Barley · Handan, Hebei, China
When to plant barley in Handan
Main outdoor window
2-23 Mar
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
23 March
In Handan, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
31 May - 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 Handan
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 for autumn
11 Jun - 2 Jul
Counting back 134 days from your first frost so the crop matures in time.
Sow direct
2-23 Mar
Three weeks before your last frost.
Harvest
31 May - 30 Jun
Barley through the year
Against the frost risk in Handan
Why these dates
Sow in early spring as soon as the ground is workable. Barley ripens two to three weeks ahead of wheat, which makes it the grain of choice where the season is short.
Seedlings tolerate about -8C. The short season means it usually finishes before the first autumn frost even in cold regions.
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. Barley are timed for direct sowing 3 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Handan.
The median frost-free season here is 236 days, against 90 to 120 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Also in Handan
Other grains to time
Growing barley in Handan
When should I plant barley in Handan?
Aim for 2-23 Mar in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 18 Mar - 8 Apr - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will barley be ready to harvest in Handan?
Expect to start picking around 31 May - 30 Jun, based on 90 to 120 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will barley tolerate?
Seedlings tolerate about -8C. The short season means it usually finishes before the first autumn frost even in cold regions.