Safe to Plant

Simele, Duhok, Iraq

Planting calendar for Simele

Worked out from 30 years of daily minimum temperatures for this location — not from a zone map, and not from the nearest big city. Move the dial to change how much frost risk you are willing to carry, and every date on the page re-times itself.

Last spring frost

20 March

Frost has finished by this date in 1 year in 2.

First autumn frost

1 December

Bring tender crops in before this date.

Frost-free season

256 days

Very long season

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Sow this week in Simele

Windows that are open today, 10 August. The ones marked in amber are closing within a fortnight.

Opening soon

The growing year in Simele

307 crops, timed to the dates above

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Bay
Rye
Oca

Frost risk Start indoors Autumn sowing Sow direct Plant out Plant Harvest Today

Each bar is a window, not a deadline. Tap or hover a bar for its dates, or follow a crop name for the full timing and a harvest estimate. The blue wash is the measured weekly chance of frost across the whole record. There is also a printable one-page version of this calendar for the shed wall.

The climate behind these dates

Jan Mar Apr Jul Sep Oct Dec
Chance of at least one air frost during each week of the year, measured across the full record. The flat stretch in the middle is your frost-free season.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

Mean monthly temperature across the record. Months shown in blue average at least one air frost.

Hardiness zone
8b
Typical winter low
-7.1°C (19.3°F)
Growing degree days
3,260 base 10°C
Soil workable from
1 Mar
Soil warm from
24 Apr

Full frost table for Simele →

Printable one-page calendar →

Questions about frost in Simele

When is the last frost in Simele?

The median last spring frost in Simele falls on 20 March. In one year in ten frost continues as late as 2 April, so if you cannot protect tender plants, 2 April is the safer date to work to.

When is the first frost in Simele?

The median first autumn frost in Simele falls on 1 December, though in one year in ten it arrives by 19 November. Tender crops should be harvested before that earlier date.

How long is the growing season in Simele?

About 256 frost-free days on a median year - very long by world standards. Taking the cautious view at both ends, plan for roughly 232 dependable days.

What hardiness zone is Simele in?

Simele sits in USDA-equivalent zone 8b, based on a mean annual extreme minimum of -7.1°C (19.3°F). Perennials rated to this zone or lower should survive an average winter here.

Can I trust these dates exactly?

They are statistics, not forecasts. They describe what happened across 30 years of records at this location and say nothing about this particular spring. Frost is also intensely local: a low-lying or exposed garden can run a week behind the figures on this page.