Mashua · Erciş, Van, Turkey

When to plant mashua in Erciş

Main outdoor window

22 Apr - 20 May

A climate estimate. Check your soil, forecast and cultivar.

Timed from last spring frost

17 April

In Erciş, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

1 Nov - 31 Dec

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Estimated soil-warming check. The historical frost estimate is 17 Apr. An air-temperature model suggests soil suitable for mashua may warm to about 10°C (50°F) around 22 April. This is a planning estimate, not a soil measurement. The calendar uses the later date; measure your bed at sowing depth and check the forecast before planting.

Step by step in Erciş

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.

Plant tubers

22 Apr - 20 May

Delayed by a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. The frost-only date would be 17 Apr. Measure your soil before planting.

Harvest

1 Nov - 31 Dec

Frost tolerance
Tender
Damaged below
-2°C (28.4°F)
Days to maturity
180–210
Hardy to
Zone 8a–10a
Min soil temp
10°C (50°F)
Spacing
45 cm
Sun
Full

Mashua through the year

Against the frost risk in Erciş

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Frost risk Plant out Harvest Today
Open My Garden

Seasonal context

Rainfall and the growing season in Erciş

April has the highest average precipitation (66 mm); August has the lowest (8 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.

Jan 40 mm
Feb 38 mm
Mar 52 mm
Apr 66 mm
May 53 mm
Jun 25 mm
Jul 12 mm
Aug 8 mm
Sep 14 mm
Oct 46 mm
Nov 41 mm
Dec 46 mm

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 Erciş

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.

NASA POWER climate averages, 1995–2024
MonthAverage lowAverage highFrost days
January -10.4°C (13.4°F) -0.6°C (31°F) 30.8
February -7.1°C (19.3°F) 1.5°C (34.6°F) 27.2
March -1.4°C (29.4°F) 6.5°C (43.8°F) 20.7
April 3.3°C (37.9°F) 12.6°C (54.7°F) 4.6
May 8.2°C (46.8°F) 17.9°C (64.2°F) 0.1
June 13°C (55.4°F) 24.8°C (76.7°F) 0.0
July 16.3°C (61.3°F) 29.8°C (85.7°F) 0.0
August 16.9°C (62.5°F) 30.1°C (86.1°F) 0.0
September 12.8°C (55.1°F) 24.3°C (75.7°F) 0.0
October 6.8°C (44.2°F) 16.5°C (61.8°F) 1.1
November 0°C (32°F) 8.6°C (47.5°F) 13.4
December -6.4°C (20.6°F) 2.3°C (36.1°F) 29.3

For mashua, 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 mashua for Erciş

  • Many mashua forms need shortening days to develop tubers. A long warm period for vines does not prove that tubers will mature before cold weather; check the named cultivar’s local performance.
  • April is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 66 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 mashua

Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.

  • Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 10°C (50°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
  • Check the local overnight forecast before planting out. Delay planting or keep protection ready if frost is forecast, even after the historical last-frost date.
  • Harden off plants raised indoors: gradually expose them to outdoor light, wind and temperature before their final move into the bed.
  • 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.

Check the cultivar's tuber timing as well as its flowers

Choose a documented cultivar, suitable support and drained soil with moisture available. Keep the root zone protected from excessive drying. Flowering time and tuber development vary, so do not treat an ornamental display as proof of a mature crop.

Lift tubers carefully near the surface and protect saved planting stock from unsuitable winter conditions. Use established culinary preparation and try a small crop first, because the peppery flavour is not to everyone's taste. Record yield and kitchen acceptance separately.

What to record this season

Did tubers develop before damaging cold, and was their cooked flavour useful to you? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.

Further reading: Plants For A Future: Tropaeolum tuberosum . 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 documented cultivar, suitable support and drained soil with moisture available. Keep the root zone protected from excessive drying. Flowering time and tuber development vary, so do not treat an ornamental display as proof of a mature crop.

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. Mashua are timed with planting out 0 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Erciş.

The calendar also applies a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. Where that estimate is later than the frost-based date, it delays the window. Soil in your own garden can warm earlier or later; a thermometer at sowing depth is a better final check. Cold, wet conditions can slow germination and increase decay risk.

Erciş sits in zone 6a, which is colder than the catalog range. Check a locally proven cultivar and a realistic protection plan before planting. The calculated dates do not confirm that this crop is suitable here. Check cultivar requirements and local growing experience before planting.

The median frost-free season here is 199 days, against 180 to 210 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for Erciş →

Growing mashua in Erciş

Can I grow mashua in Erciş?

The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. Many mashua forms need shortening days to develop tubers. A long warm period for vines does not prove that tubers will mature before cold weather; check the named cultivar’s local performance.

When should I plant mashua in Erciş?

Aim for 22 Apr - 20 May in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 5 May - 2 Jun - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

Can I plant mashua earlier in Erciş?

The historical frost estimate is 17 Apr. For Mashua, an air-temperature model estimates soil warmth of about 10°C (50°F) around 22 Apr. This is not a soil measurement or a forecast. Check your bed at sowing depth; cold, wet conditions can slow growth and increase decay risk.

When might mashua be ready to harvest in Erciş?

The estimated period is 1 Nov - 31 Dec, based on 180 to 210 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 mashua 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.