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

Climate zones of Kazakhstan

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

How the regions of Kazakhstan differ

Splitting the cities in two — north (Petropavl, Kokshetau, Kostanay and 11 more) and south (Saran, Shakhtinsk, Zhezkazgan and 11 more): the last spring frost comes about 30 days later in the north; the frost-free season is about 153 days in the north and 202 days in the south; the warmest month averages 26.9 °C by day in the north and 34.1 °C in the south.

Splitting the cities in two — west (Kokshetau, Petropavl, Kentau and 11 more) and east (Oskemen, Semey, Taldykorgan and 11 more): the last spring frost comes about 16 days later in the east; the frost-free season is about 177 days in the west and 153 days in the east; the warmest month averages 30.9 °C by day in the west and 27.2 °C in the east.

The gap between the warmest month’s days and the coldest month’s nights is widest in Zhezkazgan (46.3 °C) and smallest in Aktau (37.4 °C): the smaller it is, the milder both winter and summer. Almaty is the wettest of these cities with 608 mm a year, Kyzylorda the driest with 138 mm. The hottest summer days are in Turkistan (37.5 °C on average in the warmest month), the coolest in Petropavl (24.8 °C). In all 29 cities at least one month averages below 0 °C at night; the longest such winter is in Astana (October–April).

Which crops suit which part of Kazakhstan

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 Kazakhstan: 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 Kazakhstan

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