Crop Harvesting Guide—Squash, Tomatoes, and More

Most gardeners know that timing is everything when it comes to harvesting your crops. The time of day and the maturity of your vegetables play a major role in choosing the best time for harvest. With this foolproof harvesting guide, you’ll yield the perfect crop every time!

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Zucchini Harvest

You will typically see blooms on your zucchini 45-50 days after planting. Delicious zucchini crops will soon replace these blooms, and that’s when you’ll know it’s time to harvest! The best time to pick zucchinis is when they are about six inches long. Size is a better indicator than colour for these summer squashes, as depending on the variety you select, your crop can vary from deep greens to bright yellows.

Tomato Harvest 

Beyond colour, it’s all about the feel when it comes to knowing when your tomato crops are ready for harvest. Your tomatoes should be firm but still have a little give to them when gently squeezed. The colour of the tomato should appear about halfway to its mature colour—in other words, still a little green. This is known as the “breaker stage.” Tomatoes can take between sixty to a hundred days to be ready for harvest, depending on the variety.

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Carrot Harvest 

Carrots take anywhere from seventy to eighty days to grow after sowing seeds. Look for carrot roots with vibrant colour and a diameter of 3/4 to 1 inch, as this means they are ready to pull. They might just be peeking through the ground at this point, but that isn’t a given. Considering how many carrots you will use in two- to four weeks can help you decide when to pick your crop. Unlike other vegetables, carrots have a much more flexible harvesting time and can be left in the ground for several extra weeks.

Lettuce Harvest 

The length of your lettuce leaves is the tell-tale sign that your green leafy crop is ready to eat. They should be about three to six inches long before they’re ready to remove from the plant. Simply snip those leaves, rinse them off, and get ready to start timing out your next harvest! Lettuce takes as little as one week to sprout fresh growth if the roots are intact and there are at least one or two inches of stem and leaves left at the base.

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Cucumber Harvest 

Your cucumbers should be about six inches in length at harvest time. Dark green cucumber skin and firm fruit are the biggest indicators of your crop telling you it’s ready for the picking, so be sure to keep a clear eye out for this. Sooner is better than later, as you can’t really pick cucumbers too early—you’ll just end up with some mini crunchy cukes! If you want your cucumbers to grow to their full size, however, this will likely take between fifty to seventy days.


Red Pepper Harvest

Sweet red peppers compliment the garden and the kitchen like no other summer vegetable. Their age largely indicates the quality of their taste, so you’ll want to get this right. Most varieties mature between sixty and ninety days, while their spicy cousins could take up to a whopping one hundred and fifty days!

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Herb Harvest 

Most herbs should be harvested before their flowering process begins, as this helps maintain unique flavours and prevent a decline in leaf production. Germination of seeds can take anywhere from two to four weeks, although some herbs germinate much faster. For faster-growing herbs like dill, you’re looking at about forty days. For slower ones, like sweet bay, you’re looking at about half a year until harvesting time!  Patience is key, but it pays off handsomely!

Monitoring the harvest times of all the different crops in your garden can be difficult, but with this guide, it’s easy. To help you yield delicious crops and continue to achieve a perfect harvest every time, visit us at Mother Nature Garden Centre in Powell River, BC.