Most vegetables take 30 to 120 days from transplanting to harvest. Add indoor lead times and the total from seed to table runs from 30 days (radish) to over 200 days (Brussels sprouts, garlic). Crops started indoors typically need 20 to 70 extra days before the transplant clock even starts.
Planning a vegetable garden without knowing how long things take is like booking a flight without checking the journey time. You might arrive, but you will spend a lot of time guessing.
Days to maturity answers the core planning question: if I sow this today, when can I eat it? It sounds simple, but there is a hidden complexity that catches a lot of gardeners out. The figure on most seed packets is not a seed-to-harvest total. For most crops, it counts from transplant, not from sowing. Add the indoor growing period and the full time from seed to plate is often four to eight weeks longer than the packet suggests.
This reference covers all 38 crops in Leaftide’s planning database, with the indoor lead time and the transplant-to-harvest figure shown separately so the maths is visible. Use it to count back from your first frost date, plan succession sowings, and check whether a crop fits your growing season. For a location-specific calculation with your actual frost dates, the Harvest Date Calculator does all the arithmetic for you.
How to read the table
Four columns appear for each crop. Start Indoors is how long a seedling spends growing under cover before going outside. Days Transplant to Harvest is the time from the plant going in the ground until it is ready to pick. Total Sow to Harvest is the full time from seed to table for indoor-started crops, or simply the days to maturity for direct-sown ones. Direct Sow tells you whether the crop goes straight outdoors without transplanting.
Root crops (carrots, parsnips, radishes, turnips, beetroot, potatoes) do not transplant well and are direct-sown only. Their “Days Transplant to Harvest” figure represents total days from outdoor sowing. All other crops can be transplanted, though many can also be direct sown if you prefer to skip the indoor start.
Days to maturity reference table
Salad and Leafy Greens
| Vegetable | Start Indoors (days) | Days Transplant to Harvest | Total Sow to Harvest | Direct Sow? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asparagus | – | 730 | 730 | Crowns |
| Celery | 70 | 110 | 180 | Optional |
| Chard | 25 | 45 | 70 | Optional |
| Kale | 35 | 30 | 65 | Optional |
| Lettuce | 25 | 35 | 60 | Optional |
| Rocket | 20 | 25 | 45 | Optional |
| Spinach | 20 | 30 | 50 | Optional |
Root Vegetables
| Vegetable | Start Indoors (days) | Days Transplant to Harvest | Total Sow to Harvest | Direct Sow? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beetroot | – | 70 | 70 | Yes |
| Carrot | – | 100 | 100 | Yes |
| Leek | 70 | 100 | 170 | Optional |
| Onions | 60 | 110 | 170 | Optional |
| Parsnip | – | 130 | 130 | Yes |
| Potatoes | – | 90 | 90 | Tubers |
| Radish | – | 30 | 30 | Yes |
| Sweet Potato | 56 | 110 | 166 | Optional |
| Turnip | – | 45 | 45 | Yes |
Fruiting Crops
| Vegetable | Start Indoors (days) | Days Transplant to Harvest | Total Sow to Harvest | Direct Sow? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aubergine | 60 | 85 | 145 | Optional |
| Chillis | 60 | 65 | 125 | Optional |
| Courgette | 28 | 45 | 73 | Optional |
| Cucumbers | 32 | 55 | 87 | Optional |
| Peppers | 60 | 80 | 140 | Optional |
| Pumpkin | 30 | 85 | 115 | Optional |
| Sweetcorn | 25 | 65 | 90 | Optional |
| Tomatoes | 45 | 75 | 120 | Optional |
| Winter Squash | 25 | 95 | 120 | Optional |
Legumes
| Vegetable | Start Indoors (days) | Days Transplant to Harvest | Total Sow to Harvest | Direct Sow? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broad Beans | 25 | 75 | 100 | Optional |
| Garden Pea | 20 | 50 | 70 | Optional |
| Runner Beans | 20 | 60 | 80 | Optional |
Brassicas
| Vegetable | Start Indoors (days) | Days Transplant to Harvest | Total Sow to Harvest | Direct Sow? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broccoli | 35 | 65 | 100 | Optional |
| Brussels Sprouts | 40 | 160 | 200 | Optional |
| Cabbage | 35 | 105 | 140 | Optional |
| Cauliflower | 35 | 95 | 130 | Optional |
Herbs and Aromatics
| Vegetable | Start Indoors (days) | Days Transplant to Harvest | Total Sow to Harvest | Direct Sow? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chives | 60 | 90 | 150 | Optional |
| Fennel | 28 | 70 | 98 | Optional |
| Garlic | – | 240 | 240 | Cloves |
| Mint | 60 | 90 | 150 | Optional |
| Oregano | 60 | 80 | 140 | Optional |
| Thyme | 60 | 90 | 150 | Optional |
The extremes: fastest and slowest
The range in this table is striking. At one end, radishes are ready in 30 days from direct sowing. At the other, asparagus takes 730 days before the first proper harvest, because the crowns need a full establishment year before they can be cut without weakening the plant. That is more than two years between planting and eating.
