Growing vegetables can be a long wait but if you want to harvest quickly, take a look at the 18 best Seeds to Sow for Food in Less than a Month!
Gardening often requires a lot of patience and time to get results. If you cannot wait for that much for the harvest, here are the best Seeds to Sow for Food in Less than a Month!
Here are the fastest-growing herbs you can grow from seeds
Seeds to Sow for Food in Less than a Month
If you are looking forward to getting a fast harvest, then growing leafy greens is your best bet. Also, you must get viable, high-quality seeds. Read these seed starting tips here to learn how to select the best seeds.
1. Microgreens
Harvest Time: 3-4 weeks
Germination Time: 3-4 days
Location: Garden bed or in containers, indoors on a sunny windowsill
Microgreens are edible flowers, vegetables, and herbs harvested young when they are an inch or two. These leafy greens are tasty and offer myriads of health benefits.
You can begin to cut microgreens within 12-14 days from sowing. We have a detailed article on the best types and how to grow them here.
2. Baby Spinach
Botanical Name: Spinacia oleracea
Harvest Time: 4-5 weeks
Germination Time: 4-7 days
Location: Full sun-part-shade
Spinach takes definitely more than a month to grow, but you can start harvesting its baby leaves in 3-4 weeks. They offer a mild taste and pair really well in soups, dishes, and exotic curries. It is one of the best Seeds to Sow for Food in Less than a Month!
You can start getting your dose of the sweet baby spinach leaves in about 15-18 days after germination.
Check out our article on growing Spinach here
3. Pak Choi
Botanical Name: Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis
Harvest Time: 4 weeks
Germination Time: 1-2 days
Location: Part Sun (4-6 hours daily)
The tender leaves of the Pak Choi can be harvested fast for salads and sandwiches. However, you can wait more than 5-6 weeks to make the leaves mature for stir-fries.
You can start harvesting tender baby greens within 17-20 days from sowing.
Learn how to grow Pak Choi here
4. Lettuce
Botanical Name: Lactuca sativa
Harvest Time: 4 weeks
Germination Time: 7-10 days
Location: Full sun or part shade
Lettuce is a quick-growing salad green that you can grow with ease. The tender leaves can be harvested quickly after planting the seeds. It thrives best in fertile, moist, well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter.
Once the baby lettuce reaches a height of about 3 inches in two weeks after germination, you can start plucking out a few leaves.
Check out our article on growing lettuce here
5. Arugula
Botanical Name: Eruca vesicaria ssp. sativa
Harvest Time: 4 weeks
Germination Time: 5-7 days
Location: Full sun with shade in the afternoon
This leafy green is also popular by the name Rocket. It harvests quickly and adds a peppery and flavorsome taste to the salads and cooked recipes. This Mediterranean native has an earthy taste with a strong peppery flavor and light tart hint.
Pick baby leaves once they reach 2-3 inches in length, which usually happens in 14-20 days.
Have a look at the best companion plants for Arugula here
6. Cress
Botanical Name: Lepidium sativum
Harvest Time: 3-4 weeks
Germination Time: 2-5 days
Location: Partial Shade
Though it might not be as popular as other greens, it offers a mild peppery taste that goes well in salads and sandwiches. Cress is mostly eaten for its tendency to treat cough and cold, balance vitamin C deficiency, and fluid retention.
You can begin to pick a few leaves in 10-14 days after germination or once they are 3-4 inches tall.
7. Mizuna
Botanical Name: Brassica rapa var. Laciniifolia
Harvest Time: 3-4 weeks
Germination Time: 4-8 days
Location: Full sun in cool weather or partial shade in a warm climate
Belonging to the Brassica family, it is another no so well-known Asian greens that you should grow. It has a taste that’s a mix of mustard greens and arugula. Grow it as a cut and come again crop.
Baby Mizuna greens are ready to harvest in 15-20 days. You can pick a few leaves to add to salads and soups.
8. Pea Shoots
Botanical Name: Pisum sativum
Harvest Time: 3-4 weeks
Germination Time: 3-6 days
Location: Sunny windowsill indoors.
Pea might take a lot of time to develop pods, which we are used to eating, but its greens get ready fairly quickly. They taste awesome in salads and can be added to stir-fries recipes too!
In 2-3 weeks’ time, you can start picking pea greens when they are at least about 4 inches tall.
