Nanjing in May: what to plant
Over the last 5 years, May in Nanjing has run 17.3–26.7°C with about 98 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 Nanjing is actually having, today.
Grow one in Nanjing's weather right now →❄️ No sub-zero nights in May 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 Feb 25, first autumn frost around Dec 6 — roughly 285 frost-free days. Sow tender crops after the last frost date and make sure they finish before the first.
☀️ About 8.4 h of sunshine a day this month. Within the month it warms by about 3.3°C from the first ten days to the last.
Sow this month — when would you harvest?
Assuming you sow in mid-May, then adding up the warmth Nanjing usually gets, one day at a time — which is why some of these run past the end of the month.
| Crop | Days | Harvest around |
|---|---|---|
| 🥔 Potato | 50 | Jul 3 |
| 🌶️ Okra | 67 | Jul 20 |
| 🍅 Tomato | 78 | Jul 31 |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | 25 | Jun 8 |
| 🍓 Strawberry | 37 | Jun 20 |
| 🌿 Garlic chives | 44 | Jun 27 |
| 🥢 Green Beans | 42 | Jun 25 |
| 🟣 Beetroot | 35 | Jun 18 |
| 🥕 Carrot | 46 | Jun 29 |
| 🥬 Swiss chard | 34 | Jun 17 |
| 🧅 Onion | 52 | Jul 5 |
| 🌿 Amaranth greens | 38 | Jun 21 |
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 60 days to harvest Recent mean 22.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌶️ Okra about 107 days to harvest Recent mean 22.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🍅 Tomato about 109 days to harvest Recent mean 22.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Bok Choy about 27 days to harvest Recent mean 22.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🍓 Strawberry about 42 days to harvest Recent mean 22.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌿 Garlic chives about 50 days to harvest Recent mean 22.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥢 Green Beans about 50 days to harvest Recent mean 22.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🟣 Beetroot about 39 days to harvest Recent mean 22.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥕 Carrot about 53 days to harvest Recent mean 22.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Swiss chard about 38 days to harvest Recent mean 22.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🧅 Onion about 62 days to harvest Recent mean 22.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌿 Amaranth greens about 46 days to harvest Recent mean 22.0°C — right in the sweet spot
Leave these for another month
- 🌿 Rocket — Recent mean 22.0°C is too hot (ideal 6–22°C)
- 🌿 Spinach — Recent mean 22.0°C is too hot (ideal 5–22°C)
- 🫛 Peas — Recent mean 22.0°C is too hot (ideal 7–21°C)
Other months in Nanjing
📍 Somewhere else? Look up your own city →
Temperature and rainfall come from Open-Meteo's historical observations for Nanjing, 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.