Shanghai in October: what to plant
Over the last 5 years, October in Shanghai has run 16.9–23.7°C with about 64 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 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 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 7.3 h of sunshine a day this month. Within the month it cools by about 5.0°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 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 🧅 Leek | 179 | Apr 11 |
| 🥬 Cabbage | 170 | Apr 2 |
| 🌿 Parsley | 151 | Mar 14 |
| 🍒 Cherry Radish | 23 | Nov 6 |
⏳ Too late this month: Potato, Celery, Green Beans, Dill, Cucumber, Daikon radish, Strawberry, Zucchini would still be in the ground when the first frost arrives (around Dec 8). 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 68 days to harvest Recent mean 20.3°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Celery about 85 days to harvest Recent mean 20.3°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥢 Green Beans about 59 days to harvest Recent mean 20.3°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌿 Dill about 36 days to harvest Recent mean 20.3°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥒 Cucumber about 103 days to harvest Recent mean 20.3°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🧅 Leek about 71 days to harvest Recent mean 20.3°C — right in the sweet spot
- ⚪ Daikon radish about 45 days to harvest Recent mean 20.3°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Cabbage about 65 days to harvest Recent mean 20.3°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌿 Parsley about 54 days to harvest Recent mean 20.3°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🍒 Cherry Radish about 20 days to harvest Recent mean 20.3°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🍓 Strawberry about 47 days to harvest Recent mean 20.3°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥒 Zucchini about 64 days to harvest Recent mean 20.3°C — right in the sweet spot
Leave these for another month
- 🌿 Rocket — 15 day(s) of heat stress
- 🍈 Winter melon — Slow going at current temperatures (~193 days)
- 🌿 Spinach — 8 day(s) of heat stress
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.