GreenlyGardening in the Netherlands: climate, frost dates and crops by region
We worked out the season of 7 cities of the Netherlands from ten years of weather: the frost-free season lasts from 220 days in Almere to 256 days in Haarlem. The last spring frost comes first in Haarlem (around 19 March) and last in Almere (around 15 April).
Climate zones of the Netherlands
By the days between the last spring frost and the first autumn frost.
How the regions of the Netherlands differ
The gap between the warmest month’s days and the coldest month’s nights is widest in Tilburg (22.1 °C) and smallest in Haarlem (18.4 °C): the smaller it is, the milder both winter and summer. The hottest summer days are in Tilburg (23.5 °C on average in the warmest month), the coolest in Haarlem (21.3 °C). In none of these cities does a month average below 0 °C at night.
Which crops suit which part of the Netherlands
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.
| Crop | Planting out or sowing | Season long enough | Tight or too short |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | 10 May (Tilburg) – 10 August (Haarlem) | all 7 | — |
| Cucumber | 3 June (Almere) – 15 September (Haarlem) | all 7 | — |
| Bell Pepper, Eggplant | 3 June (Almere) – 10 August (Haarlem) | all 7 | — |
| Zucchini | 3 June (Almere) – 13 September (Haarlem) | all 7 | — |
| Pumpkin | 3 June (Almere) – 5 August (Haarlem) | all 7 | — |
| Watermelon | 3 June (Almere) – 21 August (Haarlem) | all 7 | — |
| Peas | 26 February (Haarlem) – 17 September (Haarlem) | all 7 | — |
| Garlic, Tulip, Daffodil, Crocus, Hyacinth | Autumn planting: 22 October (Amsterdam) – end of December (Haarlem) | — | — |
Cities of the Netherlands: weather in numbers
| City | Frost-free days | Warmest month, day | Coldest month, night | Rain a year | Driest month | Places to buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haarlem | 256 | August, 21.3 °C | January, 2.9 °C | 951 mm | May | — |
| Amsterdam | 232 | August, 22.2 °C | January, 2 °C | 900 mm | April | 43 |
| Almere | 220 | August, 22.8 °C | January, 1.6 °C | 897 mm | April | — |
| Amersfoort | 225 | August, 22.8 °C | January, 1.5 °C | 900 mm | April | — |
| Utrecht | 241 | August, 22.6 °C | January, 1.8 °C | 873 mm | April | — |
| The Hague | 227 | August, 22.3 °C | January, 2.3 °C | 928 mm | April | — |
| Tilburg | 226 | August, 23.5 °C | January, 1.4 °C | 826 mm | April | — |
ERA5 2016–2025 via Open-Meteo, 25 km grid cell of each city; dates by the Greenly calendar and the plant cards.
