29 Sep 2021
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GROW FAST FOOD

This list of quick maturing edibles will give you plenty of options for adding tasty leafy greens, root vegetables and tummy fillers by starting with seeds.

  1. Arugula or Rocket:  This mildly peppery leafy salad green is a rapid grower; 3 – 5 weeks. It’s ideal to pick the  leaves when they are young and small, as the flavour is not as spicy.  Like lettuce, you can cut leaves as needed and let the rest of the plant continue to grow.
  2. Bush Beans:  Ready in about 5 – 6 weeks, bush beans produce earlier than pole beans. Small, compact bushes first produce flowers and then beautiful beans appear.
  3. Lettuce:  Ready in about 4 – 8 weeks, depending on the variety grown. By cutting off the outer leaves as needed, the remaining plant will continue to grow and provide a longer harvest.
  4. Micro-greens & Sprouts:  Certainly the fastest foods you can grow are sprouts and micro-greens. With sprouts, you eat the fully germinated seed.  You’ve probably heard of sprouting seeds in a jar. That’s definitely the fastest-growing food!  Microgreens are grown in soil and are harvested in about 1 – 3 weeks.
  5. Mustard Greens:  You can harvest these colourful spicy leaves when they are very young (3 – 4 weeks) or when they are mature (at about 5 – 6 weeks) depending on the variety. These leafy vegetables are ideal for adding peppery flavour to salads, soups and stir-fries.
  6. Nasturtium:  Edible Nasturtiums are easy to grow and their flowers add great colour to the garden. Their bold, edible flowers, leaves and seedpods make them an especially plant for kids to grow and they are a favourite companion plant in the garden.
  7. Radishes:  Radishes are sown from seed and harvested in just 3 – 4 weeks. These delicious crunchy, crisp and colourful vegetables are absolute speed demons from seed to feed!
  8. Spinach (baby):  Ready in 5 – 8 weeks. Spinach loves shade and lots of water. Baby spinach leaves are sweet and tender – don’t let your plants grow for too long.
  9. Spring Onions:  These are delicious members of the onion family and should be ready for picking young stems in around 8 weeks. Harvest them from the outside in to encourage new growth.