Fastest Growing Vegetables

Do you want to grow the Fastest Growing Vegetables? 

Here are our top suggestions for the fastest growing crops that you can start from seed: 

• Radish – Harvest in 22+ Days!
  The classic Cherry Bell Radish is super easy to grow and it is one of the fastest growing vegetables you can plant!. Simply direct sow the seeds in fluffy soil, keep them moist and watch them sprout in just 5-7 days depending on soil and weather conditions. They grow quickly into pretty 1" cherry red globes that are crunchy and tasty. Continue to plant these every couple weeks or so for an ongoing harvest, and pick them as they get to be about 1" wide. 
  
  
• Lettuce – Harvest in 40-50 days
  Our crispy Little Gem lettuce, is one of the fastest growing vegetables. Little Gem is the perfect cross between butterhead and romaine, with  romaine’s crunch with the sweetness and small size of a butterhead – chefs love this lettuce. You can direct sow seeds in the garden in fluffy soil, and keep moist to see them germinate in 5-10 days depending on soil and weather conditions. They then grow quickly - you can pick off individual leafs to harvest to allow the head to keep growing, or when they're larger, you can cut off the entire head by slicing it off above the soil. Very fast growing.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Cilantro - Harvest in 55 days
  Cilantro is another fast growing vegetable / herb that grows great in the cool-seasons like early spring/spring and fall. Cilantro leaves have a citrusy bite and the entire plant is edible, as well as their seeds, also known as Coriander. Cilantro (no matter what kind you grow) is an annual and it will eventually bolt, or, as we like to call it, bloom! We love having the dainty flowers in our garden and flower pots – and so do lots of beneficial insects and pollinators, so we let it bloom and go to seed. You can also collect and re-sow the seeds over time to keep a continual harvest going. Cilantro seeds can be direct planted outdoors, it doesn't like to be transplanted, so it's best to direct sow where you want it to grow!
  
  
• Spinach – 45 days
  Another fastest growing vegetable is our Bloomsdale Spinach which is great to grow in fall and extra early spring as it doesn't mind frosty temperatures (especially when given a little cover from deep freezes such as a frost blanket, small hoop house, cold frame or even an overturned saucer or clear/frosted container). Bloomsdale Spinach grows quickly and handles hot weather better than other varieties and has great nutty flavor, nutrition, and has a beautiful deep emerald green color.
  
  
• Beets – 35-60 days
  Beets are another fastest growing vegetable! Grow them for both the deep red perfectly round 3" roots, and the young tops which are used as greens to sautée or add to salads. The greens come first of course. You can also forget about beets in the garden and harvest them later when they're even larger and they are still delicious in our experience! Just bigger to cut. :) 
  
  
  

• Zucchini – 55 days (or harvest blooms earlier!)
  We'd have to save one of the most productive of the fastest growing vegetables is the famous Black Beauty Zucchini summer squash. You can direct sow these seeds in mounds in the garden (one plant per mound, sow 2-3 seeds and thin to one plant after they germinate - you can even gently dig them out to give away or plant elsewhere.) These are one of the first vegetables of the summer garden, and boy do they keep on coming! You can also enjoy their blossoms earlier – pick the male blossoms (no small fruit bulb at the base) and stuff them with garlic, tomatoes, hummus, and tofu or ricotta cheese - then dredge them in a flour batter made with sparkling water or beer and flour – then drop them into a cast iron pan with a layer of oil - fry them on both sides and you have a fancy, crispy delight! 
  
  

• Early Bell Peppers – Havest begins in 57 Days!
  Our Sweet Chocolate Bell pepper is a super early sweet pepper that will keep on providing all summer long. It is typically the first pepper to harvest ad they are the fastest growing pepper seeds we carry. Want more fast-growing peppers? Check out all of our Short Season Peppers »
  
  
• Shishito Peppers – 60 Days
  Sweet Shishito Peppers are one of the fastest growing peppers, and is a favorite pepper among  home cooks, gourmet gardeners and chefs for their amazing flavor, early and continual harvests all summer to frost.
  
  
  
• Early Jalapeño – Harvest in 65 days!
  With a name like Early Jalapeno, of course it is one of the fastest growing vegetables! Start harvesting these emerald pods in 65 days - and then they just keep on coming! Harvesting the pods will help them produce more peppers. 
  
  
• Banana Peppers – Harvest in 75 days
  These are one of our favorite fast growing vegetables in summer, the beautiful yellow pods are some of the first to come every summer. We enjoy them on sandwiches, pickled, or on salads. 
  
  
  
• Hatch Green Medium Chile - Harvest in 75 days
  This is hands down one of our favorite fastest growing vegetables. Everyone should have green chile growing in their garden! This Big Jim variety from Hatch, New Mexico, is a  super fast growing green chile that is delicious and large and are perfect for short growing seasons. These large early pods are great for roasting, easy to peel, and you can enjoy them on everything. Check out all of our chile recipes for ideas on what to do with your harvest.
  
  
  
  
  
• Onions - 60 days
  For ongoing flavor from your garden, you can plant our White Lisbon onion anytime – it's a super fast growing bunching onion that will provide for you nearly year-round in the garden! Also known as scallions, this variety is very dependable because it thrives in a wide range of soils, is heat and cold tolerant, and the seeds can be direct sown in the garden anytime in the garden – we like to keep planting more as we havest it to have a non-stop supply of beautiful scallions for use in salsas, salads, stir fries, soups, sandwiches, you name it! Young onions can be harvested at 60 days and mature ones at 110 days – if you leave some in the ground, they often will overwinter and keep providing more onions over time. You can also grow these in a cold frame, hoop house so they grow faster in early spring.
  
  
• Cucumbers – 55 days
  Cucumbers are some of the fastest growing vegetables and they belong  in every garden. Our Homemade Pickles Cucumbers are great to grow for quick harvests. The firm crunchy cucumbers grow 6" long and the plant is resistant to common cucumber diseases. We love growing these fast growing cucumbers to make spicy spicy pickles, gazpatcho, to add to salads or just eating fresh from the garden! In early to mid-summer, we like to plant a second crop of cucumbers to keep them going strong into fall. You can direct sow these seeds in the ground, we like to soak them overnight first to help speed them along. 
  
  

• Early Tomatoes – 56-75 Days
  Yes, some tomatoes grow faster than others, so some of our Early Tomato Varieties are among the fastest growing vegetables. Grow these short season varieties to guarantee ripe juicy tomatoes coming in mid-summer so you can enjoy a long harvest!
    

Fast Growing Vegetables in Pots

You should check your pots daily to make sure the soil is moist an inch or two down – or give it some water. Don't overwater your plants however, the soil should be moist, not soggy. Often, pots can be watered every 1-3 days, depending on the size of your pots and the plants, as well as your climate: humidity, rainfall, temperatures, etc. In the dry West, we have to water everyday or every other day – but, as the plants get big at the end of the summer, they drink a lot more water and the pots dry out more quickly, we'll water them everyday. Read more tips on Growing Peppers in Pots »


Love salsa like us?
Grow all the ingredients for your salsa in your garden. Check out our Salsa Garden Layout and tips for growing a container salsa garden if you don't have the garden space! 

Fast Growing Vegetables in Summer

The fastest growing vegetables list above will help you have the fastest growing crops to enjoy all summer long. Fast growing plants from seeds are a gardener's best friend, as you can enjoy the fastest growing vegetables and fruits much sooner.