What vegetable grows the fastest in the fall?
Written by
Kiana Okafor
Reviewed by
Prof. Samuel Fitzgerald, Ph.D.The fast-growing fall vegetables will have you harvesting before winter frosts occur! Take radishes and arugula. They mature quickly, taking only 25-30 days to harvest from seed grown! Spinach and baby lettuce take a bit longer to mature, but they can also be harvested multiple times. These all benefit from cooler temperatures and shorter day length. Plant these crops to grow plants as the window of fall shrinks quickly!
Accelerated Planting Techniques
- Pre-soak seeds for 12 hours before planting
- Use raised beds for faster soil warming
- Apply fish emulsion fertilizer at planting
Frost Protection Methods
- Cover crops with row covers below 28°F
- Use cloches for individual plant protection
- Mulch heavily around root vegetables
Radishes are fast plants. Plant seeds once every two weeks at a depth of ½ inch. Harvest when the snap pea-sized roots are developed. If allowed to become overgrown, the roots become woody and hard. I will succession plant them between slower-growing crops. They make excellent gap-fillers in fall gardens.
Arugula produces crisp, peppery leaves that grow very quickly. Direct sow seeds when the soil is cool. Harvest outer leaves when they are about 3 inches tall. The plants will continue to produce multiple harvests throughout the growing season. Frost will add a major sweetness to the flavor. I will cover them with cloches (or protect them in other ways) during the hardest freezing periods.
Spinach yields well in the fall. Use cold-tolerant varieties such as 'Winter Bloomsdale'. Pluck outer leaves in the fall and continue to harvest regularly. Plants overwinter fine under snow with row cover. I usually get 3-4 cuttings before winter dormancy sets in.
Baby lettuce mixes grow fast. Grow 'Cut-and-Come-Again' mixes. Cut the leaves with scissors, harvesting them one inch above the soil. They will regrow in a few days. Baby lettuce mixes are frost-tolerant, and you can plant them with radishes to have salad right away.
Succession planting increases your harvest period. Plant patches every 10 to 14 days. Replace the harvested patch of radishes with an arugula patch that is fast to grow. Use cold frames to harvest in December. This method keeps you in fresh greens until a hard freeze.
Read the full article: When to Plant Vegetable Garden: Ultimate Guide
