10 Best Spring Vegetables To Plant For A Fast Harvest!

Are you tired of waiting all season for your veggies to grow? Many vegetables take a long time to harvest. Our article lists the “10 Best Spring Vegetables to Plant for a Fast Harvest!” These fast-growing veggies get ready quickly, giving you fresh food early.

Read on and start planting!

Key Takeaways

• Fast-growing vegetables like radishes, spinach, and arugula can be ready to eat in less than 60 days.
• Using seedlings instead of seeds and planting in the right conditions speeds up growth.
• Some veggies, such as lettuce and kale, allow for continuous harvesting. This means you get more food over time.
• Green onions and peas don’t need much space or special care, making them easy to grow in small gardens or pots.
• Beet greens are quick to harvest, offering fresh leaves for salads or cooking in about 30 days.

Understanding Fast-Growing Vegetables

Understanding Fast-Growing Vegetables is essential for a successful spring harvest. It involves knowing the days to maturity and ideal growth conditions. This knowledge helps you choose vegetables that will yield quick results and flourish in your garden.

Days to maturity

Days to maturity means how long a plant takes to grow from seed to harvest. Seed packets say this as a range, like 45-60 days. This helps gardeners know when they can pick their vegetables.

Some fast-growing vegetables are ready in 60 days or less.

Starting with seedlings instead of seeds can make your vegetables ready faster. This is useful for people who want an early harvest. Planting things like salads, mustard greens, and beets using young plants from nurseries can speed up the time it takes to put fresh food on your table.

Using seedlings can speed up harvest time.

Optimal conditions for growth

Vegetables grow best with a lot of sunlight, the right amount of water, and good soil. For fast growth, plants also need the correct season. Warm seasons make plants mature faster.

Every vegetable has its own needs for light, water, and temperature.

Some vegetables need more care to grow quickly. They might need extra things like mulch or composta to help the soil stay moist and rich. Tools like cold frames can protect young plants from frost.

Using potting mix helps when you plant in containers. Start seeds inside if your garden is still cold. This gives them a head start before moving them outside into the garden or greenhouse.

Radishes

Radishes are quick to grow and can be ready to harvest in just a few weeks. Their fast maturation makes them a great choice for those looking for rapid results from their vegetable garden.

Quick maturation period

Radishes grow very fast. The ‘Champion Cherry Belle’ kind is ready in 30-35 days. Another type, the ‘French Breakfast,’ takes only 28 days to be ready to eat. This makes radishes perfect for sowing in spring for a quick harvest.

From garden to table in less than five weeks, radishes offer one of the fastest paths to fresh veggies.

Moving on, let’s talk about how spinach grows quickly in cool weather.

Spinach

Spinach grows rapidly in cool weather, making it ideal for a fast harvest. It’s full of nutrients and versatile in the kitchen. Want to learn more about fast-growing vegetables? Read on!

Rapid growth in cool weather

Cool weather helps spinach grow fast. The ‘Bloomsdale Long Standing’ variety of spinach takes 39-50 days to be ready. This makes it a great choice for early spring planting. Gardeners like that they can plant it and see leaves ready to pick in just over a month.

Using a good potting mix will help this vegetable grow well.

Next, we talk about lettuce, which is another quick-growing vegetable for your garden.

Lettuce

Lettuce is a versatile and fast-growing leafy green, ideal for continuous harvest throughout the spring. It thrives in cool temperatures and comes in various types, such as romaine, butterhead, and leaf lettuce.

With minimal care requirements, lettuce can be grown easily even in small spaces like containers or window boxes.

Continuous harvest possibilities

You can pick lettuce multiple times in a season. Loose-leaf types like ‘Oakleaf’, ‘Lollo Rosso’, and ‘Salad Bowl’ get ready in 30-45 days. You don’t have to wait long to enjoy your salad greens.

Leafy vegetables offer a bonus – they taste better when young and need less water, making them perfect for gardeners who want quick results and care about the environment.

Leafy greens like lettuce give you fresh food fast and keep giving.

To keep your salad bowl full, plant these lettuces every few weeks. This way, you always have tender leaves to eat. Salad greens are not just fast; they are easy too. You can grow them in pots if you don’t have much space.

Green Onions

Green onions are easy to plant and grow quickly. They can be ready for harvest in just a few weeks, making them a great choice for a fast yield in your spring garden.

Easy to plant and quick to harvest

Green onions are perfect for gardeners who want fast results. You can plant them in a potting mix and see them grow quickly. They take about 60 days to get ready. This makes green onions great for both garden beds and container gardening.

For these vegetables, you do not need much space or special tools. Just water, sunlight, and basic care will do the job. They work well in small gardens or pots on your porch. Green onions add flavor to foods and are ready to eat in two months.

Arugula

Arugula is a fast-growing leafy green that thrives in the cooler temperatures of spring, making it a perfect addition to your garden for a quick harvest. To learn about more fast-growing vegetables you can plant this spring, keep reading.

Thrives in the cooler temperatures of spring

Arugula loves the cold days of spring. This leafy green doesn’t need much heat to grow well. You can pick your arugula leaves in just 25 days. It’s perfect for adding a peppery taste to salads or sandwiches.

