11 Crops That Take 90 Days or Less to Harvest From Seed

Leafy greens aren’t the only quick-growing crops. Root crops, cucumbers, and peas are some of the many vegetables that mature quickly in the garden. When you stuff your beds and containers with them, you prolong your growing season. You’ll be harvesting from spring through fall!

These fast-growing crops fill in the gaps of the garden to bolster your fresh food supply. Leafy greens are exceptional for sandwiches and salads, while roots, legumes, and fruits are versatile in the kitchen. Use a mix of quick growers to create a food forest in your backyard.

Plant climbing vines on trellises, and sow leafy greens and root crops beneath them. By maximizing your space, you can grow a refrigerator’s worth of vegetables in a single raised bed.

Whether you garden in cold regions with short growing seasons or in areas without winter frosts, there are crops on this list that’ll thrive in your yard, patio, or balcony. Some grow indoors under grow lights! Use this list to find your favorite crops that grow in 90 days or less, whether they’re classic heirlooms or new hybrid varieties.

Early Wonder Beet

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Early Wonder Beet Seeds

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Quick Snack Cucumber

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Quick Snack Cucumber Seeds

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Patio Pride Snap Pea

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Patio Pride Snap Pea Seeds

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Beet

	botanical name Beta vulgaris
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 12-18”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Beets are sun-loving root vegetables that mature in 90 days or less and fit in between other crops. Their tender, juicy roots taste savory and earthy. Grate them on salads fresh, or cook them. You can roast, boil, or sauté beets to soften their hard interiors. 

Some varieties are quicker growing than others. Try ‘Early Wonder’ if you’re pressed for time. It takes 48 days to mature after germination, and the seeds may take a week to three weeks to sprout. Its red, tender flesh is delicious and colorful. 

‘Robin’ is another lovely cultivar for the home garden. It features baby red beets that take less than 60 days to mature. 

Carrot ‘Little Finger’

	botanical name Daucus carota ‘Little Finger’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3”-3’
	hardiness zones 2-11

Carrots are notorious for being difficult to grow. They have a long sprouting period, and they need cool weather to mature without bolting. Instead of struggling with a spindly crop, try the ‘Little Finger’ carrot! It takes less than 90 days to grow from planting to harvest. 

This carrot is a true baby variety that matures at three inches long. It’ll get to seven inches if you let it, but it tastes its best when small and firm. Its small size makes it perfect for containers and planters. 

Grow carrot crops by keeping the soil consistently moist while they sprout. Put a board on them, or water them daily during hot weather. They grow best during cool, mild weather and will struggle in high heat. 

Collards ‘Georgia Southern’

	botanical name Brassica oleracea var. viridis ‘Georgia Southern’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2-3’
	hardiness zones 2-11

‘Georgia Southern’ collards exceed where others fail. It tolerates frosts and heat waves, making it an ideal crop in hard-to-grow regions. This crop takes less than 90 days to mature after sprouting, but you can harvest the baby leaves at any time. 

Collards grow exceptionally well in the South, which is why this cultivar has Georgia in its name! They also grow well in other regions of the U.S., mainly in USDA hardiness zones 2 through 11. You may cheat the seasons by starting seeds indoors and transplanting the seedlings after the last frost. 

Pick outer collard leaves individually, and chop the entire head if you’d like to harvest the whole plant. Steam, sauté, or boil them to soften their tough exteriors. 

Cucumber ‘Quick Snack’

	botanical name Cucumis sativus ‘Quick Snack’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 15-20”
	hardiness zones 1-13

This vining crop forms cucumbers without pollination! ‘Quick Snack’ is a parthenocarpic hybrid, meaning its fruits develop without seeds regardless of whether pollinators are present or not. It’s perfect for indoor growing, or container gardens on balconies, patios, and porches. 

This cucumber needs 38 to 45 days to mature after germination. Grow it in a pot on a sunny windowsill for fresh cucumbers no matter the time of year! Pick them once they’re swollen and reach between one and a half to two and a half inches long. 

