Cumin · Hefei, Anhui, China
When to plant cumin in Hefei
Main outdoor window
27 Mar - 17 Apr
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
13 March
In Hefei, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
5 Jul - 4 Aug
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Hefei
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Start indoors
30 Jan - 20 Feb
Six weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.
Sow direct
27 Mar - 17 Apr
Two weeks after your last frost.
Plant out
27 Mar - 17 Apr
Two weeks after your last frost.
Harvest
5 Jul - 4 Aug
Cumin through the year
Against the frost risk in Hefei
Why these dates
No frost tolerance. Killed at 0C.
Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Cumin are timed from 6 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 2 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Hefei.
The median frost-free season here is 256 days, against 100 to 130 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Growing cumin in Hefei
When should I plant cumin in Hefei?
Aim for 27 Mar - 17 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 8-29 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will cumin be ready to harvest in Hefei?
Expect to start picking around 5 Jul - 4 Aug, based on 100 to 130 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will cumin tolerate?
No frost tolerance. Killed at 0C.