Quick Growing Plants and Vegetables To Grow for Instant Harvest

Last Updated on November 26, 2021 by Real Men Sow

Leaving gaps in your garden where you’ve just harvested your crops is a bad idea. The bare ground would attract weeds and would become prone to erosion. These are the plants you can grow and harvest within a few weeks. Take a look at this updated list for some quick-growing plants and vegetables to fill up the empty holes in your garden.

How To Sow Quick Growing Plants in Your Garden

Making Your Soil Well-Prepared

The first thing to do before planting is to prepare the ground. Your soil should be well-prepared, meaning it should have enough nutrients to support healthy growth and the right texture for germination. Most of the time, all you need to do is to sprinkle organic fertilizer on your soil then raking it. 

List of Quick Growing Plants and Vegetables to Try

Radishes

It takes three to four weeks to harvest radishes. Sow your seeds into prepared ground or pots with potting soil. The plump seeds are to be sown very thinly, spaced 2.5cm apart. You can sow small batches every few weeks until summer’s end.

After three to five days, seedlings will appear, you may thin the seedling if there’s not enough room for them to expand. Harvest them before their roots get too big.

Salad leaves

It takes 21 days until you can harvest your home-grown salad leaves. All you need to do is sow a mix of salads. They should be spread thinly, giving them 15cm to 25cm space apart from each other. Cover the seeds by gently patting the surface down. Water to keep them moist and avoid growing weeds as your seeds germinate. Make sure to cover them with cloth if you’re living where summers are very hot. 

It’s best to harvest them by taking two or three outside leaves one at a time. This would encourage more growth of leaves. 

Dwarf green beans

Dwarf Green Beans are sown once you’ve harvested your previous crops. It takes two months before they grow pods. During summers, they can be grown directly into the ground or into your pots with potting soil. Keep your seeds 25cm to 40cm apart. Your bushy plants will flower. It’s best to pick their pods a few days after they appear, doing this would encourage the plant to grow more pods. 

Carrots

Carrot is a quick-growing, finger-sized variety that is best to grow to get sweet and crunchy roots in just six weeks. Sow your seeds thinly over the surface then cover with a thin layer of compost. You can also sow them into drills that are 15cm apart, cover, then water. It’s best to put a row cover to keep the carrot flies from laying their eggs. Thin your seedlings, 2.5cm apart on a rainy day or on a cloudy day. Water them after thinning them. Harvest them while they’re still young, use a border fork to loosen the soil they’re planted in.

Spinach

It takes 30 days from sowing their seeds to harvest spinach. Sow them into rows that are 30cm apart. The seeds should be 2.5cm apart. Once they’re seedlings, thin them out to 20cm apart. Hot weather would make the leaves taste bitter, so make sure to sow them under a light shade when it’s hot outside and keep the ground moist to prevent them becoming bitter.

Cut its leaves using a sharp knife or scissors, letting the leaves get too big is not the way to go. Harvest the leaves often to encourage the plant to grow more. Put a row cover if you sown them late and it’s near winter. 

How To Protect Your Quick Growing Plants From Pests

Although they are quick-grown and have a little amount of time to attract pests, it’s best to take the safe road and protect them. Row covers can protect your carrots from carrot flies, your radishes from flea beetles, and salad leaves. Set up beer traps or an upturned grapefruit shell for slugs that may decimate your seedlings. 

It’s a good choice to sneak in some quick-growing vegetables in your crop rotation. Share your experiences in growing them or the other quick-growing crops you grow in the comments!