Cumin · Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
When to plant cumin in Edmonton
Main outdoor window
27 May - 17 Jun
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
13 May
In Edmonton, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
4-26 Sep
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 Edmonton
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
1-22 Apr
Six weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.
Sow direct
27 May - 17 Jun
Two weeks after your last frost.
Plant out
27 May - 17 Jun
Two weeks after your last frost.
Harvest
4-26 Sep
Cumin through the year
Against the frost risk in Edmonton
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 Edmonton.
The median frost-free season here is 137 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 Edmonton
When should I plant cumin in Edmonton?
Aim for 27 May - 17 Jun in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 5-26 Jun - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will cumin be ready to harvest in Edmonton?
Expect to start picking around 4-26 Sep, 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.