Shanghai in May: what to plant
Over the last 5 years, May in Shanghai has run 16.6–25.7°C with about 93 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 Shanghai is actually having, today.
Grow one in Shanghai'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 23, first autumn frost around Dec 8 — roughly 289 frost-free days. Sow tender crops after the last frost date and make sure they finish before the first.
☀️ About 8.5 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 Shanghai 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 | 52 | Jul 5 |
| 🥢 Green Beans | 44 | Jun 27 |
| 🫛 Edamame | 74 | Jul 27 |
| 🎃 Pumpkin | 72 | Jul 25 |
| 🥒 Cucumber | 63 | Jul 16 |
| 🌿 Garlic chives | 46 | Jun 29 |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | 26 | Jun 9 |
| 🟣 Beetroot | 37 | Jun 20 |
| 🌻 Sunflower | 59 | Jul 12 |
| 🧅 Onion | 54 | Jul 7 |
| 🥕 Carrot | 48 | Jul 1 |
| 🏵️ Marigold | 37 | Jun 20 |
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 64 days to harvest Recent mean 21.2°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥢 Green Beans about 54 days to harvest Recent mean 21.2°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🫛 Edamame about 108 days to harvest Recent mean 21.2°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🎃 Pumpkin about 104 days to harvest Recent mean 21.2°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥒 Cucumber about 93 days to harvest Recent mean 21.2°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌿 Garlic chives about 53 days to harvest Recent mean 21.2°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Bok Choy about 28 days to harvest Recent mean 21.2°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🟣 Beetroot about 41 days to harvest Recent mean 21.2°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌻 Sunflower about 76 days to harvest Recent mean 21.2°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🧅 Onion about 65 days to harvest Recent mean 21.2°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥕 Carrot about 56 days to harvest Recent mean 21.2°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🏵️ Marigold about 43 days to harvest Recent mean 21.2°C — right in the sweet spot
Leave these for another month
- 🌿 Rocket — 27 day(s) of heat stress
- 🌿 Spinach — 20 day(s) of heat stress
- 🫛 Peas — Recent mean 21.2°C is too hot (ideal 7–21°C)
Other months in Shanghai
📍 Somewhere else? Look up your own city →
Temperature and rainfall come from Open-Meteo's historical observations for Shanghai, 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.