7 Fast Growing Vegetables for Quick Harvests

This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more here.

If you’re looking to get the most out of your garden in a short amount of time, fast growing vegetables are the way to go!

Whether you’re new to gardening or just eager to enjoy fresh produce as soon as possible, fast-growing veggies can help you achieve a bountiful harvest in no time.

In this post, I’m sharing some of my favorite fast-growing vegetables that thrive in New Hampshire (and many other places), along with tips on how to make the most of them in your garden.

Why Fast-Growing Vegetables are a Must in Your Garden

Fast-growing veggies are like little bursts of joy in the garden—especially when you’re just starting out or struggling with the wait for those slower-growing crops to take off.

There’s something so rewarding about watching something grow and being able to harvest it in just a few weeks.

It helps keep your spirits high, and trust me, that boost of success early in the season feels pretty amazing!

Plus, fast-growing vegetables are great at protecting your soil. When you plant them early, they cover the soil and help keep weeds from taking over while the slower-growing plants, like winter squash, get established.

It’s like a little team effort to protect the garden and keep everything running smoothly!

Great for Families!

If you’re gardening for your family, having something ready to harvest early on is so satisfying. Whether it’s radishes or lettuce, you get that first taste of your labor right when the season starts to warm up.

It makes everything feel a little more worthwhile when you can bring fresh food to the table early in the season.

Fast-growing veggies are also a fantastic way to keep your kids engaged in the garden. My kids tend to get antsy waiting for things to grow, but with fast growers, they get to see results in no time.

They love watching those little radishes pop up! It keeps their excitement alive and makes gardening feel a little less like a waiting game.

Great for Succession Planting

And for me, the best part of fast-growing vegetables is how they help spread the harvest throughout the season. You’re not stuck waiting for one big harvest—you get fresh food all summer!

You can also use them for succession planting. Plant them in stages or mix them with slower-growing crops, and once you pull the fast-growers, you’ve got space for the bigger plants. It’s a clever way to keep your garden full and your harvest rolling in all season long.

So, if you want to keep things fun, fresh, and productive, fast-growing veggies are definitely the way to go!

Fast-Growing Vegetables

Here are some of my favorite fast-growing vegetables that I grow here in New Hampshire.

I tend to lean towards heirloom varieties, even if that means they take a few extra days to mature compared to the hybrids.

There’s just something about the history and flavor of heirlooms that I love! 

But I totally understand that everyone’s gardening needs are different, so I’ve also included some of the fastest-growing hybrid varieties, too, just in case you’re looking to speed things up a bit.

I hope this list gives you the perfect combination of quick-growing options to suit your garden!

Lettuce

Lettuce is one of the best fast-growing vegetables, but if you want the quickest harvest, stick with loose-leaf varieties or baby lettuce mixes.

These can be ready to harvest in as little as 20–30 days! Head lettuces, like iceberg, take their sweet time—closer to 80 days—so they’re not the best choice if you’re after speedy greens.

Personally, I always go for loose-leaf lettuce. It’s perfect for cutting fresh whenever I need a handful for a salad, and it just keeps growing back!

But if you’re looking for sturdier leaves for wraps, bibb and romaine lettuces are great middle-ground options. They take a little longer than baby greens but still grow faster than iceberg.

Lettuce thrives in cooler weather, so early spring and fall are the best times to plant. If you’re growing in the summer, a bit of shade in the afternoon can help prevent it from bolting (going to seed too soon).

Fastest growing varieties:

• Baby Greens Mix (Loose-leaf varieties): These are often ready in about 20–30 days. Great for quick salads!
• Butterhead Lettuce: A quick-growing variety of head lettuce, typically maturing in about 50–60 days.
• Red Romaine: Grows faster than other romaine varieties, usually in about 50–55 days.

Growing Tips:

Soil Needs: Loose, well-draining soil rich in organic matter.
Sun Needs: Prefers full sun but tolerates partial shade (especially in hot weather).
Water Needs: Keep the soil consistently moist for tender leaves. Mulch helps with this.

Spinach

Spinach grows fast! You can start harvesting baby leaves in about 30 days, and if you let it keep growing, mature leaves will be ready in 45–60 days.

I’ll be honest—spinach and I don’t always get along. Spring warms up too quickly here in New Hampshire, and my spinach tends to bolt before I get much of a harvest.

But in the fall? That’s a different story.

Cooler temps as the plant matures seem to keep it happier, and I’ve had much better luck. It just goes to show that gardening is never one-size-fits-all—what thrives in one garden might struggle in another!

Fastest Growing Varieties:

• Bloomsdale Long Standing: A reliable heirloom variety that grows quickly and can be harvested in about 30–40 days for baby leaves.
• Tyee: A hybrid variety known for being quick to mature, taking about 40–50 days.

Growing Tips:

• Soil Needs: Rich, well-draining soil with plenty of organic matter.
• Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade. In warm weather, a bit of shade helps prevent bolting.
• Water Needs: Keep the soil consistently moist to encourage tender, flavorful leaves.

Radishes

Radishes grow incredibly fast—some varieties are ready to harvest in just three weeks. I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of eating them, but I still plant them every year.

They make a great living mulch, filling in bare spots and keeping weeds down while slower-growing plants get established.

Radishes are a fast growing vegetable, but also have a reputation for repelling squash bugs, which is reason enough for me to give them a try alongside my squash this year.

