Grow your garden quickly and hassle-free with this guide. Discover the fastest-growing vegetables and those that require minimal care, perfect for your winter garden.
Vegetables for a Quick Harvest
Want a quick harvest? Here are some vegetables that you can plant in December and watch them grow in no time:
- Garden cress: This quick-germinating plant will be ready for harvest in just 2 weeks.
- Radish: In only 20-30 days, you can enjoy your fresh radishes, just make sure to keep the temperature between 15 to 20°C for germination.
- Lettuce: Varieties such as mache and chicory are resistant to cold and will grow in a quick 6-7 weeks.
- Spinach: Frost resistant, this leafy vegetable can be harvested 6 to 8 weeks after sowing.
- Carrot: The winter variety ‘Colmar' is perfect for sowing in winter and harvested 3 months later.
- Beetroot: With a germination period of just 10 days, expect your first harvest in spring, approximately 2.5 months after sowing.
- Green Beans: Germinates in 10 days and depending on the variety, can be harvested after 45-130 days.
Low Maintenance Vegetables
If you're a busy or novice gardener, you might want to stick to these low maintenance vegetables:
- ‘Oak Leaf' lettuce: A cross between romaine and iceberg, this lettuce variety should be spaced 30 cm apart.
- Radish: Germinates in 5 days and should be thinned to 1 cm apart after germination.
- Carrot: This root vegetable thrives in sandy, rich, cool soil and sunny exposure.
- Green Beans: Water these once a week, and increase to 2-3 times during the flowering and harvest period.
- Spinach: To avoid fungal infestation, keep the soil consistently moist, and fertilise with nitrogen before sowing.
Tips for Lazy Gardeners
Here's a tip for all the laid-back gardeners out there: Simply plant and water as needed. Happy gardening!