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Germination Tables for Vegetable Seeds - How Long Till They Sprout

Everything to Know About Vegetable Seeds:
Germination Tables for Vegetable Seeds

Each vegetable has an optimum temperature at which its seeds germinate best, meaning, the highest number of them sprout in the least time. Looking in the table below of common vegetables grown in the home garden, you will quickly see that most germinate best in the 70's F, but there are exceptions. A blank cell means the seeds are unlikely to sprout at all!

Some vegetables are best started in pots or trays indoors, or if the weather is warm enough, started in pots or trays outside. These are usually seeds that are either too tiny or too delicate to survive direct planting. Some vegetables simply do not like to be transplanted. These are typically root crops or vegetables with a strong taproot, like sweet corn. Each of these preferences is noted in the columns in the table.

Seed longevity: If you have seeds that are a year or two old, it's worth trying them, but keep your expectations low. Note also that old seeds have lower germination rates and may take longer, too.

Germination rates: How many seeds will sprout, under optimal conditions. The rate varies quite a lot, from about 55% to 80%. Most seeds are in the 60 yo 70% rate, which declines with the age of the seeds.

Be sure to also see this page of additional information about each type of vegetable, like days to maturity,

Crop	Sow the seeds directly in the garden	Started in trays & transplanted. see this page	Longevity (years seeds remain viable)	Optimal Temp (F)	Germination Rate	Optimal / fastest germination (days)	Approximate days until germination at the specific soil temperatures
							32ºF	41ºF	50ºF	59ºF	68ºF	77ºF	86ºF	95ºF	104ºF
Asparagus		X	3	75	60%	10			53	24	15	10	12	19	28
Beans Lima	X		3	80	70%	7				31	18	7	7
Beans Snap	X		3	80	70%	6				16	11	8	6	6
Beets	X		4	85	65%	5		42	17	10	6	5	5	5
Broccoli		X	3	80	75%	5			7	6	4	4	7
Brussels Sprouts		X	4	80	70%	5			8	7	5	6	7
Cabbage		X	4	85	75%	4			15	9	6	5	4
Carrots	X		3	80	55%	5		51	17	10	7	6	6	9
Cauliflower		X	4	80	75%	5			20	10	6	5	5
Celery		X	3	85	55%	7		41	16	12	7	6	6
Corn, Sweet	X		2	85	75%	3			22	12	7	4	4	3
Cucumbers	X	X	5	85	80%	4				13	6	4	3	3
Eggplant		X	4	85	60%	6					13	8	6
Kale	X	X	4	75	75%	4			8	6	5	4	5
Leeks	X	X		75	60%	7			11	9	8	7	8
Lettuce	X	X	5	75	80%	2	49	15	7	4	3	2	3
Muskmelons	X	X	5	90	75%	3					8	4	3
Okra		X	2	85	50%	6				27	17	13	7	6	7
Onions	X	X	1	75	70%	4	136	31	13	7	5	4	4	13
Parsley	X	X	1	75	60%	4			29	17	14	13	12
Parsnips	X		1	65	60%	12	172	57	27	19	14	15	32
Peas	X		3	75	80%	6		36	14	9	8	6	6
Peppers	X	X	2	85	55%	8				25	13	8	8	9
Pumpkin	X	X	4	90	75%	3					8	4	3
Radishes	X		5	85	75%	3		29	11	6	4	4	3
Spinach	X	X	3	70	60%	5	63	23	12	7	6	5	6
Squash, summer	X	X	4	90	75%	3					8	4	3
Squash, winter	X	X	4	90	75%	3					8	4	3
Tomatoes See this Master List of Tomato varieties		X	3	85	75%	6			43	14	8	6	6	9
Turnips	X		4	85		2			5	3	2	2	2	2	3
Watermelons	X	X	4	90	70%	4					12	5	4	4

Crops with an asterisk (*) next to the name can usually be successfully sown directly in the garden in spring when the outdoor soil temperatures are warm enough.

