Want to grow your own vegetables but are short on time? Whether the season has gotten away from you, you’ve just recently been inspired to grow some of the food you put on the table, or you have a hankering to grow several veggies quickly and over the course of several months, these six vegetables you can grow in less than 60 days will help get you going in as little as three weeks.
Radishes – 20-30 days
A cool weather vegetable and salad staple, radishes are the quickest growing vegetable. Planting them in the spring or late summer will give you almost instant gratification while adding some zing to your salads or other roasted root vegetables. Radishes are also very helpful in satisfying your itch for homegrown veggies while the rest of your garden continues to mature.
Spinach – 45-50 days
Another cool weather veggie, spinach does best planted in the early spring or late summer. This leafy green is equally as delicious in the salads of spring, summer, and fall as it is sautéed in a bit of butter and fresh (or powdered) garlic. Spinach is also great in green smoothies paired with your favorite fruits!
To save some for later, spinach is easily blanched, frozen, and saved for using as you please through the coldest (or hottest) of months.
Beets – 50-70 days
High in nutrients and wonderful either fresh, roasted, held in cold storage for months, or pickled, beets are also a wonderful way to get some greens while you wait for the root itself to fatten up. While you don’t want to pull all of the leaves from the roots as it’s growing, a couple of leaves here and there add some color and nutrition to those spinach and radish salads you’ll be making!
Bush (Snap) Beans – 50-70 days
Requiring much less attention than pole beans, bush beans (also known as snap beans) also mature faster than pole beans. Most beans give their crop within a short period of time, allowing you to eat to your heart’s content.
If you happen to grow more than you can eat, pressure canning or freezing them are wonderful ways to preserve them for later.
Summer Squash & Zucchini – 60 days
With countless varieties to choose from and the ease with which they grow, summer squash is a warm-season vegetable that grows quickly and produces immense amounts of produce for your table. Grilled on the barbeque or shredded into sweet breads, you can’t wrong with this garden staple.
Green (Bunching) Onions – 60 days
Quick growing and incredibly tasty, if you plan in advance you can harvest bunching onions for months on end. A prime candidate for succession planting, you can sow a few seeds to start you off, then sow a few more each week, spring through late summer. As they mature, your continuous planting will easily replace those you harvest. Those left at the end of the season can simply be chopped up and frozen for a bit of that summer taste throughout the cold months.
The moral of the story here is, don’t let the calendar scare you into thinking that it’s ever too late to put some seeds into the ground you long to tend! With a little know-how and so many varieties to choose from, there’s sure to be a few vegetables that call your name and will be on your plate in no time flat!
Happy sowing and growing!
xoxo,
M
