5 Fast Growing Vegetables For Your Garden

These 5 fast growing vegetables for your garden will have you harvesting fresh and delicious home grown food in no time.

Why grow fast growing vegetables?

Fast growing vegetables are great for both the spring and fall garden. When you are craving fresh veggies after a long winter, it’s so great to know that you can grow your own very quickly. It’s also convenient when you need to get as much production out of your garden before your first frost.

There may also be situations where your grocery budget is tight, but you do have seeds you can get in the ground. Being able to grow your own food quickly can supplement your diet and budget.

Knowing what crops grow quickly can give you food security and peace of mind because you can get a garden going quickly and efficiently.

5 Fast Growing Vegetables For Your Garden:

1. Radishes

Radishes are well known as a fast growing crop. Many varieties of radishes you can harvest in less than thirty days! Not only that, but radishes are easy to grow for beginners. They can germinate in as little as 3 days, and grow very quickly, especially when the weather is warming up.

Radishes are a very versatile food too. They can be eaten raw with a little salt or sliced up into salads. When roasted, they get sweeter and lose their spice, making it easier for little ones to eat. You can also ferment radishes to preserve them while also making a great probiotic side dish.

2. Lettuce

While fully grown lettuce takes longer, you can plant lettuce seeds and harvest baby lettuce for salads in as little as 4 weeks! While lettuce may not be the most filling of vegetables, it’s still a great addition to your diet (fiber!) It’s also high in Vitamin A and full of Folate.

Growing your own lettuce gives you peace of mind too. Lettuce is one of the most recalled foods in the United States for bacterial contamination such as E. Coli due to the way it’s grown and processed. By growing your own lettuce in your garden, you have control over how it’s handled.

3. Green Beans

While dry bean varieties take a little longer, bush bean varieties in particular are fast growing. Most can be harvested in as little as 50 days. ‘Contender’ and ‘Provider’ are both great heirloom varieties that are quick to grow and produce well. While I have read many places that bush beans produce all at once and then quit, I have continued to harvest my bush beans for a solid two months before! While they don’t produce as long as pole beans, you get a larger harvest in a shorter amount of time.

Green beans are another versatile vegetable to grow for your family. They can be used in so many recipes and are very filling.

4. Spinach

Spinach is a hardier green than lettuce and very nutritious. It’s ready to be harvested around 45 days, but you can harvest it sooner for baby spinach (around 30 days). A popular and quick growing heirloom variety is ‘Bloomsdale’ spinach. Some other quick growing varieties include ‘Flamingo’, ‘Gazelle’ & ‘Space’.

Spinach is full of Vitamin C and is also a good source of magnesium, vitamin B6 & iron.

5. Zucchini

This is possibly the most versatile of all the crops listed here. While sauteed and roasted zucchini make a great side dish, it’s also delicious in baked goods, grilled and used in place of noodles.

There are almost as many zucchini varieties as there are ways to cook them. Some zucchini varieties are ready for harvest in as little as 45 days. While one of the most popular and well known, ‘Black Beauty’ is also one of the quickest by maturing at 50 days.

Tips for growing these vegetables:

• All of these varieties can be grown in a small space. They can even be grown on an apartment balcony. Look for container varieties that grow quickly if you don’t have the in-ground space.
• Succession sow your plants. All five of these vegetables can be succession sown to give you a harvest all season. Try spacing your sowing of the zucchini and green beans out every two weeks and the greens and radishes every week.
• All of these vegetables do well being direct sown so there’s no need to get them started indoors, weather and time permitting.

While this list isn’t comprehensive, it will give you a good start if you are looking for food security. Don’t get too caught up in all of the varieties and types. Take the first step and plant the seed. Gardeners learn by doing more than anything. The worst that can happen is that you don’t get much of a harvest. If you don’t, try again! If you would like to know more about starting a garden from seed, check out this post here!