# Fastest Growing Vegtables



## TechAdmin

What are some of the fastest growing vegetables?


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## gds

leaf lettuce, spinach, ?


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## kev

Radishes are the fastest growing veggie that I know of. On average, you can start thinning the sprouts out (if they were planted thick) at 2 weeks. At 30 days the radishes are ready to harvest, and at 45 days they are over ripe. You should be able to plant and harvest radishes every 2 weeks once you get the ball rolling.

The bottom of the radish can be eaten raw or boiled, the leafy green top can be eaten raw, added to a salad or boiled.


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## bittersweetsymphony

What other foods do radishes go good with besides salads?


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## Chardo

bittersweetsymphony said:


> What other foods do radishes go good with besides salads?


Try this recipe site
All recipes â€" complete resource for recipes and cooking tips
Click on the ingredients tab and search for recipes by what you have on hand . I like this site a lot.

Chardo


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## BlackPaladin

When we did some science experiments in elementary school, we used radish seeds. We were told they were the fastest germinating seed, and we could quickly see the results of our experiments.


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## dilligaf

radishes are the quickest to sprout and grow all parts of the radish are edible so one can begin eating from them within a week or so. Spinach, kale and lettuces are also fast growing.Most greens can begin being harvested in just over a months time. Broccoli and cauliflower leaves are also edible as they grow. Dont forget the sprout family as well. One can sprout seed in as little as a couple days and get a lot of needed nutrients to add to a meager diet


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## dilligaf

Dont forget amaranth either. It is a grain crop or vegetable crop. Even though i dont plant tons of it for our own personal consumption as a grain , the leaves are edible from the time they begin growing and are good tasting. The grains can be used for critter feed if you have them and you can always sprout the grains if you dont want to go thru the torture of grinding it all down into flour.


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## trace

If you are relying for leafy greens to feed you, how would you keep deer away / would they eat your entire garden in one night if they came?


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## BlackPaladin

Well, then you wouldn't have to worry too much about food any longer.


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## dilligaf

we have had major deer issues this year in one of our larger sized gardens that is a good piece away from the house and the dogs did a lousy job of keeping track of our property. This garden does have an outer perimeter four foot fence but the deer hold raves down there quite often. They destroyed most of the summer garden late in the season this summer.

but i have found a solution  and i would suggest this to anyone that is worried bout deer . Deer need a six foot span in any direction to jump a fence. The solution is to fence (4 foot is all i am using and is simply field fence) areas less than six foot wide and six foot long. Although i do have a couple longer beds too. Nothing has touched anything within those fences even though the deer still come to party in the holler several nights a week. I have several types of greens as well as broccoli caulifloweer, cabbage , brussel sprouts and turnips planted in and not a leaf one has been nibbled.


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## dunappy

spinach, swiss chard, Lettuce,


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## sewtnanny

bittersweetsymphony said:


> What other foods do radishes go good with besides salads?


In my little neck of the woods (middle TN) I grew up eating them with pintos and cornbread. Might be worth it to purchase more seeds than usual. Pintos daily or almost daily doesn't excite me. Relishes, onions, kraut, radishes, etc. will help a bit, though. I think next week, I'll make some more relish...


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## weedygarden

*You can cook radishes*



bittersweetsymphony said:


> What other foods do radishes go good with besides salads?


I have heard of sauteing radishes and more recently, I saved a recipe for creamed radishes.This recipe calls for heavy cream, and I am sure it tastes better with cream, but I would be inclined to use milk.

*Creamed Radishes*
1 pound radishes
2 TBL butter
2 TBL flour
1/2 salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream

Cut radishes in half lengthwise. Place into a pot with 1 cup of boiling water. Simmer until radishes are pierceable and still a little firm. Drain.

Add butter to pot and melt. Add flour and whisk til smooth. Stir in salt & pepper. Whisk in cream and continue cooking until thickened.
Stir in radishes. Serve warm.

