Fastest growing vegetables

Agriculture wants a lot of time and care. It takes its own time to give warming results. Growing some vegetables on your own backyard can help save some of your money and much of your health as organic food comes with high price on the stores.   Growing vegetables on your own may feel a lot of time taking but it will be all worthy when the plants start giving the yield. Here are some of the fastest growing vegetables to plant on your garden:

1.Radish

Radish are root vegetables mostly eaten raw as salad vegetable. They are cool season vegetables requiring full sunlight. They can be grown very easily from seed on well drained sandy loam soil. Sowing small batches of seeds at interval of a week can give a continuous supply throughout the season.

Spacing : 10cm – 15cm

Soil type : sandy loam soil (generally all kind of moist soil)

Sunlight  : min of 3hrs and above, ( can be grown in partial shade)

Varieties to use :  Early Scarlet Gold, Hailstone White Globe, French Breakfast, Cherry Belle, White Icicle, etc.

Harvesting time : 4-8 weeks

2.Carrot

Carrots are root vegetables. Generally, they are not fastest vegetables but finger sized varieties grow quick and can be harvested very soon. They are more sweet and tender than full grown ones. They are cool season crops requiring full sunlight with well drained, humus rich soil.

Spacing : 10cm*10cm

Varieties to use : Baby Spike, Minicor, Little finger, etc.

Soil type : well draining humus rich soil (generally all kind of moist soil)

Sunlight  : min of 5hrs and above, ( can be grown in partial shade)

Harvesting time : 6-9 weeks

3.Spinach

Spinach are leafy green vegetables which can be eaten cooked or raw as salad. They are cool season crops. They grow well on full or partial sunlight in well-drained soil.

Spacing (Row*Column): 30 cm*20 cm

Varieties to use : Palco, Hammerhead, Emperor, Wood pecker, Flamingo etc.

Harvesting time : Young leaves can be harvested as soon as 3 weeks after sowing while full plant harvest can be done after 5-6 weeks.

4.Lettuce

Lettuce is a leafy vegetable which grows in cool temperature. It is more often eaten as salad and also used in soups and rolls. It requires humus reach well drained soil and full sunlight to grow well.

Spacing : 10cm*15cm

Varieties to use : Lau’s Pointed Leaf Romaine, Crispino Iceberg, Frisee Endive, etc.

Harvesting time : Harvesting of outer leaves can be done starting from 4 weeks of plantation.

5.Bush bean

Bush beans are those beans which have short plant height. These beans give harvest very fast. They are sown during the spring and harvested on summer. They need well drained soil and full sunlight for best production. For continuous harvest throughout the season they can be planted at interval of 2 weeks. Harvesting can be done by picking the tender pods every few days.

Spacing : 35cm*10cm

Varieties to use : Topcrop, Provider, Resistant Cherokee etc.

Harvesting time : 8-10 weeks

6.Cucumber

Cucumber are very easy growing vegetable. They grow in veins in trellis or on ground. Well drained soil and full sunlight are the ideal conditions for its growth. Baby cucumber are mostly consumed sliced as salad or as pickled.

Spacing : 60cm*60cm

Varieties to use : Dasher II, Salad Bush, Greensleeves, Raider etc.

Harvesting time : 6-7 weeks

7.Green onions

Also known as Scallion or spring onions, green onions are eaten raw as salad or cooked. These are sown in early spring and sowing at an interval of one or two weeks on patches gives continuous harvest in summer. Well drained soil in full sun area are most suitable for their growth.

Spacing : 20cm*5cm

Varieties to use : Red Beard, Long White Tokyo, Evergreen White Bunching etc

Harvesting time : 5-6 weeks

8.Turnip

Turnip is basically root crop but their young leaves are also consumed as salad called ‘turnip greens’. It is a cool season vegetable growing well on full or partial sunlight. Well manured and well drained loamy soil is best suited for its cultivation.

Spacing : 15cm*20cm

Varieties to use : Market Express, Tokyo cross, Scarlet and Alltop and Topper (mainly for greens).

Harvesting time : Young leaves can be harvested as soon as 4 weeks and root can be harvested 6-7 weeks after sowing.

9.Arugula

They are very easy growing leafy plants. They can be planted on spring or fall in full sunlight area with well-drained soil. It is mostly used as salad.

Spacing : 10cm*15cm

Varieties to use : Astro, Garden Tangy, Rocket etc.

Harvesting time : 4 weeks after plantation. Harvesting of individual leaves give longer harvests.

10. Mustard Green

These peppery smelling greens are very easy to grow.  They can be planted during spring or after mid summer on well drained soil. They need full or partial sunlight for optimum growth. They are mostly consumed as salads or stir fry. Planting on batches in interval of 2 weeks gives a continuous harvest throughout the season.

Harvesting time: Harvesting can be started from 2-3 weeks.

Sunlight : 4hours and above works best for them

11. Mung Bean Sprouts

Sprouts are very nutritious food and have important place on salads and other dishes. Besides they can be very easily grown at home. Mung bean seeds are placed in a jar and its top is covered by a muslin cloth tied with a rubber band. Now, Water should be poured inside jar  2-3 times in a day and the jar is turned upside down to drain the water. Within 2-3 days mung beans sprout and begin to develop roots. These spouts can be consumed starting from the very beginning of the sprouting till roots grow about 2-3 inches long.

Harvesting time: Harvesting can be started from 6-10 days.

Water everyday to keep them moist

12.Bok choy

Bok choy is a type of Chinese cabbage with no head, thick white stalks and deep green leaves. It is mostly eaten raw as salad or cooked as fry or soup. They are planted during autumn in well manured and well-drained soil with partial sunlight.

Spacing: 25cm*15cm

Varieties to use: Mei Qing Choi, Ching-Chiang, Black summer etc.

Harvesting time: Individual leaves can be harvested after 3-4 weeks while whole plant is ready to harvest after 5-6 weeks of planting.

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