If you’re looking for quicker results in your kitchen garden; or perhaps want to keep your kid’s interest in gardening; or have limited space to grow on; or if you just want to grow some bonus crop in between other crops, here are some fun vegetables that you absolutely must try!
Maximize your garden space
Before you start planning your kitchen garden, learn how much time each of your favorite vegetables takes to mature. Pumpkins take more than 110 days, tomatoes start producing in between 65 - 80 days and radishes take only 20 days. Each vegetable also has an early, mid-season and late crop – which is classified according to its requirements for a certain temperature during the season. Seed packs should ideally have this information printed on them.
Besides knowing the time of maturity you also must know the space each plant will need. For instance, beans are grown vertically, eggplants’ branches get bigger than 20 inches and a carrot takes only 2 inches of space in your garden.
Since most of the vegetables that grow into big plants need more space and time to grow, we can sneak in some fast-growing crops between the slow-growing plants to save time, better use that piece of land, fertilise the soil and to get a bonus crop!
Even in a container garden, you can also radishes and lettuce around your other plants. For instance, I grow radishes around the lime plant in pot!
So here are some fast and good vegetables for you to try in your garden!
Purple dove bush beans - combining beauty with flavour
Arugula or rocket leaf
This mildly spicy salad green is no longer an alien to this part of the world. Some of its varieties are widely grown on a local level for livestock but on the other hand, selected varieties are rarely available at superstores and are only used by chefs and people who are familiar with this delicious green.
Arugula loves to grow in moist soil and is started from sowing seeds. Sow seeds at 6 inches from each other, only 1/4 inch deep. Water gently and keep in the sun. These plants do not require deep pots and can grow well in a small pot as well. Rocket or Arugula can be grown in spring or autumn. The plants usually last throughout the year and self-seed to grow a new batch on their own. In summers, moving your plants into the shade stops them turning very spicy and keeps the growth healthy.
It takes only 20 days for your arugula to be ready for picking. Pick the outer leaves and let the middle ones grow.
Some varieties to try are the Arugula Pronto (European favorite with a spicy taste) and Wild Arugula (an Italian favourite with a pungent flavour).
Radish
This unbelievably fast-growing root vegetable is more diverse than most people realise. From the commonly known tiny red cherry belly radish to the elongated green and white Chinese radish, you can grow any variety that you like.
You might want to look out for the following varieties:
The Chinese Green Luobo is a stunning and delicious, bright green-and-white radish
The Chinese Red Meat Radish is a historic vegetable with red flesh and white skin.
The Early Scarlet Globe is a perfectly round radish that has red skin and white flesh and takes only 22 days until it is ready to be harvested.
The Purple Plum takes only 28 days to mature.
The wonderful world of heirloom radishes is full of spectacular varieties that you can choose from.
If you are doing container gardening, select a pot that gives the roots enough space to grow. The 2-inch big radish will need 4 inches of depth and makes a perfect vegetable to grow along with any plant.
Radishes are also grown from seeds. Each seed will produce one radish. The soil needs to be well-drained. Soil that is too acidic can make the radishes hot. Plant seeds at 2 inches and cover lightly. Pull them up once they become swollen but not too large – otherwise they will become woody and very hot to eat.
Sugar Ann snap peas - prolific, delicious and fast to grow
Lettuce
From bright green to bronze, lettuce offers a wide range of colors, shapes and sizes. There are two types of lettuce: head lettuce that is harvested all at once and leaf lettuce which is usually left to grow and only the larger leaves are harvested.
Leaf lettuce takes only 28 days to mature. Sow seeds thinly in a compost-rich soil. Lettuce will thrive beautifully in a soil that has plenty of organic matter and retains moisture. It is best to grow lettuce during the cold months for the sweet flavour. The lettuce that is grown in summers or late spring usually gets bitter.
Here are some varieties to look for:
Green Mustard, Red Mustard, Kale, Tatsoi and Hon Tsai Tai are popular stir-fry favourites that are ready to be picked in 28 days.
Spritzer is a red lettuce type that is ready in just 21 days.
Rocket or Arugula can be grown in spring or autumn. The plants usually last throughout the year and self-seed to grow a new batch on their own
Bush Beans
This wonderful green protein is usually grown as a vine that takes longer than the bush variety to produce and also requires a lot more space. Bush beans, on the other hand, can fit in a small space in between plants and also in a hanging basket.
Simply sow a seed at every 6 inches in a row or at the same distance in a pot. If you are using a container, make sure it’s 10 inches deep or larger for a single plant! Beans are ready in about 50 days.
Look out for these varieties:
Cantare Bean produces nice straight dark green pods in about 50-55 days.
Calima Bean is a fresh pod with slim straight pods.
Contender Valentine Bush is known for its superb yields.
Henderson’s black valentine bean produces stunning black beans in just 55 days.
Purple dove is absolutely beautiful and produces purple pods with violet flowers.
Beans come in so many colours and the best part is that you can store them as dry beans and enjoy them for a long season.
Snap Peas
This wonderfully sweet treat is extremely easy to grow. Start by sowing seeds at 4 inches in fertile soil. The plants will grow to 2 feet tall or more and will need some kind of support. You can eat the pods raw, freeze them or dry.
The Sugar Ann snap pea is a variety that matures early and is ready to be picked in about 50 days.
Most of these vegetables will easily grow in recycled can, a pet bottle or a hanging basket and require fairly little space and time to grow into a full-sized vegetable. These super fast greens will grow along with any plant as long as the soil requirements match.
So go ahead and grow these five fantastic vegetables for a quick harvest in no time!
Zahra Ali is a sustainability educator, writer and environmentalist. She blogs at cropsinpots.pk. Send in questions about gardening to Zahra@cropsinpots.pk