With its fast growth, you get to eat fresh greens quickly.

Cool weather makes arugula sweet and crisp.

This plant does great with other spring vegetables too. Peas and radishes are good friends in the garden during this time. They all like cooler soil and air to start growing. Planting them together means you get a variety of foods from your garden early in the season.

Peas

Peas are a great choice for fast-growing vegetables in the spring. They thrive when planted early, leading to an early harvest and delicious peas.

Early planting leads to early harvests

Planting peas early in the season means you can harvest them sooner. For example, ‘Bush Oregon’ snow peas are ready to pick in 60 days. The ‘Bush Sugarsnap’ type takes about 56-58 days to mature.

Starting these plants as soon as the ground can be worked gives them a head start on growth. This way, they use the cool spring weather to develop quickly.

Gardeners get fresh peas by mid-spring because of early planting. After harvesting these early birds, it’s time for kale, another quick grower that enjoys cooler temperatures.

Kale

Kale is a hardy and fast-growing vegetable in the spring. It’s nutritious and has various varieties to choose from.

Hardy and fast-growing in spring

Kale grows well in the cooler months of spring. You can pick baby leaves in about 30 days. For full-sized leaves, wait around 60 days. This plant is tough and handles cold spells easily.

Turnips also grow fast during spring. They’re ready to harvest in roughly 40-50 days. These root vegetables do not mind the chillier weather either. Planting them early means you get to eat them sooner.

Turnips

Turnips are a quick-growing root vegetable ideal for spring planting. They provide a fast harvest and make a great addition to your garden! Read more for all the details.

Quick-growing root vegetable

Turnips are a quick-growing root vegetable. The ‘Purple Top White Globe’ variety matures in about 45 days, whilst the ‘Purple Top Milan’ variety does so in 30-35 days. These vegetables can be harvested in approximately 45 days.

Mustard Greens

Mustard greens are fast growing and flavorful. They add a peppery kick to salads and stir-fries, making them a versatile addition to your spring garden. Fast maturation makes them an excellent choice for quick harvests.

Fast growing and flavorful

Radishes are one of the fastest growing vegetables, ready to harvest in just 30 days. Spinach also matures quickly within 40-60 days. Lettuce offers continuous harvesting and can be ready in about 30 days for baby leaves.

Arugula thrives in cooler spring temperatures, reaching maturity rapidly. Green onions and peas also have quick growing periods, offering early yields for your plate. Turnips, mustard greens, and beet greens are all fast-growing options bursting with flavor.

These vegetables provide a swift turnaround from planting to table and offer an abundance of fresh flavors to enhance your meals during the spring season.

Beet Greens

Beet greens are young leaves that can be harvested quickly. These leafy greens provide a fresh and nutritious addition to salads or cooked dishes, making them a versatile choice for your spring garden.

Harvest young leaves quickly

The prime time to harvest young beet leaves is approximately 30 days after planting. This enables you to relish the delicate and flavorful leaves before they reach full maturity. It’s recommended to gather the youthful leaves when they are about 2-4 inches tall for the most pleasing taste and consistency.

These delectable greens can then be utilized in salads, sautés, or included in smoothies for a nutritious boost.

It is essential to monitor the growth of your beet plants closely, guaranteeing that you harvest the leaves at their optimal freshness. By integrating these fast-growing vegetables into your garden, you can relish an uninterrupted supply of fresh produce throughout the spring season.

Conclusion

In conclusion, planting fast-growing vegetables in spring can lead to a quick and satisfying harvest. Whether it’s radishes, spinach, or green onions, these veggies offer a variety of flavors and nutrients.

With the right care and conditions, you can enjoy fresh produce within just a few weeks. Try experimenting with different varieties and enjoy the rewards of your efforts as you watch them grow before your eyes.

Happy planting!

FAQs

1. What are the fastest growing vegetables to plant in spring?

Fast-growing vegetables for a quick harvest include microgreens, celery, tatsoi, bok choy, bush beans and tomatoes. These vegetable varieties sprout quickly with proper germination conditions.

2. Can I grow other types of plants alongside my fast-harvest spring veggies?

Certainly! You can plant fruits like strawberries and apples or root crops such as potatoes (solanum tuberosum) and daikon radishes along with your leafy greens.

3. How do I ensure successful germination of my spring vegetable seeds?

Successful germination depends on factors like quality potting mix and appropriate moisture levels. For specific crop needs, it’s best to consult a nursery or trusted internet source.

4. Are there any unique ways to enjoy these harvested vegetables?

Absolutely! Enjoy your harvest in various dishes like zucchini bread from fresh zucchinis, fried okra from okra pods or even kale chips from freshly picked kale leaves!

5. Can I use high tunnel methods for these fast-growing spring vegetables?

Yes! High tunnels can speed up the growth process for many plants including broccolini (brassica oleracea), eggplant, squash and sweet corn by providing a controlled environment that promotes faster growth.

6. What are some nutritious leafy green options to plant this Spring?

Leafy greens such as swiss chard (spinacia oleracea), lettuce salad (lactuca sativa), collard greens, turnip greens offer nutritional benefits besides being easy-to-grow during Spring season.