Good King Henry · Renca, Santiago Metropolitan, Chile
When to plant good king henry in Renca
Main outdoor window
24 Aug - 14 Sep
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
14 September
In Renca, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
29 Sep - 28 Dec
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 Renca
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
24 Aug - 14 Sep
Three weeks before your last frost.
Harvest
29 Sep - 28 Dec
Good King Henry through the year
Against the frost risk in Renca
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 Renca.
Renca sits in zone 9b, which is milder than this crop wants, and a winter that never really arrives is its own problem. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.
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 Renca
Other vegetables to time
Growing good king henry in Renca
When should I plant good king henry in Renca?
Aim for 24 Aug - 14 Sep in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 14 Sep - 5 Oct - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will good king henry be ready to harvest in Renca?
Expect to start picking around 29 Sep - 28 Dec, 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.