Gardening in Germany: climate, frost dates and crops by region

Climate zones of Germany

By the days between the last spring frost and the first autumn frost.

How the regions of Germany differ

The gap between the warmest month’s days and the coldest month’s nights is widest in Ingolstadt (27.5 °C) and smallest in Kiel (21.7 °C): the smaller it is, the milder both winter and summer. Hagen is the wettest of these cities with 1,078 mm a year, Halle (Saale) the driest with 589 mm. The hottest summer days are in Karlsruhe (26.4 °C on average in the warmest month), the coolest in Kiel (21.9 °C). In 27 of the 53 cities at least one month averages below 0 °C at night; the longest such winter is in Chemnitz (December–February).

Which crops suit which part of Germany

Season long enough: the days from planting to the first autumn frost cover the days to the first harvest on the plant card. Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

Cities of Germany: weather in numbers

ERA5 2016–2025 via Open-Meteo, 25 km grid cell of each city; dates by the Greenly calendar and the plant cards.

More about Germany

• Germany: frost dates by city
• Selling your harvest in Germany
• Where to buy seeds and plants
• When to plant tomatoes in Germany
• When to plant cucumbers in Germany
• When to plant peas in Germany
• When to plant garlic in Germany
• Gardening by country