The Speedy Vegetable Garden

Mark Diacono · Lia Leendertz

Jan 2012 · Kuthengiswe ngu-Timber Press

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Typically, vegetable gardening is about the long view: peas sown in spring aren't harvested until summer, and tomatoes started indoors in February can't be eaten until July. But it's not true for all plants. Some things can be planted and eaten in weeks, days, even hours.

The Speedy Vegetable Garden highlights more than 50 quick crops, with complete information on how to sow, grow, and harvest each plant, and sumptuous photography that provides inspiration and a visual guide for when to harvest. In addition to instructions for growing, it also provides recipes that highlight each crop’s unique flavor, like Chickpea sprout hummus, stuffed tempura zucchini flowers, and a paella featuring calendula.

Sprouted seeds are the fastest. Microgreens can be harvested in weeks: cilantro, 14 days after planting; arugula and fennel in 10 days. And a handful of vegetable varieties grow more quickly than their slower relatives, like dwarf French beans (60 days), cherry tomatoes (65 days), and early potatoes (75 days).

The Speedy Vegetable Garden puts fresh, seed-to-table food at your fingertips, fast!

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Mark Diacono runs the pioneering Otter Farm where he makes use of the changing climate to grow a wide range of food that is usually sourced from warmer climes. An award-winning journalist and photographer, Mark is also well known for his lectures, courses and work at River Cottage.
Lia Leendertz is a freelance journalist who writes for The Guardian and Gardens Illustrated, in addition to her award-winning blog. She studied horticulture at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, where she shares an allotment.