The new vegetable garden season begins in April, with the crops that will accompany us throughout the spring-summer period. But what are the fast growing vegetables to plant and harvest quickly? In April there is a great desire to taste fresh products and therefore also a little impatience. There are vegetables that, planted in this period, take a few weeks to grow, giving wonderful crops to be consumed while waiting for the main productions (tadam, zuchinis, brunġiela, basal eċċ).
So here are the 5 easiest and fastest vegetables to grow in an organic garden in this period.
Insalati
The first vegetable we recommend planting in the garden in April is lettuce. Of course they exist various types of salad or lettuce whatever, but the most loved ones are there Canasta and Romaine lettuce. Planting lettuce in the vegetable garden it’s really simple, just keep a 20 cm distance between one seedling and another along the row and about 25-30 cm between the rows. There is no need for the soil to be heavily fertilized and even the tillage can be superficial. Planting vegetables capable of growing quickly can be an excellent idea before starting the cultivation of long-cycle vegetables.
In April, a lettuce seedling takes about a month to grow and be ready for harvest, even less if the climate is very mild. For this reason, make scalar transplants (10 seedlings a week, another 10 in the following week, etc.). Don’t plant too many seedlings together, otherwise you’ll suffer from the inconvenience of having too abundant a harvest! In fact, the defect of spring salads is that they are easily ruined if not harvested in time.
Spinaċi
Spinach should never be lacking in a home garden, in fact they are among the healthiest vegetables and at the same time versatile in the kitchen. Grow and harvest spinach in April it’s really simple, 15-20 days from transplanting are enough for the harvest. The seedlings are planted at a distance of 10 cm from each other, leaving only 20 cm between the rows. In this case the number of seedlings planted can be increased, this is because cooked spinach has a lower yield and therefore a lot of vegetable material is needed for the various recipes. As a cultural advice, remember to never let the seedlings lack water, spinach suffers from the heat and in case of water deficit they tend to make the leaves turn yellow.
Pitravi
Normalment il chard is cultivated as an autumn-winter vegetable, as it is mainly consumed in soups and stews. However, you can also love chard in spring and consider that in April it is really easy to grow, even better if you decide to grow colorful chard.
A chard seedling planted in the garden in April already after 15 days gives the first leaves (the outer ones) to be harvested. Chard needs well-worked soil as it has a tap root. Excellent preparatory work in this sense is the tħaffir. Instead, it does not need much organic substance, the excessive presence of which could cause the leaves to harden quickly. Needs regular watering and an immediate harvest. For this reason, don’t exaggerate with the number of seedlings, for family consumption very few are enough in spring to have satisfactory harvests. Pay attention to the transplant distances, leaving at least 20-30 cm between one seedling and another.
Rocket
Hemm rokit it is a vegetable that, planted in April, grows as fast as lightning. Already after 10-15 days the first leaves can be harvested, to be used as a condiment and for the preparation of mixed summer salads. Rocket also needs abundant irrigation and little fertilization. In spring it develops powerful tufts so leave at least 25-30 of space between one seedling and another. Do not put too many plants, as the head is generous in itself and above all it can be harvested several times with the shoots. In April (generally in spring) biological defense againstalticawhich often, unfortunately, prick our rocket leaves.
tursin
il tursin hija bejn ħwawar which can never be missing in the home garden or in pots. Being very hardy, it can be transplanted early in April, much earlier than Basile, for example. For this reason it is to be recommended among fast growing vegetables. When you cultivate parsley, take into account its excellent summer development and prolonged harvest with the continuous shoots that also bring the crop to winter. Then plant (numerically) according to your needs and consumption. For the planting distance, leave at least 20 cm between one seedling and another.
Parsley also needs good watering and appreciates the presence of organic matter in the soil (you can use some kompost jew ta 'ħumus tal-ħniex for adequate fertilization).
Parsley planted in April comes easily attacked by aphids, which in the initial stages of growth of this vegetable can affect the harvest. In this sense, take prevention with natural macerates (tewm u ħurrieq the best) and intervene with washings of sapun artab tal-potassju fl-ewwel sinjali ta’ infestazzjoni.
Conclusions on fast growing vegetables
The fast growing vegetables that we have listed, planted in the month of April, offer immediate satisfaction and with very few cultivation precautions. However, let us underline one aspect, we are talking about transplanting seedlings and not sowing. If we start from the seed, times inevitably expand. So either you have sown in the previous months and in April you have the seedlings ready for transplanting or you have to contact the nurseries. Here you will find tips for choose the seedlings in the nursery in the right way.
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