Among annual vegetables, garlic sits at the slow end at 240 days. It goes in the ground in autumn, overwinters, and is not ready until the following summer. Brussels sprouts take around 200 days from sowing, which means starting seeds in late winter for a November and December harvest. Leeks, onions, and celery all sit around 170 to 180 days.
At the fast end, radishes (30 days) and rocket (45 days from transplant, or direct sown in around the same time) are the quickest way to fill a gap in a bed. Kale reaches harvest just 30 days after transplanting, though the 35-day indoor lead time means the total is 65 days. Spinach and turnips both come in at 50 days or under from sowing.
For practical planning, the most useful band is 60 to 120 days. That covers lettuce, courgettes, sweetcorn, tomatoes, winter squash, peas, beans, and most brassicas. These are the backbone crops of most vegetable gardens, and most of them fit comfortably into a 150-day frost-free season with room to spare.
Using this data for planning
The most direct use of days-to-maturity figures is counting back from your first autumn frost date to find the last safe sowing date for each crop.
Take your first frost date and subtract the crop’s total days to harvest. If your first frost falls around October 15 and beetroot needs 70 days, your last outdoor sowing needs to go in by August 6 at the latest. If carrots need 100 days, your cutoff is July 7. If you miss that window, the crop will not finish before frost kills the foliage.
For crops started indoors, the calculation has two steps. First subtract the transplant-to-harvest figure to find the last safe transplant date. Then subtract the indoor lead time to find when you need to sow the seed. A pepper with 80 transplant days and a 60-day indoor lead needs to be transplanted by around July 27 (for an October 15 frost) and the seed needs to go in around May 28. That is getting tight for a northern climate, which is why peppers are typically started in late February or early March for a May or June transplant.
The other direction is counting forward from your last spring frost date. For direct-sown warm-season crops like sweetcorn and beans, you sow after the frost risk has passed and count forward to your expected harvest date. If your last frost is May 10 and sweetcorn needs 90 total days, expect harvest around August 8.
For location-specific date calculations that account for your climate, the Harvest Date Calculator does the arithmetic automatically.
Planning successive harvests
Days-to-maturity figures are also the foundation of succession planting. The goal is to have a new batch reaching harvest as the previous one finishes, which requires knowing how long each batch takes.
For lettuce at 60 days total from sowing, sowing every two weeks means you have batches maturing two weeks apart. That translates to a steady supply rather than a glut. For beetroot at 70 days, three-week intervals between sowings work well. For carrots at 100 days, two or three sowings four weeks apart across spring is usually enough.
The key constraint is the autumn cutoff. Each additional succession has to have enough time to reach maturity before your first frost. Count backwards from the frost date using the total days figure, and you get the date of your last viable sowing for that crop. Everything before that date is a valid sowing window, and you divide it into intervals to decide how many successions to fit in.
For a detailed walkthrough of staggered sowing strategy across the season, the succession planting guide covers the intervals and timing for the most common crops.
Methodology note
Data in this article comes from Leaftide’s plant research database, compiled from seed catalogues, RHS growing guides, and US cooperative extension service publications. Days-to-maturity figures represent averages across commonly grown varieties under typical outdoor conditions in a temperate climate.
Actual timing in your garden can vary by 10 to 20 percent depending on variety selection, soil temperature, sunlight hours, spacing, and local weather. Early-maturing varieties of the same crop can be 20 to 30 days faster than standard ones. A cool, cloudy summer adds days; a warm, sunny one can shorten them. Use these figures as planning benchmarks, not guarantees.
For asparagus, the 730-day figure reflects the time to first harvest from crown planting, allowing for a full establishment year. Garlic’s 240-day figure assumes autumn planting in a temperate climate.
Cite this data
This data is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). You are free to share and adapt it with attribution.
How to cite: Leaftide (2026). Days to maturity for 38 common vegetables. Retrieved from https://leaftide.com/learn/days-to-maturity-vegetables/
Last updated: September 2026. Data source: Leaftide plant research database.
Calculate your sowing, transplant, and harvest dates for any crop with the Harvest Date Calculator. Find your local frost dates with the Frost Date Finder.