The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word SPROUT
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
S
P
R
O
U
T
More clues leading to the result SPROUT
- Shoot king in jet
- Develop a translation of Proust
- Talk at length about source of recent growth
- Proust novel that's from Brussels?
- Shoot jet circling close to destroyer
- Develop as writer whose son’s gone to the front
- Shoot French writer once son becomes leader
- Child getting end of finger stuck in nozzle
- Shoot French author’s son in the head
- 14 in drunken stupor
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Vegetable" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case vegetable = sprout.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does SPROUT mean?
SPROUT noun- A new growth on a plant, whether from seed or other parts.
- A child.
- (chiefly in the plural) A Brussels sprout.
- (chiefly in the plural) A bean sprout.
- An edible germinated seed.
- To grow from seed; to germinate.
- To cause to grow from a seed.
- To deprive of sprouts.
- To emerge from the ground as sprouts.
- To emerge haphazardly from a surface.