Tokyo in May: what to plant
Over the last 5 years, May in Tokyo has run 14.7–23.4°C with about 184 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 Tokyo is actually having, today.
Grow one in Tokyo'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 29, first autumn frost around Dec 14 — roughly 289 frost-free days. Sow tender crops after the last frost date and make sure they finish before the first.
☀️ About 8.3 h of sunshine a day this month. Within the month it warms by about 3.1°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 Tokyo 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 | 57 | Jul 10 |
| 🥬 Napa cabbage | 47 | Jun 30 |
| 🥬 Celery | 70 | Jul 23 |
| 🥬 Cauliflower | 52 | Jul 5 |
| 🥕 Parsnip | 69 | Jul 22 |
| 🥢 Green Beans | 50 | Jul 3 |
| 🌿 Dill | 35 | Jun 18 |
| 🧅 Leek | 61 | Jul 14 |
| 🫛 Peas | 41 | Jun 24 |
| ⚪ Turnip | 31 | Jun 14 |
| 🫘 Broad bean | 50 | Jul 3 |
| 🌽 Sweet Corn | 67 | Jul 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 75 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Napa cabbage about 56 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Celery about 92 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥬 Cauliflower about 64 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥕 Parsnip about 86 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🥢 Green Beans about 67 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌿 Dill about 40 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🧅 Leek about 77 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🫛 Peas about 47 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- ⚪ Turnip about 35 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🫘 Broad bean about 60 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
- 🌽 Sweet Corn about 100 days to harvest Recent mean 19.0°C — right in the sweet spot
Leave these for another month
- 🌿 Rocket — 13 day(s) of heat stress
- 🌶️ Okra — Recent mean 19.0°C is too cold (ideal 20–33°C)
- 🍆 Aubergine — Slow going at current temperatures (~199 days)
Other months in Tokyo
📍 Somewhere else? Look up your own city →
Temperature and rainfall come from Open-Meteo's historical observations for Tokyo, 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.