Lentil Growing Guide
Growing Lentil is easier than you think. This guide walks you through everything you need — from planting your first seed to harvesting.
At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -7°C
Plant Family
Fabaceae
Growing Season
Cool Season
Plant Lifecycle
Annual
Also grows well as
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Sow direct 3 cm deep, 10 cm apart, in early spring — they like cool starts. Sow thickly; the small plants support each other.
A cool-season, drought-tolerant legume that fixes nitrogen. The tiny low plants produce small two-seeded pods, so it's a patch crop rather than a few plants. Best where summers aren't too humid.
When To Start
First Chance to Plant
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Last Chance to Plant
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When should you plant Lentil?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Lentil Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
The Journey Ahead
Lentil's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 10–14 days
Growing Tips
- 1Lentils ask little: sun, lean soil, and dry-ish conditions.
- 2Sow early, keep weeds down while they're small, and don't feed extra nitrogen.
- 3Humid, wet summers are the main thing they dislike.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~100
Days to Maturity
40 cm
Mature Height
20 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
14 days
When to Pick
Pull when the lower pods are brown and dry, ~100 days
How to Harvest
- 1Pull or cut the whole plants when the lower pods have dried brown, then finish drying them under cover before threshing out the lentils.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Leave pods to dry on the plant, then thresh out the lentils — your seed and your crop in one.
Seed Production
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