Vegetable Days to Harvest Guide

Days to maturity has many different meanings depending on where you look or who you ask.  For tomatoes it is usually an arbitrary number of days from an 8 week old transplant until breaker stage where it is picked mostly still green.  This is not useful to me and it makes commercial seed companies look as if they carry wonderfully early plants, when in fact they often take about five months or more to ripen.  I have counted days to maturity from the day I plant the seed until the first fruit was perfectly ripe and ready to be picked and eaten.  

I decided to list the days to maturity of some fruits and vegetables etc in one post here to make it easier for me to find them in the future to enable me to plan my garden better.  I am adding to this guide each year.  

Try to keep in mind that these are not theoretical numbers, they are the actual number of days that they took to mature in my garden.  If the weather was warmer or cooler, if it rained more or rained less, or any number of other things the days to harvest would change slightly.  

Being in Australia, all dates are written Day/Month/Year.

Various tomatoes: Micro Tom, Verde Claro, Igloo

Asparagus

Days to maturity Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)

Seeds planted       10/08/2019       Day 0
Germinated           29/08/2019      Day 19
Flowered               22/02/2020      Just over six months
Harvest start          xx/05/2020     About 9 months for argenteuil as it is very vigorous and early



Beans

Days to maturity Jade Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)

Seeds planted       03/12/2016       Day 0
Germinated           11/12/2016       Day 8
Flowered              14/01/2017       Day 42
Harvest start         05/02/2017       Day 64


Days to maturity Muffet Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
Seeds planted       23/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated           31/10/2016       Day 8
Flowered              12/12/2016       Day 50
Harvest start         28/12/2016       Day 66


Days to maturity Snake Beans (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis)

Seeds planted       03/12/2016       Day 0
Germinated           07/12/2016       Day 4
Flowered              ??/??/2016        Day??  I didn't notice them until I already had some beans!
Harvest start         03/02/2017       Day 62


Days to maturity Yin Yang Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
Seeds planted       27/10/2017       Day 0
Germinated           05/11/2017       Day 9
Flowered              13/12/2017       Day 47
Harvest start         03/02/2018       Day 99 - this is for dry beans, green beans would have been significantly earlier


Beetroot

Days to maturity Chioggia Beetroot (Beta vulgaris)

Seed Planted        16/10/2016       Day 0
Seed germinated   24/10/2016       Day 8
First harvest          02/01/2017       Day 78 - they grew at different rates so harvest went for many months

Bok Choy

Days to maturity Baby Bok Choy (Brassica rapa)

Planted in garden      09/04/2023   Day 0
Germinate                 14/04/2023   Day 5
Tiny plants                17/05/2023   Day 38
Large plants              04/06/2023   Day 56

Days to maturity Hedou Bok Choy (Brassica rapa)

Seeds soaked       18/11/2022      Day -1
Seeds planted       19/11/2022     Day 0
Germinating         22/11/2022     Day 3
Heads forming     10/12/2022     Day 21   
Flowering            24/12/2022     Day 34    
Seeds ripe            25/01/2023     Day 67

Buckwheat

Days to maturity Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)

Seeds planted       02/03/2019       Day 0
Germinated           04/03/2019      Day 2
Flowering             26/03/2019       Day 24


Corn

Days to maturity Immali Corn (Zea mays)

Seeds planted       16/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated           24/10/2016       Day 8
Flowered              21/12/2016       Day 66
Harvest ready       30/01/2017       Day 106
Cobs dry ready to save seed 05/03/2017   Day  140


Carrot

Days to maturity Purple Haze Carrots (Daucus carota subsp. sativus)

Seeds planted       23/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated           03/11/2016       Day 11
Harvest start         04/03/2017       Day 132


Edible Chrysanthemum

Days to maturity serrated leaf Edible Chrysanthemum (Glebionis coronaria)

Seeds planted       17/08/2019       Day 0
Germinated           20/08/2019      Day 3
Flowering             22/12/2019      Day 127


Cucumber

Days to maturity Space Master Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

Seed Planted        16/10/2016       Day 0
Seed germinated   25/10/2016       Day 9
Flowering             06/12/2016       Day 51
First harvest          28/12/2016       Day 73


Days to maturity White Wonder Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