Curly Endive

	botanical name Cichorium endivia var. crispum
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 10”-2’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Endive, or curly endive, is a mildly bitter crop that makes an exceptional part of a salad blend. Its bitterness blends well with lettuce, spinach, and arugula for a flavorful punch. 

Curly endive isn’t popular in the U.S., which is why you should grow it to try it yourself. ‘Olesh Tres Fine’ is a fast-growing variety that needs 42 to 70 days to mature after sprouting. 

For classic endive, you’ll need to blanch, or cover, the leaves for the final two weeks before you harvest them. Covering the leaves makes the inner ones grow white and lacey, and it helps mask the bitterness of the fresh greens. Use a dark pot or container to cover them. 

Kale

	botanical name Brassica oleracea
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 2-4’
	hardiness zones 2-11

Kale is a leafy green biennial that thrives in cold weather. It’s perfect for growing in early spring or during fall for overwintering. It’s mildly frost-tolerant, and there are many varieties with a plethora of leaf shapes and colors. You can choose your favorite from dozens of different types. 

Two kale crops stand out from the rest: ‘Dinosaur’ and ‘Red Russian.’ ‘Dinosaur’ also goes by ‘Lacinato,’ and it makes a delicious kale and avocado salad. Squish the leaves with the avocados, then let them sit in the fridge. Add salt, pepper, dressing, and veggies for a fresh appetizer. 

Kale struggles during the middle of summer. Consider growing it as a bumper crop when cold weather is the norm. 

Lettuce

	botanical name Lactuca sativa
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6-12”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Lettuce is a rosette-forming leafy green with lots of variety. Some cultivars are red, others are green, and a few have speckles! Find a lettuce you like from the five main groups: butterhead, crisphead, leaf lettuce, romaine, and summer crisp.

Leaf lettuces are often the quickest maturing crops, as they don’t form heads like the other types. You can harvest their outer leaves as they’re ready, or pick the young plants for baby greens. 

Lettuce is an easy crop to grow from seed. Simply press them on the surface of the soil in your garden and keep them moist until they sprout. 

Radish ‘Cherry Belle’

	botanical name Raphanus raphanistrum ssp. sativus ‘Cherry Belle’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2-3”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Radishes are one of the fastest-growing vegetables for the home garden. It forms a bulbous root that’s spicy, tender, and delectable! Slice the root fresh in salads, or cook it in soups and stews. You may also roast radishes in oil, salt, and pepper. 

‘Cherry Belle’ is a favorite cultivar. It won the All-America Selections award in 1949, and it hasn’t stopped performing since. 

Tuck radish crops between your tomatoes, under your kale, and next to your herbs for a quick harvest in far less than 90 days; most mature in less than 30 days! They mature so quickly that you can fit them in where other crops would struggle.  

Snap Pea ‘Patio Pride’

	botanical name Pisum sativum ‘Patio Pride’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 12-18”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Snap peas are, in my humble opinion, the best kind of peas! They have edible pods and swollen peas inside, making them a crunchy, sweet snack. Snow peas have edible pods, while shelling peas have peas that you shell from their non-edible pods. Snap peas have both edible peas and pods, giving you the best of both worlds.

‘Patio Pride’ is an exceptional snap pea. It only needs 40 days to mature from germination to harvest. Grow it in containers, or let it fill your raised beds with sweet, crunchy peas. 

Spinach

	botanical name Spinacia oleracea
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6-12”
	hardiness zones 2-11

Spinach is one of the mildest, most tender leafy greens available. It’s a quick-growing crop that takes much less than 90 days to harvest from seed. The seeds need five to ten days to germinate, and the plants need anywhere from 20 to 45 days to mature after planting. 

Spinach grows best in cool weather, though some varieties are perfect for late spring and summer. Try ‘America’ if you garden in a hot, drought-prone region. It’s heat and drought-tolerant, and its leaves are tender and flavorful. 

Wild Arugula

	botanical name Diplotaxis tenuifolia
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 1-2′
	hardiness zones 5-9

Wild arugula is a mustard relative that’s perennial instead of annual. It’s a superb leafy green in the home garden, as it’s tolerant of harsh growing conditions. Though it’s perennial, it matures quickly from the seedling to the adult stage when it’s ready for harvesting.