost, it will also give you and your family safer, more nutritious, and better tasting produce too! Typically, home grown vegetables taste loads better and is more nutritious than grocery bought ones because its cultivation is less intensive and involves less uses of chemicals.

Many vegetables that aren’t sold fresh in markets are jarred, canned, and even pickled. These have preservatives added to them to last longer on shelves and pantries. It’s really a better option to grow your own food then.

Exercise

Home gardening is a not only a hobby, it’s also a fun way of getting some fresh air and exercise. Many gardeners share their experience in the garden as stress relieving, relaxing, and a great energy booster. And, just like the plants in your garden, you’ll be getting loads of vitamin D for your body. 

Aesthetically Pleasing

Gardening is known to add so much more color and vibrance in the surrounding area. Like many parks, having plants all around creates a relaxing environment and invites many birds and bees to pollinate the area. Not only will you have a bounty of fresh produce when you start your garden, you’ll also have loads of beautiful flowers and plants to enjoy viewing. 

Benefits the Environment

Let’s face it, we all know that commercial farming isn’t very pro-environment given the amount of chemicals used and the carbon footprint the machineries make. And the worst part? Not every vegetable in the market actually gets sold and instead ends up in the land fills. Talk about wastage. 

This is where home gardening plays a big part. If we start producing our own food, we produce what we consume or if not, we share with our family and friends. Also, having a home garden means having diverse plants available that attract many pollinators. Unlike commercial farming, a home garden will use loads less of dangerous chemicals and inputs such as machineries and water to maintain. 

Summary

If you’re still contemplating about having your own home garden, this is the sign you should start yours now. Not only will enjoy the fruits of your own labor, but you will also make a better impact for yourself and the environment. 

There are many easy and fast-growing vegetables to choose from that you can start in your garden. Before that, you can read our article about vegetable gardening for complete beginners to know how to get started. 

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