If they help keep pests away while also improving my soil, that’s a win, even if I don’t love the taste. As a side note, maybe I need to get pigs so they can eat the radishes (there’s always a solution!)

Fastest Growing Varieties:

• Cherry Belle: One of the fastest radishes, maturing in about 20–30 days. A classic red, round radish.
• French Breakfast: A quick-growing variety, usually ready in about 25 days, with a mild flavor and beautiful red-and-white color.
• Watermelon: These grow quickly too, taking about 30 days, and they have a unique, sweet flavor.

Growing Tips:

Soil Needs: Loose, well-draining soil to allow roots to develop properly.
Sun Needs: Full sun for the best growth, though they tolerate partial shade.
Water Needs: Keep soil consistently moist for crisp, non-bitter radishes.

Green Beans

Green beans are a fast growing vegetable that is fun to grow and even more fun to harvest. My kids love picking them straight from the vine and snacking on them right in the garden.

They grow fast, making them a great choice for kids who want to see quick results—seeds germinate in just a few days, and before long, the plants are climbing or filling out with pods.

Beyond being easy and productive, green beans also improve the soil. They pull nitrogen from the air and deposit it into the soil, which helps other plants thrive.

I like to plant them alongside leafy greens like lettuce and spinach to give those plants an extra nitrogen boost while keeping my soil healthy.

Fastest Growing Varieties:

• Contender: A very fast-growing bush bean variety, ready in about 50–55 days.
• Provider: Another fast-growing bush bean, maturing in about 50–60 days, known for its high yields and disease resistance.
• Blue Lake: A well-known fast-growing variety, ready in about 55–60 days.

Growing Tips:

Soil Needs: Well-draining soil with compost or organic matter for best growth.
Sun Needs: Full sun for high yields.
Water Needs: Keep soil evenly moist, especially when plants are flowering and setting beans.

Summer Squash

Summer squash is a garden staple, and for good reason—it grows fast and produces abundantly.

Most varieties, including zucchini and crookneck squash, are ready to harvest in about 50 days from seed. If you start with a seedling, you’ll have squash on your table even sooner.

These plants thrive in warm weather and can quickly take over a garden bed with their large leaves and sprawling vines (or bushy growth, depending on the variety).

Regular harvesting encourages even more production, so once they start coming in, be ready to pick them often.

Fastest Growing Varieties:

• Early Prolific Straightneck: This squash is quick to mature, usually ready in about 50–55 days.
• Zucchini (Black Beauty): A very common and fast-growing zucchini variety, typically maturing in 50–55 days. I actually do grow these as I haven’t found an heirloom variety I like as much.
• Crookneck: Another fast-growing summer squash, maturing in about 50 days.

Growing Tips:

Soil Needs: Rich, well-draining soil with plenty of compost.
Sun Needs: Full sun for best yields.
Water Needs: Keep soil consistently moist but not soggy, especially as fruits develop.

.

Green Onions

Green onions grow much faster than most other onions, reaching maturity in about 50–60 days. You can harvest the entire stalk or just trim the greens as needed—if you leave the roots in the ground, they’ll regrow, giving you a continuous supply.

I love having green onions on hand because they add just the right amount of onion flavor to almost any dish.

They’re one of those ingredients I can toss into soups, stir-fries, salads, or scrambled eggs without much thought. Plus, they’re easy to freeze, so I always have some ready to go.

Fastest Growing Varieties:

• Evergreen Hardy White: A popular variety that matures quickly, in about 50 days. It’s great for early spring planting and produces long, tender green stalks.
• Tokyo Long White: A fast-growing, mild-flavored green onion variety, ready in about 50–55 days.

Growing Tips:

Soil Needs: Loose, well-draining soil with plenty of organic matter.
Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade.
Water Needs: Keep soil evenly moist for tender, flavorful greens.

Chard

Chard takes a little longer to mature than some other greens, but I’m including it for two reasons.

First, you can start harvesting baby greens in about 30 days, making it a quick option if you don’t want to wait for full-sized leaves.

Second, unlike most leafy greens, chard can handle summer heat, so while lettuce and spinach bolt.

That also means it’s often the first green available again in the fall, making it a reliable choice for an extended harvest.

Fastest Growing Varieties:

• Fordhook Giant: One of the quicker-growing varieties, maturing in about 50–60 days for mature leaves, but baby greens can be harvested in about 30 days.
• Bright Lights: A colorful variety that matures quickly, usually in 50–60 days for mature leaves. Baby leaves can be picked earlier, around 30–40 days. This is the heirloom variety I prefer.

Growing Tips:

Soil Needs: Rich, well-draining soil with plenty of compost.
Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade (a little shade helps in hot weather).
Water Needs: Keep soil moist for tender leaves, but established plants are fairly drought-tolerant.

Final Thoughts

Fast-growing vegetables are a great way to keep your garden productive, exciting, and full of fresh food throughout the season.

Whether you’re growing them to get a quick harvest, keep the kids interested, or make the most of your garden space, these veggies are a must-have.

And once you start harvesting, you’ll have plenty of delicious produce to enjoy!

Want More Plant Ideas? Try These:

• 45+ Permaculture Plants to Grow Now
• 9 New Hampshire Native Herbal Plants That Control Garden Pests
• 9 Nitrogen-Fixing Plants for Your Garden
• 21 Shade-Loving Plants for Your Garden
• 25 Best Fall Garden Plants to Start Now
• 18 Best Plants to Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden