Cumin · Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
When to plant cumin in Harbin
Main outdoor window
12 May - 2 Jun
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
28 April
In Harbin, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
20 Aug - 19 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 Harbin
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
17 Mar - 7 Apr
Six weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.
Sow direct
12 May - 2 Jun
Two weeks after your last frost.
Plant out
12 May - 2 Jun
Two weeks after your last frost.
Harvest
20 Aug - 19 Sep
Cumin through the year
Against the frost risk in Harbin
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 Harbin.
The median frost-free season here is 162 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 Harbin
When should I plant cumin in Harbin?
Aim for 12 May - 2 Jun in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 19 May - 9 Jun - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will cumin be ready to harvest in Harbin?
Expect to start picking around 20 Aug - 19 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.