Fast Food From Your Own Garden.
Are you concerned about your food supply? That’s very understandable and now is a great time to take control of at least a small part of the food you put on your family’s table. And by starting with the fastest vegetables to grow, you can be putting food on your family’s table in no time. Growing your own garden is a great place to start to take back control.
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Why Choose The Fastest Vegetables To Grow?
So you want to start growing your own vegetables, but you don’t want to wait all summer to start eating from your garden. You want to grow something that will quickly go from seed packet to table and start providing some nourishment for your family as well as a sense of control over your food supply. You want the fastest vegetables so you can start supplying your family with good, nutrient-dense food right away.
I love growing big beefsteak tomatoes as much as the next person. Sliced on a sandwich or in a quick marinara. Mmmm what says summer better than that?
And my ducks love when I have a pumpkin to share with them. But we all know these delicacies take a long time to grow.
Some vegetables are a lot quicker to get on your plate than others, so let’s look at some of the quickest vegetables to grow.
Read More>> 8 Easy Ways To Preserve Your Harvest.
Food You Can Grow Fast!
Many of the fastest vegetables you can grow, you can start inside while it is still too cold to be working in the garden. Starting seeds inside is a great way to make sure you are ready to put plants in the garden sooner for a quicker harvest.
And with the addition of a few lights, you could even grow some vegetables, like microgreens all year long inside. In fact, greens of many types can be grown inside during the winter. What a great way to bring the goodness of spring to the gloominess of winter.
Fastest Growing Food.
I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite and fastest vegetables to grow. The times are approximate and are influenced by many things such as the daytime temperatures, and the variety makes a difference too. As an example, one variety of leaf lettuce can be ready at 30 days, another can take as long as 70 days. So make sure you check the maturity dates.
The number of days also indicates, days to maturity. Many of the plants I list can be eaten sooner in the ‘baby green’ stage. I do this all the time. I go out to my garden and cut the outer leaves of greens, leaving the inner leaves to continue to grow to maturity. This makes fast vegetables even faster.
One last note before we jump right in. Some of these grow better in cooler temperatures (spring or fall) and some are better in the heat of summer. I’ll note this on each one.
PRO TIP: A good way to keep a supply of your favorite fast-growing foods is to plant a small amount every 2 weeks for the duration of their season.
Here Are My Top 10 Fastest Vegetables For A Quick Harvest.
#10 – Cherry Tomatoes – 50 – 70 days – warm
Cherry tomatoes take longer than the greens that follow, but they are worth waiting for.
Top quick pick: Tiny Tim is one of the earliest and is so small it can be grown in containers.
#9 – Zucchini – 40-50 days – warm
Quick to start and if you keep them picked they will continue to put on more fruit over a long season.
Top quick pick: Round de Nice
#8 – Bush Beans – 40-55 days – warm
This variety will produce a lot of beans in a very small space. Great for container gardening.
Top quick pick: Provider
#7 – Swiss Chard – 28-55 – cool but can take some heat.
Swiss chard is such a versatile plant. Sauté and put in your omelet. Make it into a soup or just serve as a side of greens. Baby chard is great in salads. The stems can be cooked like asparagus. It’s all good.
Top pick: Ruby Red (Because it’s so pretty!)
#6 – Beets – 35-60 – cool
Beet greens are awesome! Raw in a salad or cooked. Then when the root is mature, roast it in the oven for another taste (and nutrition) treat.
Top pick: Early Wonder
#5 – Amaranth – 30-50 days – cool but can take some heat.
Amaranth can be grown for either the leaves or the grain. I love this green because it doesn’t die off or turn bitter at the first sign of summer. Amaranth is great as a green in salads when it is young and as a cooked green as it matures. Start picking when it has at least 4 true leaves.
Top pick: Red garnet amaranth
#4 – Lettuce – 30 – cool
Leaf lettuce can be eaten at any stage. Romaine is the most nutritious lettuce.
Top quick pick: Winter Density
#3 – Spinach – 30 – cool
Raw or cooked, spinach is a winner on the table. But don’t try to grow it when it’s hot. Start it early in the fall and with a little covering, it will grow well into winter. Start it again in early spring.
Top pick: Bloomsdale
#2 – Radish – 21 – cool
Don’t poo-poo radishes. I don’t like them raw in my salad either. But their leaves are good raw or in a soup and if you roast the roots in a 350°F oven with a little oil and salt and pepper, the sugars caramelize and the spiciness all but disappears. These are also one of the easiest vegetables to grow.
Top pick: French Breakfast.
#1 – Microgreens – 6 – 21 days – It doesn’t matter the season, you can grow these, inside on a window sill or under lights.
Top pick: buy seeds just for microgreens (or organic) to ensure they are not treated with chemicals. There are so many varieties to choose from! My favorites are red cabbage, pea shoots, sunflower, and amaranth. Red kale is packed with nutrients too.
Where To Buy Fast Growing Vegetable Seeds
I have a few favorites. One of my favorite places to buy seeds is SeedsNow. They have starter packs for those just trying out new vegetables that are very affordable.
And my favorite place to buy microgreen seeds and supplies is True Leaf Market.
For a nice variety of garden seeds, (and a family-owned company too,) Check out Seeds For Generations.
With these seed companies, you just can’t go wrong. You can start the fastest growing food today!
Start Your Fast Food Garden Today!
Want to learn to garden? Check out my Ultimate Beginners Gardening Course.
I hope you enjoyed this list of the fastest vegetables to grow. Even if you only have containers on your back porch, you can be putting food on your table and taking more control of your family’s food. Don’t put it off. Start your garden today!
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Happy Gardening!
I believe everyone can grow at least part of their own food! Let me show you how.
