# DON'T WAIT! Plant These 5 FAST GROWING Crops In January!

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWZR7u-KuvQ
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/VWZR7u-KuvQ
Generated: 2026-01-11T18:38:10.806+00:00

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## Quick Overview

The farmer plants five fast-growing, heat-tolerant crops—arugula, turnips, lettuce, kale, and carrots—in succession within a high tunnel starting January 6th to ensure continuous weekly harvests through late March and into the summer, utilizing frost blankets for root crops like turnips to survive cold nights.

**Key Points:**
- The farmer plants five fast-growing crops: arugula, turnips, lettuce, kale, and carrots, starting January 6th.
- Arugula (Astro variety) is planted first because it is heat-tolerant and matures in 21-30 days, allowing for immediate weekly harvests.
- Turnips are planted with a 2-inch spacing using the Y24 seed roller, and are covered with frost blankets for winter protection.
- The succession planting strategy involves staggering plantings every one to three weeks to ensure continuous harvest availability, avoiding gaps in production.
- The farmer uses the frost blanket method to protect root crops like turnips from cold snaps, ensuring soil stays moist for germination.
- The farm supplies high-quality produce to local chefs and restaurants for top dollar.
- The video features an indoor grow setup with Barrina LED grow lights, offering a 15% discount code "CHEFMIKEY" for related gear.

![Screenshot at 00:47: The farmer uses a yellow walk-behind seeder to plant seeds directly into the prepared beds inside the high tunnel, demonstrating the efficient sowing technique for the early-season crops.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/VWZR7u-KuvQ/00-00-47.jpg)

**Context:** The video features a farmer, Chef Mikey, who transitioned from being an executive chef to an urban farmer operating out of multiple high tunnels (hoop houses). He details his strategy for growing fast-maturing, high-value crops during the cold season to maintain a continuous supply for local chefs and restaurants. The context revolves around early-season, protected cultivation techniques designed to maximize yield and cash flow starting in January.

## Detailed Analysis

Chef Mikey outlines his strategy for achieving continuous high-value harvests from his high tunnels, starting as early as January 6th. He focuses on five fast-growing, heat-tolerant crops: arugula, turnips, lettuce, kale, and carrots. For root crops like arugula and turnips, he plants them directly in the soil inside the high tunnel and covers the beds with frost blankets to protect them from cold nights, ensuring 100% germination. He uses a Y24 seed roller for the turnips, setting the spacing to 2 inches for the larger root variety. For arugula, he uses a seed roller attachment with a brush adjusted to drop fewer seeds, aiming for a 1-inch spacing. The core of his strategy is succession planting, staggering plantings of lettuce and other crops every one to three weeks. This staggered planting ensures that as one crop is ready for harvest (e.g., lettuce and arugula weekly, root crops in 45-90 days), the next batch is already established, preventing gaps in supply for his restaurant clients. He also shows seedlings started indoors under purple grow lights (offering a discount code for Barrina LED lights). The video concludes with him preparing to sow the carrot and turnip rows inside the tunnel.

### Fast-Growing Crops for Early Harvest

- Arugula (matures in 21-30 days)
- Turnips (matures in 38-75 days)
- Lettuce (weekly succession planting)
- Kale
- Carrots (slowest, 75-100 days)

### Season Extension and Protection

- Utilizes high tunnels/greenhouses for warmth
- Uses frost blankets directly over root crop beds to prevent freezing and maintain soil moisture
- Insect nets are placed over arugula to prevent flea beetle damage

### Seeding Technique

- Employs a manual seeder, adjusting the roller brush setting (e.g., X24 for turnips) to control spacing (1 inch for arugula, 2 inches for turnips) to prevent overcrowding and ensure large, high-quality product.

### Succession Planting Strategy

- Plants lettuce and arugula every week and root crops every 3-4 weeks to guarantee continuous harvests throughout the cold season and into the summer.

### Indoor Seed Starting

- Maintains seedlings indoors under pink/purple grow lights (Barrina LEDs) for a head start before transplanting them into the high tunnels.

![Screenshot at 00:00: Two farmers inside a high tunnel with prepared beds made of dark soil and wood chips, discussing planting strategy.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/VWZR7u-KuvQ/00-00-00.jpg)
![Screenshot at 00:02: The farmer using a yellow walk-behind seeder to plant seeds in the prepared row beds inside the tunnel.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/VWZR7u-KuvQ/00-00-02.jpg)
![Screenshot at 00:11: The farmer inside the high tunnel holding a bag of Johnny's Selected Seeds, preparing for planting.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/VWZR7u-KuvQ/00-00-11.jpg)
![Screenshot at 00:37: Chef Mikey at a farmer's market stand holding a sign that reads "LETTUCE HEADS $2 EA", illustrating the commercial aspect of his farming.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/VWZR7u-KuvQ/00-00-37.jpg)
![Screenshot at 03:57: The farmer examining the Y24 seed roller attachment for the Jang seeder, showing the gear selection chart for precise spacing.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/VWZR7u-KuvQ/00-03-57.jpg)