Seed Planted        16/10/2016       Day 0
Seed germinated   26/10/2016       Day10
Flowering              06/12/2016      Day 51
First harvest          01/01/2017       Day 77


Days to maturity Mexican Sour Gherkin (Melothria scabra)

Planted                       11/10/2016                  Day 0
Germinated                 03/11/2016                  Day 23
Flowered                   28/02/2017                   Day 140 
First fruit ripe              06/04/2017                  Day 177 - lots of fruit aborted


Cape Gooseberry

Days to maturity Cape Gooseberry (Physalis peruviana)
Planted             20/08/2016       Day 0  No germination, seeds rotted so I needed to re-plant
Replanted         10/09/2016       Day 0 again
Germinated       26/09/2016       Day 16
Flowered          09/12/2016       Day 60
Harvest began  14/01/2017        Day 86


Hon Tsai Tai

Days to maturity Hon Tsai Tai (Brassica rapa) - purple stem 

Planted in garden      09/04/2023   Day 0

Germinate                 14/04/2023   Day 5

Baby leaf                  14/05/2023    Day 35

Flower stalks            01/07/2023    Day 83

Lettuce

Days to Maturity Australian Yellow Leaf Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)

Planted                       24/09/2016                  Day 0
Germinated                 29/09/2016                  Day 5
Started harvesting        04/11/2016                  Day 42


Days to Maturity Freckles Lettuce  (Lactuca sativa)

Planted                       23/10/2016                  Day 0
Germinated                 28/10/2016                  Day 5
Started harvesting        03/12/2016                  Day 41


Days to Maturity Red Salad Bowl Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)

Planted                       23/10/2016                  Day 0
Germinated                 28/10/2016                  Day 5
Started harvesting        03/12/2016                  Day 41


Melons

Days to Maturity 'Billeberga' melons (Cucumis melo).

Seeds planted       16/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated           30/10/2016       Day 14
Flowered              30/12/2016       Day 75
Harvest start         14/04/2016       Day 179 - lots of flowers aborted for some reason


Mushrooms

Days to Maturity Oyster mushrooms on newspaper log

Newspaper log inoculated with oyster mushroom    02/07/2017   Day 0
Large mushroom fruiting                                          13/11/2017   Day 133

 
Days to Maturity Oyster mushrooms on cardboard

Damp cardboard inoculated with oyster mushroom stems  27/06/2017   Day 0
Noticeable mycelium growth                                               01/07/2017   Day 4
Cardboard fully colonised, more damp cardboard added   16/07/2017    Day 19
Fruiting (about 2 months)                                                   24/08/2017    Day 58
Fruiting again                                                                      28/09/2017    Day 93



Papalo and Quillquiña

Days to maturity Papalo (Porophyllum sp)
Seeds planted       01/11/2019      Day 0
Germinated          18/11/2019      Day 17
Harvest start         22/12/2019      Day 51
I started to harvest earlier than I should, but I couldn't wait to taste papalo.  I am guessing a decent harvest would have started around day 80.

Days to maturity Quillquiña (Porophyllum sp)

Seeds planted       01/11/2019      Day 0
Germinated          19/11/2019      Day 18
Harvest start         29/01/2020      Day 89


Pea

Days to Maturity Lacy Lady Pea (Pisum sativum)

Seeds Planted   29/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated       03/11/2016       Day 5
Flowered          12/12/2016       Day  44
Start Harvest     28/12/2016       Day 60


Days to maturity Oregon Dwarf Snow Pea (Pisum sativum)

Planted               25/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated                                  Day ?
Flowering                                     Day ?
Harvest began     06/12/2016       Day 42


Pumpkin

Days to Maturity Kaempw Melon Rilon Pumpkin (most likely Cucurbita maxima)

Planted                       16/10/2016                 Day 0
Germinated                 26/10/2016                 Day 10
Started flowering         01/12/2016                 Day 46
Harvest                       05/03/2017                 Day 180 (possibly Day 70 if picked at Christmas)


Raspberries

Days to Maturity Golden Raspberry (Rubus idaeus)

Seeds planted       N/A grown from divisions
Germinated           N/A
Flowered              10/11/2017        Day 0
Fruit Ripe              15/12/2017       Day 35


