Most gardeners end up buying seeds, and most of us who do end up buying them in the form of seed packets. As packaging goes, seed packets are great: efficient, compact, and due to the information printed on them informative. Seed count, planting depth and spacing, light and water needs, it’s all conveniently printed directly on the container the seeds come in. While most of that information is pretty easy to understand if you know a bit about gardening, some of it’s a bit more inscrutable. The biggest question we’ve been asked—and one that we’ve had ourselves—centers on the phrase “days to maturity”. You may have seen this yourself on seed packets or maybe even seedling tags, but what does it mean? Well, in grand Gardzen fashion we dug in and we found . . . several different answers.
Gardzen Quick Summary:
· “Days to maturity” can have a number of different meanings, but generally it means the time until the plant is either flowering or producing harvestable fruit.
· For some seed packets, the time to maturity starts with the planting of the seed; for others it starts when the seedling is ready to be transplanted.
· “Days to Maturity” is generally presented as a range, like “70-80 Days”, because it’s always an estimate. Factors like sun, temperature, water, soil conditions, and more determine the actual time to maturity.
· The individual gardener may interpret things different. Think of the difference between harvesting small zucchini or a more mature squash, or green bell peppers vs ripe bell peppers.
· When in doubt, check the seed vendor’s website for specific information about that particular brand. For seeds you’ve saved at home, take careful notes!
What Does “Maturity” Mean in “Days to Maturity”?
It’s best to start by defining our terms: what does “maturity” mean in the phrase “days to maturity”? Well, it can mean a few different things depending on which company produced the seeds, what kind of seeds they are, and probably a few other factors we’re not aware of. Yes, this is confusing—which is why we encourage you to contact the company selling the seeds for specific information about their products.
“Days to maturity” generally means “days until the plant is mature enough to produce the desired fruit or flowers.” Ornamental plants tend to measure “days to maturity” by flowering date, as that’s the desired result for most gardeners. Edible plants like garden fruits and veggies tend to measure “days to maturity” until the plant is either producing harvestable fruits or starting to do so; it seems to depend on the company producing the seeds.
Further complicating this is the start date for “days to maturity”. Some seed packets measure from planting date—the day the seeds go in the ground—and some seem to measure from the transplant date—the day the seedling is ready to transplant outdoors. This is an important detail, as it may affect when you start your seeds so that you can transplant them in time with the last “frost date” for spring. Once again, it pays to play ahead just a bit and have a general schedule of when your garden garden needs and when it will need it. You’ve been keeping up with your garden journal, right?
(One of our new year’s resolutions is to be better about our own garden journals. Let’s work on that together in 2026!)
What Determines Actual Time to Maturity?
We mention in the summary at the top that “days to maturity” is most often presented as a range, like “70-80 Days”. Why is that, and what determines the actual time to maturity?
Well, it depends on the conditions to which a particular seed or seedling is subjected. Different seed starting mediums, temperatures, watering patterns, and light conditions all affect how quickly a seed develops and when the eventual maturity date is. Again, the seed packet is a good guide, as it should tell us most of what we need to know about water and soil conditions. If not, we have some information about seed starting on this blog that should be helpful. Starting seeds and caring for seedlings generally isn’t difficult but there are a few things you’ll need to know to succeed. Again speaking in generalities, the closer you can keep your seeds/seedlings to “ideal” conditions the closer they’ll be to reaching maturity within the “days to maturity” time frame on the seed packet.
Using All This Information in Our Gardens
The take-home is that gardening isn’t an exact science. We’re working with nature and while we can control conditions to some degree even indoor gardens are subject to things beyond gardener control. So, as always: relax, do your best, and learn from each gardening experience. We’re here if you have any questions to ask or experiences to share so jump into the comments section or send us an email! Gardzen is all about community and we love to hear from you!
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