Land cress · Meishan, Sichuan, China
When to plant land cress in Meishan
Main outdoor window
2-30 Apr
A climate estimate. Check your soil, forecast and cultivar.
Timed from last spring frost
5 February
In Meishan, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Oct - 30 Apr
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 Meishan
Download these planting dates (.ics)
Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.
Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.
Sow for overwintering
2-23 Sep
Counting back 84 days from your first frost so the crop matures in time.
Sow direct
2-30 Apr
Eight weeks after your last frost.
Harvest
1 Oct - 30 Apr
Land cress through the year
Against the frost risk in Meishan
Seasonal context
Rainfall and the growing season in Meishan
August has the highest average precipitation (272 mm); January has the lowest (14 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.
During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.
Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.
Monthly growing conditions in Meishan
Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.
| Month | Average low | Average high | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.3°C (34.3°F)34.3°F (1.3°C) | 11.3°C (52.3°F)52.3°F (11.3°C) | 9.4 |
| February | 3.6°C (38.5°F)38.5°F (3.6°C) | 14.4°C (57.9°F)57.9°F (14.4°C) | 2.6 |
| March | 8.4°C (47.1°F)47.1°F (8.4°C) | 19.8°C (67.7°F)67.7°F (19.8°C) | 0.0 |
| April | 13.5°C (56.2°F)56.2°F (13.5°C) | 25°C (77.1°F)77.1°F (25°C) | 0.0 |
| May | 17.5°C (63.5°F)63.5°F (17.5°C) | 28.6°C (83.4°F)83.4°F (28.6°C) | 0.0 |
| June | 20.8°C (69.4°F)69.4°F (20.8°C) | 30.9°C (87.7°F)87.7°F (30.9°C) | 0.0 |
| July | 23°C (73.4°F)73.4°F (23°C) | 31.4°C (88.6°F)88.6°F (31.4°C) | 0.0 |
| August | 22.5°C (72.5°F)72.5°F (22.5°C) | 30.6°C (87°F)87°F (30.6°C) | 0.0 |
| September | 19°C (66.2°F)66.2°F (19°C) | 27.4°C (81.2°F)81.2°F (27.4°C) | 0.0 |
| October | 14.2°C (57.5°F)57.5°F (14.2°C) | 22.5°C (72.5°F)72.5°F (22.5°C) | 0.0 |
| November | 8.6°C (47.4°F)47.4°F (8.6°C) | 17.6°C (63.7°F)63.7°F (17.6°C) | 0.1 |
| December | 2.8°C (37.1°F)37.1°F (2.8°C) | 12.2°C (54°F)54°F (12.2°C) | 3.5 |
For land cress, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.
Local growing check
Before choosing land cress for Meishan
- August is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 272 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.
The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.
Before you plant land cress
Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.
- Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 4.5°C (40.1°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
- Frost tolerance does not make saturated or frozen soil suitable for planting. Wait until the bed can be worked without smearing or compacting it.
- Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.
Grow peppery cress in soil rather than in a water system
Choose a suitable season and moist, drained soil. Some shade during hot weather can delay flowering and harsh leaf flavour, while cooler-season sowings need enough light and suitable protection.
Pick tender young leaves or small rosettes and make replacement sowings before old plants become coarse. Remove unwanted flowering stems before seed sheds. Record how heat changes flavour rather than treating every strong leaf as a growing failure.
What to record this season
Which sowing remained tender, and how did summer heat change pungency? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.
Further reading: Plants For A Future: Barbarea verna . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.
Plants For A Future compiles botanical and cultivation references. This is general species guidance, not a local field trial or evidence that every cultivar will crop in your climate.
How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy
Why these dates
Choose a suitable season and moist, drained soil. Some shade during hot weather can delay flowering and harsh leaf flavour, while cooler-season sowings need enough light and suitable protection.
Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.
This calendar uses frost-relative offsets as a starting point. Land cress are timed for direct sowing 8 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Meishan.
The median frost-free season here is 314 days, against 50 to 70 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.
Also in Meishan
Other vegetables to time
Growing land cress in Meishan
Can I grow land cress in Meishan?
The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. August is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 272 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.
When should I plant land cress in Meishan?
Aim for 2-30 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 17 Apr - 15 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When might land cress be ready to harvest in Meishan?
The estimated period is 1 Oct - 30 Apr, based on 50 to 70 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.
How much frost will land cress tolerate?
Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.