9. Mustard Greens
Botanical Name: Brassica juncea
Harvest Time: 4-5 weeks
Germination Time: 4-7 days
Location: Containers, Raised Beds, Garden Beds
Mustard greens are also a welcome addition to salads, soups, and many vegetarian dishes. You can follow the cut-and-come-again method for harvesting.
Baby mustard greens can be harvested in about 12-15 days after it sprouts.
10. Mibuna
Botanical Name: Brassica rapa var. japonica cv. ‘Mibuna’
Harvest Time: 3-4 weeks
Germination Time: 4-10 days
Location: Full sun
Mibuna is very much similar to mizuna in taste, but they look quite different. It has a refreshing mustard flavor that pairs really well with salads, stir-fries, sandwiches, and soups.
You can begin to pick small and tender leaves in 18-20 days.
11. Radish Greens
Botanical Name: Raphanus sativus
Harvest Time: 3-4 weeks
Germination Time: 4-10 days
Location: Full to Part Sun
There are two advantages of growing radish greens, you can enjoy the peppery leaves in pasta, salads, and soups, or wait a little more to enjoy the root vegetable!
You can start to pick radish greens when the leaves appear tender and young in about 12-15 days.
Here’s all you need to know about growing Radish
12. Beet Greens
Botanical Name: Beta vulgaris
Harvest Time: 3-4 weeks
Germination Time: 5-8 days
Location: Partial shade
Though you might have to wait for a couple of months to enjoy beetroot, you can surely use its leaves in salads, scrambled eggs, veggie frittata, pasta, and soups in a few weeks.
You can harvest the tender greens in about 15 days for sandwiches and salads. Please remember to pick only 1-2 leaves from each plant at a time.
Learn how to grow beets in pots here
13. Rapini
Botanical Name: Brassica ruvo
Harvest Time: 4-5 weeks
Germination Time: 6-10 days
Location: Full sun
Also known as broccoli raab, it is more closely related to turnips with a somewhat bitter taste. You can enjoy its leaves in Italian dishes, pasta, soups, and sausages.
Snip off young rapini leaves for consumption when they are small and tender, generally after 18-20 days.
14. Turnip Greens
Botanical Name: Brassica rapa subsp. rapa
Harvest Time: 4-5 weeks
Germination Time: 3-10 days
Location: Full Sun
High in nutrients and low in calories, the turnip greens taste really well in salads, sandwiches, wraps, soups, and sautéed. Use it with peppers, garlic, bacon, vinegar, or lemon juice to balance out the bitter edge.
You can pluck baby turnip greens in 18-20 days because they taste much milder when they are younger.
Check out our article on growing Turnips here
15. Green Onions
Botanical Name: Allium fistulosum
Harvest Time: 4-5 weeks
Germination Time: 7-10 days
Location: Full sunlight
There’s a catch of growing green onions quickly if you want to harvest them fast. Grow them using immature onion/scallion bulbs and snip away the greens from tops as you need them. The plant will continue to re-grow! Here’s everything about growing green onions here.
Harvest the leaves when they are young, and the tops grow about 5-6 inches tall, which usually takes 14-20 days.
16. Fenugreek
Botanical Name: Trigonella foenum-graecum
Harvest Time: 2-3 weeks
Germination Time: 3-5 days
Location: Full sun to part shade
Not only are fenugreek greens healthy, but they also taste great and are quick to harvest. The slightly sweet and bitter leaves pair really well in South Asian curries and chicken dishes.
You can start harvesting it 10-14 days after the germination of seeds!
Check out our article on growing Fenugreek here
17. Celery
Botanical Name: Apium graveolens
Harvest Time: 3-4 weeks
Germination Time: 7-10 days
Location: Full sun to part shade. Indoors and outdoors both
You will be surprised how delicious the young leaves taste. They can retain their flavor and the tender texture for long and taste great in salads or when used as a garnish.
You can begin to pick the greens after 15-18 days.
18. Sunflower Shoots
Botanical Name: Helianthus annuus
Harvest Time: 1-2 weeks
Germination Time: 2-4 days
Location: Full sun. Seed trays or containers.
Sunflower shoots are edible once the first tiny, delicious, rich in nutrients leaves appear. They pair really well in salads, scrambled eggs, sandwiches, wraps, and soups.
You can start picking the tender and young leaves once the shoots appear in 5-12 days and grow 3-4 leaves. It is best to avoid allowing the shoots to grow too long before you harvest, as the taller they grow, the bitter they taste.
