With spring right around the corner, there’s no better time than now to start planning an edible garden. Homegrown vegetables are a great idea, to begin with – not only are they more reliable than store-bought veggies, but they’re also fresh, tasty, and can save you a whole lot of grocery money.
However, homegrown bounties come with their own challenges. Vegetables such as peppers and tomatoes can take forever to grow, which can make you quite impatient. The best solution to this problem is to grow some fast-growing vegetables that will tide you over while you wait for the rest of your produce to sprout up. Sowing a few seeds every few weeks will give you an endless supply of freshly harvested produce that will last you all season.
Without further ado, let’s have a look at some of the best plants that you can sow early in the growing season and harvest them in the form of delicious veggies in around eight weeks.
1. Arugula
With a slightly peppery flavor and a touch of spice, arugula makes a great ingredient for salads. Also known as rocket, this delicious vegetable is quite often used as a substitute for basil pesto. Arugula is one of the easiest and fastest vegetables to grow in your backyard.
All you need to do is sow the seeds straight into the ground and chop up the leaves when they’re ready for harvest. The seedlings are generally expected to emerge between a week or two, and arugula leaves will be ready to harvest in about 3 to 4 weeks.
The earlier the leaves are harvested, the sweeter and tender the arugula will be. Also, since this plant has relatively shallow roots, it can easily be grown in container gardens. Moreover, if you plan on growing arugula through the summer month, you should choose a shadier spot to keep it from going to seed too fast.
2. Cucumbers
Cucumbers are a highly versatile and juicy vegetable that can be used in a variety of delicious recipes, especially salads, and even be eaten fresh. You can also make pickles with fresh cucumbers. While big cucumbers might take a while to grow, baby cucumbers can easily be planted and harvested as early as 50 to 60 days after planting. An important thing to note is that cucumbers like to run so either you will have to give them ample space to grow or place them on a trellis.
3. Bok Choy
Bok choy is a type of Chinese cabbage that grows very quickly. There are two varieties of bok choy that can be grown in your backyard. The first type of bok choy is a baby bok choy that is less than 10 inches tall, and the second type is a standard bok choy that grows almost 1 to 2 feet.
Bok choy requires partial shade and rich and well-drained soil for best results. However, it can also handle full sun. Bok choy needs consistent watering to grow well. Bok choy is typically ready to harvest within 45 to 60 days.