This recipe sounds good as well.Radishes Simmered with Thyme Recipe - Allrecipes.com


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## The_Blob

think about non-traditional vegetation and/or fungus...

cattails 
bamboo shoots (I've seen up to 1 foot a day growth!)
dandelion greens 
kudzu 
many edible mushrooms grow to edible size in a week


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## kappydell

If you are considering mobility at all, consider learning which 'weeds' are edible in your area. They grow fastest of all! Many are edible and good for you as well. Dandelion greens picked early are delicious, as are any of the wild mustard greens. Lambs quarter, chicory, dock, all come to mind off the top of my head. Medicinals also grow wild too.


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## CrackbottomLouis

Wheatgrass is easy to grow. You can grow it in a clear plastic tube on top of your refrigerator. Stuff grows like kudzu and is good in salad or juiced. Very nutritious.


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## weedygarden

*I have been interested in this for years, but*



kappydell said:


> If you are considering mobility at all, consider learning which 'weeds' are edible in your area. They grow fastest of all! Many are edible and good for you as well. Dandelion greens picked early are delicious, as are any of the wild mustard greens. Lambs quarter, chicory, dock, all come to mind off the top of my head. Medicinals also grow wild too.


I have never collected any.

One of the things that my grandmother picked to eat during the 30s was a weed that was like a wild spinach, or something that was eaten like greens.

I have an alley beside my home and park in a garage in the alley, so I see other people's property on the alley. Some people have plenty of space for gardening in the alley, but instead weeds grow there. I have often thought that planting the alley weed patches in potatoes, carrots and onions would be an interesting project. I'll bet there is lots of patches here and there to grow lots of food within a mile of any urban home.


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## LongRider

sprouts, one or two days


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## Magus

Mushrooms.some pop up in 48 hours!


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## TechAdmin

Magus said:


> Mushrooms.some pop up in 48 hours!


Which varieties? Have you grown them personally?


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## kejmack

Electric fence with a solar charger is an easy way to keep deer and racoons out of your garden. You state Extension office should be able to help you. That's what they get paid for.


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## The_Blob

Austin said:


> What are some of the fastest growing vegetables?


Bamboo is considered an invasive species in America that displaces native plants here - mainly because it thrives in hot climates, like that normally found in the southern states, and years with heat waves like this one all over. Most in America view bamboo as a nuisance, but I love to eat bamboo shoots. I saw the bamboo growing in my freinds' backyard as a culinary opportunity instead of a problem.

Only *NEW* bamboo shoots are edible (the stalks are far too tough) and you must harvest the new growth immediately after they "shoot" out of the ground (which is usually at the crack of dawn). If you let the shoots grow out for even TWO DAYS, the tender insides will become too hard and inedible.

The harvest season starts around March, in normal climes for the plant and lasts a month or two, up here in Ohio, I start in May & get shoots until well into July! I know it's bamboo time when rabbits and deer overcome their fear of being shot and suddenly appear in the backyard, because they love fresh bamboo as well. You may think that this isn't really a viable food source, but my first 'season' of actively harvesting collected close to a hundred pounds of bamboo shoots, in a patch less than 1/2 acre! I traded almost all of it for buffet privileges at a local 'Chinese' restaurant.

Shoot removal is best done using a shovel. The shoots should be cut then boiled quickly to stop the hardening process. After that, the shoots can be cut into chunks and frozen - they will keep for many months.


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## The_Blob

weedygarden said:


> I have heard of sauteing radishes and more recently, I saved a recipe for creamed radishes.This recipe calls for heavy cream, and I am sure it tastes better with cream, but I would be inclined to use milk.
> 
> *Creamed Radishes*
> 1 pound radishes
> 2 TBL butter
> 2 TBL flour
> 1/2 salt
> 1/8 teaspoon pepper
> 1/2 cup heavy cream
> 
> Cut radishes in half lengthwise. Place into a pot with 1 cup of boiling water. Simmer until radishes are pierceable and still a little firm. Drain.
> 
> Add butter to pot and melt. Add flour and whisk til smooth. Stir in salt & pepper. Whisk in cream and continue cooking until thickened.
> Stir in radishes. Serve warm.


