Quick Greens to grow this January

Before winter stops and the temperature picks up its time to pick up a spade and do some gardening! Grab your seeds, soil and pots and plant some quick and easy growing herbs which will give you a great harvest in just a few weeks.

Arugula – One of my favourites and harvests in just 2 weeks, sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil and spray water everyday. Keep them in the sun and watch them grow.  The tender shoots start emerging in 2-3 days time and grow super fast after that. Pick the shoots once they are tender, high in vitamin C, K, calcium, iron and magnesium best had raw. The taste is peppery with a slight mustard taste, adds that zesty crunch in food.

Spinach – Baby spinach does well, harvest in about 3 weeks. These grow fast, every 7-8 days you can snip off how much you want (make sure you don’t cut every single one) Again sprinkle the seeds on top, keep them in the shade till they sprout and move them into the sun. The smell is great once you pick them, spinach as you know rich in iron and calcium

Bush beans – A delight to grow, these are one of the most versatile growing greens, they

take root in no time and 5-6 days after seeding you notice how fast the plant grows. One seed you can get a decent harvest of 6-7 long beans and its a perennial plant so they keep growing 1-2 more. High in fibre, these greens are high in Vitamin A,C,K B6 and folic acid.

Chillies – There is one thing about green chillies – They love the sun. The flowers are small and white and each pot can give a harvest of close to 10 chillies. Again, these are perennials which means after a harvest they give another harvest. 3-4 weeks, make sure your soil has compost and manure your chillies will thank you. Leave them on the plant and watch them going red.

Kale – Kale is known as a superfood, can grow in 30 days and enjoys the winter sun. We bought our seeds online and hope to develop our own seeds once these flower and fruit. Known as a powerhouse of antioxidants, rich in all vitamins and anti-cancer properties, this veggie leaf gets checked in all the tick boxes. And we are growing them!

Lettuce – Another super easy plant to grow, they take just a few days to sprout and give you harvests in 2-3 weeks! Delicious, crunchy filled with vitamins, iron and calcium

Pudina/ Mint – Grows in a few days and in about 3 weeks you harvest fresh mint from the garden for those h delicious chutneys at home. Add a few sprigs into drinking water or steep in hot water for refreshing feeling. Terrific for the stomach and calms the body down

A Green Venture does organic gardening workshops for groups of starting of 15 individuals anywhere in the city. Contact us on 9886400312 for details (Charges – Rs. 500 per head with sapling and seed takeaways for 2 hours) We come with our own plants, potting mixes and help you start right away!

www.agreenventure.in

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Kavya, Founder A Green Venture