Beijing in September: what to plant
Over the last 5 years, September in Beijing has run 17.0–26.7°C with about 63 mm of rain across the month. Here is what weather like that will carry to harvest.
Everything above is a five-year average. In the game it is this — the weather Beijing is actually having, today.
Grow one in Beijing's weather right now →❄️ No sub-zero nights in September in the last 5 years — frost is not the limiting factor here.
🗓️ This month sits inside the frost-free window. Average last spring frost around Mar 21, first autumn frost around Nov 11 — roughly 235 frost-free days. Sow tender crops after the last frost date and make sure they finish before the first.
☀️ About 8.6 h of sunshine a day this month. Within the month it cools by about 3.4°C from the first ten days to the last — the window for autumn sowings is opening.
Sow this month — when would you harvest?
Assuming you sow in mid-September, then adding up the warmth Beijing usually gets, one day at a time — which is why some of these run past the end of the month.
| Crop | Days | Harvest around |
|---|---|---|
| 🥬 Bok Choy | 40 | Oct 24 |
| 🌿 Garlic chives | 216 | Apr 18 |
| 🧅 Onion | 232 | May 4 |
| 🥬 Swiss chard | 187 | Mar 20 |
⏳ Too late this month: Potato, Strawberry, Beetroot, Tomato, Okra, Edamame, Carrot, Sunflower would still be in the ground when the first frost arrives (around Nov 11). Sow them earlier in the year, or grow them under cover.
Best crops to sow now
They are all ideal for this month — the only real difference is how long each one takes, so pick whatever you want to eat.
- 🥔 Potato about 61 days to harvest Recent mean 21.8°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Bok Choy about 27 days to harvest Recent mean 21.8°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🍓 Strawberry about 43 days to harvest Recent mean 21.8°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌿 Garlic chives about 51 days to harvest Recent mean 21.8°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🟣 Beetroot about 40 days to harvest Recent mean 21.8°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🍅 Tomato about 110 days to harvest Recent mean 21.8°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌶️ Okra about 110 days to harvest Recent mean 21.8°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🫛 Edamame about 102 days to harvest Recent mean 21.8°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🧅 Onion about 63 days to harvest Recent mean 21.8°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥕 Carrot about 54 days to harvest Recent mean 21.8°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Swiss chard about 39 days to harvest Recent mean 21.8°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌻 Sunflower about 73 days to harvest Recent mean 21.8°C — right in the sweet spot
Leave these for another month
- 🌿 Rocket — 28 day(s) of heat stress
- 🌿 Spinach — 24 day(s) of heat stress
- 🫛 Peas — Recent mean 21.8°C is too hot (ideal 7–21°C)
Other months in Beijing
📍 Somewhere else? Look up your own city →
Temperature and rainfall come from Open-Meteo's historical observations for Beijing, averaged day by day over the last 5 years. Whether a crop finishes in time is worked out from its own starting temperature and heat requirement — those numbers are listed on each crop page if you want to check them.