Guess I'll include one as well:

*Chinese Bamboo Shoots with Pork Recipe*
Ingredients:
1/2 pound pork 
3 cups of boiled fresh bamboo shoot
2 tablespoons cooking oil 
1 teaspoon sesame oil 
1/2 teaspoons chili sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 cloves garlic
pinches of salt to taste OR soy sauce

Instructions:
1. Cut bamboo shoot into strips (along the grain); cut pork into strips as well;
2. Chop/slice garlic as finely as possible
3. Heat the cooking oil and sauté garlic first , then drop pork into pan and sauté until it is done
4. Next, drop in the bamboo strips and chicken broth, then stir fry
for 4-5 minutes
5. Add oyster sauce, chili oil, sesame oil and dash salt to taste. Keep stir frying for 2-3 minutes until the liquid in the pan is absorbed by the bamboo shoots.


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## Emerald

I found a sub for Water Chestnuts too.. Jerusalem artichokes. Peel and add to your recipe.. they don't cook down soft soft if you add them to the end.. adds the perfect crunch.. not quite a water chestnut but not bad either.


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## xxxillusion

Sorry I had to laugh at black palidin but it's so very true


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## Wanderer0101

Malabar spinach. Not only is it fast that stuff can be like Kudzu in a warm climate where you have trouble growing regular spinach.


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## nanosilver

I planted climbing green beans in early July and was picking mature beans by the end of the month. I harvested the last of them at the end of September. I put up another trellis and planted a second crop about the 3rd week of September. With the cooler weather they are not coming up quite as fast as the first batch but I should get another harvest by the end of October, if we don't get an early freeze. Next year I will start them earlier in the spring and plant a fresh trellis about every 5 weeks. I figure 4 plantings should provide fresh tender beans all summer and into the fall. They grow very fast.

I make a trellis by driving two 6' poles into the garden about 10' apart, then stretching rectangular grid wire fencing between them... stapled to the poles, about a foot off the ground. Plant the beans in a row directly beneath the fencing. They find it and climb right on up. Makes a good support, but creates a 5 ' green wall so you want to plant them at the north end of the garden or they will block the sun from the rest of the crops.


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## ONEOLDCHIEF

bittersweetsymphony said:


> What other foods do radishes go good with besides salads?


Cook the tops just like mustard greens, they are good...


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## lettuceleaf

Lettuce may be fast to grow but it won't keep you alive. Think in terms of calories. Beans, peas, potatoes, carrots, etc...


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## cowboyhermit

The mushroom thing is a bit misleading, they pop up real fast but the majority of the growing is done below the ground or inside the medium you are using. It takes a while for the fungi to grow to adequate size then they pop out the mushrooms very quickly but they are just the "fruit". Kind of analgous to asparagus and bamboo, the part you see grows really quick but take a while to get established.

Radishes are indeed fast if you can use them, most other greens as well. Swiss chard is amazingly prolific, you cut it back to the ground and next week it is a foot tall again, yet not invasive.


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## squshnut

we use raddishes as a soup ingredient and in stir frys. They taste like mild tunips when cooked.


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## sallyjoseph

Probally a radish,beans, pumpkin, lettuce, Snow peas, sunflower are the fastest growing vegetables that i know.


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## Country Living

<sigh> I just "liked" a post on this thread made in 2008. I really should pay attention to dates. :brickwall:


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## pops

You are not alone Country, I just liked a post in this thread 2 pages back....then read your post.

My like was for 2011 however <lol>.

Still warranted the like though no matwhat wat year it was posted in.


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## Justaguy987

Pops, thanks for the post it brought it back to the top, otherwise I might not have found it. Great to know and good info everyone.


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## Wellrounded

We grow micro greens, better use of seed than sprouts. Can have good salad greens in 2 to 3 weeks. 
I have a ten week rotation for a lot of the vegies I grow. That's to maturity but I'm picking thinnings much earlier than that. Check the days to maturity of each variety to shorten rotation. Carrot and beet thinnings can be steamed whole or used as normal, cabbage family thinnings can be steamed or stir fried etc, pea and faba bean plants when young can be eaten in salads or lightly cooked, onions can be used as spring onions. A few google searches will give you heaps of ideas.


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## Jaspar

radishes, lettuce, peas, asparagus, rhubarb, okra are all fast IMO. Radishes are probably the fastest. I plant radishes in between my carrot rows.


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