Garden Planting Planner Calculator
Calculate when to plant your seeds or seedlings by reverse garden planning: specify when you want to harvest the vegetable and its maturity time to find out planting date. More Below.
Already planted? Calculate your Harvest Dates!
Related Calculators: Vegetable Planting Calendar (Multiple), Harvest Calculator
Entry Fields
In the When to Harvest Date field, enter the date you would like to harvest your vegetable. This date is used to calculate the date to plant the seed or seedlings, based on days to maturity. The resulting plant date is an approximation, since days to maturity can be impacted by a variety other factors, such as too much rain or excessive heat.
In Days to Maturity, enter the number of days it takes the vegetable to mature, at which point it is ready to be harvested: that is, picked and eaten! Maturity days is often listed on the seed package. Since you are likely planning your vegetable garden in early spring and may not have seeds yet, and it's also a few months until seedlings are available, you can look online for the vegetables you want to plant. Or, view our chart below which has many common vegetables along with days to maturity.
Either select the Vegetable from the drop down list; Or, if not in the list, leave this field blank, and fill in the next field, plant name.
Note: When you run this calculator the harvest date you enter is saved in a temporary (session) cookie so you do not have re-enter if running the calculator multiple times while visiting our site. The cookie is automatically deleted when your browser closes. If you want a different harvest date, simply update.
About Calculator
Use this calculator to help determine when to plant your garden vegetables, so you can start to harvest them on or about the schedule you've planned!
Of course, there are a variety of factors that can affect when your vegetables are actually harvestable, including: days to maturity can vary by several days or more, with your growing zone playing a role; environmental factors from soil to weather also impact growth; if your garden is accessible to wildlife, which often think you've planting just for them!
In addition, it's essential to be know about what can grow in your zone so that you do not plant too early, if your area has late spring frosts, or too late, due to early Fall frosts.
Consequently, even though you can use this calculator to specify any harvest date, review the calculated plant on date carefully to see if it is feasible in your growing zone; And, check upcoming weather forecasts as your plant date nears.
Related Calculator: If you want to calculate plant dates for multiple vegetables, each of which can vary in days to maturity and harvest date, use our Vegetable Planting Calendar, where you can schedule up to 15 veggies. It's also useful to plan multiple plantings of a given vegetable, such as carrots have 2 weeks.
What is a Vegetable's Days to Maturity?
Days to maturity is the number of days from planting a seed or seedling until it is ready to be harvested.
Days to maturity is generally an approximation of when the plant will likely produce its vegetable, but is often inexact given that environmental factors including excessive heat or rain can slow down or expedite vegetable growth.
What is a Determinate Vegetable?
A determinate vegetable is one that grows for a specific period of time to a specific size, at which point the entire crop is harvestable within a very short period of time.
Examples of determinate vegetables include some tomatoe varieties, such as Roma tomatoes, winter squashes, bush beans and eggplants. Determinates are generally bush-like, consuming less space in the garden.
What is an Indeterminate Vegetable?
An indeterminate vegetable is one that grows and produces continuously throughout its growing season, as long as conditions permit. For each new fruit which starts to grow, it is typically harvestable when at or near its days to maturity. Indeterminates tend to be vining, though this is not always the case.
Examples of indeterminate vegetables include many varieties of tomatoes: cherry tomatoes - an absolute gem in the garden, beefsteak tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes; Straight Eight cucumbers, which thrive with a good vining trellis, pole bean. Many herbs are indeterminate, such as thyme, rosemary, and oregano.
How Do I Know Days to Maturity for a Vegetable?
There are several ways to know how long it will take for your vegetable plants to mature:
-
Experience growing in the past seasons.
-
Instructions on Seed Packet Instructions.
-
Seedling Card - Plants purchased from a local nursery, or garden center in big box store, generally have a card attached.
-
Online and Offline Resources - There are a large number of resources both online and offline on planting just about any vegetable, along with related harvesting information.
Two well known sources available for over 200 years, are The Farmers' Almanac, since 1818, and The Old Farmer's Almanac, since 1792.
Many land-grant universities in the USA have farm extension programs, often with online sites where you can find planting information for many vegetables.
What's My Growing Zone in the USA?
Where you live is important for the plants you grow, since climates vary widely, and determine how early you can plant seeds or transplant seedlings outside, and how long your growing season is. For example, your growing season in Northern New Hampshire (zone 3b) will be vastly shorter than in Southern Louisiana (zone 10a).
To determine the zone where you live, use the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Once you know your growing zone, review the seed package or seedling card zone information to make sure your zone is included. Usually the seed package will give you a time frame for planting in the main zones, and, depending on the zone, can span a few months, such as plant from May to June. If the plant on date is outside this range, update harvest date and re-calculate.
For example, if your plant on date show a date in mid-April, but your seed package shows planting in your zone in May, the harvest date for your area likely needs to be later than specified so the plant on date will likewise be later.
Average Days to Maturity Vegetable Chart
The chart below has average days to maturity for many common vegetables. However, average is not the same as specific information on your plants. Moreover, there are so many varieties of many vegetables (1000s of tomato varieties!), and where you live also affects grow time.
Important: Use this reference with the caveat that it may not match your plant's growing time! See the section above for more info: How Do I Know Days to Maturity for a Vegetable?
Click or tap on any vegetable, and the Time to Harvest Entry form will be filled in with the vegetable name and its average days to maturity.
Copyright © 2025, bInfinity Web, Inc. All rights reserved.