Days to maturity Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) from seed

Seeds planted       16/09/2017             Day 0
Germinated           21/12/2017             Day 96
Flowered              Not Yet Flowered - still tiny
Fruit Ripe              Not Yet Fruited


Rhubarb from seed

Days to maturity Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) collected from China

Seeds planted       04/11/2016       Day 0
Germinated           ??/??/2016        Day ? Oh why didn't I record this!
Harvest start         14/01/2018       Roughly 14 months from seed planted to first harvest
Flowering             ??/10/2018       Roughly 23 months after seed planted (I removed the flower stalk so don't have exact date)

Senposai from seed

Days to maturity Senposai (Brassica napus)  

Seed planted  25/02/2023   Day 0 

Germinated    28/02/2023   Day 3 

Baby leaf       01/04/2023   Day 35 

Harvest          08/04/2023   Day 42 

Spinach 

Days to maturity Spinach Oriental Summer Jade (Spinacia oleracea)

Planted in garden      09/04/2023   Day 0

Germinate                 16/04/2023   Day 7

Baby leaf                  14/05/2023   Day 35

Larger leaf                We have been picking leaves of increasing size ever since the baby leaf stage

Strawberries from seed

Days to Maturity Attila alpine strawberry (Frageria vesca)

Seeds planted             08/10/2016                  Day 0
Germinated                 21/10/2016                  Day 13
First Runners              21/12/2016                  Day 73 (more runners every few days, like a spider web)
Flowered                   03/03/2017                   Day 145 (5 months)
First fruit ripe              09/04/2017                  Day 182


Days to Maturity Regina Alpine Strawberry (Frageria vesca)

Seed Planted               08/10/2016                  Day 0
Germinated                 19/10/2016                   Day 11
Flowered                    13/02/2017                   Day 125
First fruit ripe              13/03.2017                   Day 153 (about 5 months)


Days to Maturity Yellow Wonder Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

Seed Planted               08/10/2016                  Day 0
Germinated                 22/10/2016                  Day 14
Flowered                   17/02/2017                   Day 129
First fruit ripe              28/03/2017                  Day168



Days to maturity Strawberry spinach (Chenopodium capitatum)

Seeds planted       10/08/2019       Day 0
Germinated           25/08/2019      Day 15
Harvest leaf          ??/??/2019       I didn't record this, it was pretty early
Flowering             24/12/2019       Day 146
Berry harvest        20/01/2020       Day 173



Sundews (these are not vegetables, but I wanted to record this somewhere easy for me to find)


Days to germinate cape sundew Drosera capensis
Seed planted             22/04/2019      Day 0
Germinated              06/04/2019       Day 15
Carnivorous leaves   21/05/2019      Day 30
Flowering                 Late July 2020 - about 15 months under poor conditions



Tokyo Bekana

Days to maturity Tokyo Bekana (Brassica rapa chinensis)  

Planted in garden      09/04/2023   Day 0

Germinate                 15/04/2023   Day 6

Baby leaf                  14/05/2023    Day 35

Large leaf                  04/06/2023   Day 56

Tomato

Days to maturity heirloom and rare tomatoes
I grow many different varieties of tomatoes so instead of writing one massively long post I broke it up a bit.  Previous year pages can be found here and here while the 2016/2017 season can be found here.


Days to maturity Micro Tom Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum)

Seeds planted       02/10/2016       Day 0
Germinated           11/10/2016       Day 9
Flowered              22/12/2016       Day 81
Harvest start         07/01/2017       Day 97


Youngberry

Days to maturity Thornless Youngberry (Rubus sp)

Seeds planted       N/A grown from divisions
Germinated           N/A
Flowered              25/10/2017       Day 0
Fruit Ripe              07/12/2017       Day 43


Zucchini

Days to maturity Zucchini: Gron Busk 'Veribo' (Cucurbita pepo)

Planted 16/10/2016                  Day 0
Germinated 25/10/2016            Day 9
Flowering 29/11/2016               Day 43
First small fruit 03/12/2016        Day 47
Large fruit ready 07/12/2016     Day 51


I sell seeds of some of these vegetables, fruits, and berries through my for sale page.  If you are interested you should go and have a look.  

Ecclesiastes 11:6 "Sow your seed in the morning and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well."