Good King Henry · Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China
When to plant good king henry in Ürümqi
Main outdoor window
23 Mar - 13 Apr
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
13 April
In Ürümqi, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Apr - 30 Jun
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 Ürümqi
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.
Sow direct
23 Mar - 13 Apr
Three weeks before your last frost.
Harvest
1 Apr - 30 Jun
Good King Henry through the year
Against the frost risk in Ürümqi
Why these dates
Extremely hardy and among the earliest greens available.
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. Good King Henry are timed for direct sowing 3 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Ürümqi.
Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Ürümqi is zone 6b, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.
Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 2, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.
Also in Ürümqi
Other vegetables to time
Growing good king henry in Ürümqi
When should I plant good king henry in Ürümqi?
Aim for 23 Mar - 13 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 4-25 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will good king henry be ready to harvest in Ürümqi?
Expect to start picking around 1 Apr - 30 Jun, based on 90 to 120 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will good king henry tolerate?
Extremely hardy and among the earliest greens available.