References

This table is based on research done in the 1950's and updated with recent empirical experience.

J. F. Harrington, Dept of Vegetable Crops, University of CA at Davis
University of Nebraska, Lincoln Extension

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Canning Books, Supplies and Accessories

These are my favorite essential canning tools, books and supplies. I've been using many of these for over 50 years of canning! The ones below on this page are just the sampling of. my preferred tools. but you can find much more detailed and extensive selections on the pages that are linked below.

The Ball Blue Book of Home Canning

The All New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving: Over 350 of the Best Canned, Jammed, Pickled, and Preserved Recipes Paperback

This is THE book on canning! My grandmother used this book when I was a child.; It tells you in simple instructions how to can almost anything; complete with recipes for jam, jellies, pickles, sauces, canning vegetables, meats, etc.

If it can be canned, this book likely tells you how! Click on the link below for more information and / or to buy (no obligation to buy)The New Ball Blue Book of Canning and Preserving

Canning & Preserving For Dummies in Paperback

Canning and Preserving for Dummies by Karen Ward

This is another popular canning book. Click here for more information, reviews, prices for Canning and Preserving For Dummies

Of course, you do not need to buy ANY canning book as I have about 500 canning, freezing, dehydrating and more recipes all online for free, just see Easy Home Canning Directions.

Home Canning Kits

McSunley 21.5 quart Water Bath Canner, Stainless Steel See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon
See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon

I have several canners, and my favorite is the stainless steel one at right. It is easy to clean and seems like it will last forever. Mine is 10 years old and looks like new.

The black ones are the same type of standard canner that my grandmother used to make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and spaghetti sauce.

This complete kit includes everything you need and lasts for years: the canner, jar rack, Jar grabber tongs, lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer, It's much cheaper than buying the items separately. It's only missing the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book.

You will never need anything else except jars & lids (and the jars are reusable)!

The complete list of canners is on these pages:

Water bath canners - Good for acidic foods, like applesauce, pickles, salsa, jams, jellies, most fruits
Pressure canners - needed for low and non-acidic foods, like canned vegetables (corn, green beans, etc), and meats
Canners for glass top stoves if you have a glass or ceramic stove
Canners for induction stovetops

Pressure Canners

If you plan on canning non-acidic foods and low acid foods that are not pickled - this means: meats, seafood, soups, green beans corn, most vegetables, etc., then you ABSOLUTELY must use a Pressure Canner.

Of course, you can use a pressure canner as a water bath canner as well - just don't seal it up, so it does not pressurize. This means a Pressure Canner is a 2-in-1 device. With it, you can can almost ANYTHING.

There are also other supplies, accessories, tools and more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here!

Canning Supplies Starter Kit - Canning Jar Lifter, Canning funnel, Scissor Tongs, more

Basic Canning Accessories

From left to right:

Jar lifting tongs to pick up hot jars
Lid sanitizer / lifter - to remove lids from the pot of boiling water (sterilizing )
Lids- disposable - you may only use them once
Ring - holds the lids on the jar until after the jars cool - then you remove them, save them and reuse them
Canning Jar funnel - to fill the jars

FREE Illustrated Canning, Freezing, Jam Instructions and Recipes

Don't spend money on books. that you don't need to. Almost everything you can find in some book sold online or in a store is on my website here for free. Start with theEasy Home Canning Directions below. That is a master list of canning directions which are all based upon the Ball Bblue book, the National Center for Home Food Preservation and other reputable lab tested recipes. Almost every recipe I present in addition to being lab tested com. is in a step by step format with photos for each step and complete. explanations. that tell you how to do it, where to get the supplies and pretty much everything you need to know. In addition, there almost always in a PDF format so you can print them out and use them while you cook.

[ Easy Home Canning Directions]

[FAQs - Answers to common questions and problems]

[Free canning publications to download and print]