Oregano · Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan
When to plant oregano in Matsuyama
Main outdoor window
30 Jan - 20 Feb
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
30 January
In Matsuyama, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
20 Apr - 10 May
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 Matsuyama
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
5-26 Dec
Eight weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.
Plant
30 Jan - 20 Feb
Around your last frost.
Harvest
20 Apr - 10 May
Oregano through the year
Against the frost risk in Matsuyama
Why these dates
Slow from seed. Start indoors eight weeks before last frost, or take cuttings from an established plant.
Hardy to -18C in well-drained soil. Winter wet, not winter cold, is what kills oregano.
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. Oregano are timed from 8 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 0 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Matsuyama.
Growing oregano in Matsuyama
When should I plant oregano in Matsuyama?
Aim for 30 Jan - 20 Feb in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 17 Feb - 10 Mar - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will oregano be ready to harvest in Matsuyama?
Expect to start picking around 20 Apr - 10 May, based on 80 to 100 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will oregano tolerate?
Hardy to -18C in well-drained soil. Winter wet, not winter cold, is what kills oregano.