Gardening! It is the best way to have our own fresh organic vegetables. Many people love to see plants growing and thriving from seedlings to mature vegetation with a harvestable product. However not everyone is not ready to invest time and efforts for months to have fresh produce. And often forget, there are perennial vegetables that grow back on their own once planted.
Here are 10 perennial vegetables you can plant today in your garden and enjoy year after year.
- Spinach:
Spinach rank high on the list of quick growers that provide harvesting within short time and little effort. All you need to do is sow seeds directly in to well rich soil or high quality soil if using containers, harvest it when leaves reach the desired sizes. Never grow spinach in the hottest part of summer because it will blot and go to seed.
- Leaf Lettuce:
Leaf lettuce also requires very little care and gets ready to harvest within short period of time just like spinach. They are many varieties to choose from and all grow well in containers or in the ground. Plant seeds for every couple of weeks when temperatures are cooler for continuous harvest.
- Swiss Chard:
Swiss chard is a member of beet family, yet it doesn’t produce root vegetables. You can harvest the outer leaves of the plant when they reached to 3 inches tall, the stems can be cooked and enjoyed as well.
- Beets:
Beet is a root vegetable and can easily grow for both their leafy green tops and tender resulting beet. Start sowing seeds of beets when the weather is cooler for best growth. If you want to harvest tops, take only one or two leaves at a time to avoid impeding root.
- Kale:
Kale is another green leafy vegetable which is becoming staple vegetable grown in many gardens and even on windowsills. Baby greens are ready to pick when they reach 2 inches tall, avoid harvesting central growing point of plant to maintain continuous growth throughout the year.
- Green Onions:
Green onions are one of the best choices for anyone who wants to have fast growing vegetables. So, next time when you put bulbs in the garbage, just put them in water to start new plants. Or after roots are developed, keep them in water until there are leaves to cut or plant them in soil for new ones.
- Arugula:
Arugula adds peppery twist to salads and other special dishes and come back in garden year after year once planted. Plant seeds in two weeks successions as soon as the garden soil is workable in spring for continuous harvest.
- Garden Cress:
Garden cress is one of the fastest growing garden plants and gets ready for harvest within two weeks. It needs only a small patch of soil to produce peppery leaves and grows well outside or indoors in containers.
- Fenugreek:
Fenugreek is a common ingredient in Asian dishes, and it grows well in warmer climates. Once planted, they get ready to harvest in about 20 days.
- Mushrooms:
You can plant mushroom in a corner of your garden or on a unused part of your lawn. Varieties such as portabella and shiitake require drilling holes in stumps or logs to place plugs containing mushroom spawn inside them. Other varieties of mushroom need to be mixed with compost sprinkled over a raked area and watered. Once you started mushroom bed, it will last for years.