Nanjing in October: what to plant
Over the last 5 years, October in Nanjing has run 14.7–22.5°C with about 74 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 October 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 7.0 h of sunshine a day this month. Within the month it cools by about 5.2°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-October, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 🍒 Cherry Radish | 27 | Nov 10 |
| 🧅 Leek | 188 | Apr 20 |
| 🥬 Cabbage | 181 | Apr 13 |
| 🌿 Parsley | 168 | Mar 31 |
⏳ Too late this month: Potato, Celery, Dill, Daikon radish, Strawberry, Green Beans, Sweet Corn, Zucchini would still be in the ground when the first frost arrives (around Dec 6). 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 78 days to harvest Recent mean 18.6°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Celery about 95 days to harvest Recent mean 18.6°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌿 Dill about 41 days to harvest Recent mean 18.6°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🍒 Cherry Radish about 23 days to harvest Recent mean 18.6°C — right in the sweet spot
- ⚪ Daikon radish about 50 days to harvest Recent mean 18.6°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🧅 Leek about 79 days to harvest Recent mean 18.6°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Cabbage about 72 days to harvest Recent mean 18.6°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌿 Parsley about 61 days to harvest Recent mean 18.6°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🍓 Strawberry about 52 days to harvest Recent mean 18.6°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥢 Green Beans about 70 days to harvest Recent mean 18.6°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌽 Sweet Corn about 105 days to harvest Recent mean 18.6°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥒 Zucchini about 76 days to harvest Recent mean 18.6°C — right in the sweet spot
Leave these for another month
- 🍈 Winter melon — Too little heat to ever mature at current temperatures
- 🌶️ Okra — Recent mean 18.6°C is too cold (ideal 20–33°C)
- 🍆 Aubergine — Slow going at current temperatures (~213 days)
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.