What to plant in November in Ireland

Worked out for 14 cities from their own weather and frost dates, by zone.

What to sow and plant in November in Ireland, by zone: frost-free, highs of 10–16 °C (Bray): garlic, broad bean, peas, onion, spinach and 5 more; frost possible, highs of 10–16 °C (Cork, Galway and 5 more): garlic, broad bean, peas, onion, spinach and 6 more; frost possible, highs below 10 °C (Dublin, Kilkenny and 4 more): garlic, broad bean, peas, onion, spinach and 4 more.

In Ireland, November is autumn.

Frost-free, highs of 10–16 °C: Bray

In November, on average, Bray has highs of 11 °C and lows of 7 °C, 109 mm of rain on 14 days; the day lasts 8 h 41 min (on the 15th).

No frost in November in 10 years of data: frost-tender crops can go in too, if it is warm enough for them.

How	What	Where
plant cloves	Garlic	Bray
sow direct	Broad bean, peas, spinach, radish, cabbage, broccoli, arugula, turnip	Bray
plant sets	Onion	Bray

Compared with October: new — garlic; no longer sown — lettuce, Swiss chard, beet, parsley, cilantro, chamomile, daikon, dill and 2 more.

Not starting in November: tomato (no month outdoors by these rules), bell pepper (no month outdoors by these rules), zucchini (June, sown direct), green beans (June, sown direct) and lettuce (March, started indoors) — dates for Bray.

Ready to harvest in November in Bray, if sown in the right month: broad bean (August), peas (September), spinach (September), lettuce (September), radish (October), carrot (September), cabbage (July) and broccoli (August).

Frost dates in Bray

Frost possible, highs of 10–16 °C: Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and 3 more

In November, on average, these cities have highs of 10 to 11 °C and lows of 5 to 6 °C, 88 to 145 mm of rain on 14 to 19 days; the day lasts 8 h 35 min to 8 h 51 min (on the 15th).

November falls in the frost season: frost-tender crops wait. Average first frost: Cork (21 November), Galway (28 November), Limerick (21 November), Waterford (20 November), Athlone (26 November), Tralee (22 November) and Dundalk (20 November).

How	What	Where
plant cloves	Garlic	all
sow direct	Broad bean, peas, spinach, radish, cabbage, broccoli, arugula, turnip	all
plant sets	Onion	all
plant bulbs	Crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, tulip	Cork, Limerick, Athlone and 1 more

Compared with October: no longer sown — lettuce, Swiss chard, beet, parsley, cilantro, chamomile, daikon, dill and 2 more.

Ready to harvest in November in Limerick, if sown in the right month: broad bean (August), peas (September), spinach (September), lettuce (September), radish (October), carrot (September), cabbage (July) and broccoli (August).

Frost possible, highs below 10 °C: Dublin, Kilkenny, Sligo, Letterkenny and 2 more

In November, on average, these cities have highs of 9 to 10 °C and lows of 5 °C, 83 to 115 mm of rain on 13 to 19 days; the day lasts 8 h 27 min to 8 h 46 min (on the 15th).

November falls in the frost season: frost-tender crops wait. Average first frost: Dublin (24 November), Kilkenny (20 November), Sligo (21 November), Letterkenny (28 November), Navan (20 November) and Mullingar (23 November).

How	What	Where
plant cloves	Garlic	all
sow direct	Broad bean, peas, spinach, radish, cabbage	all
plant sets	Onion	all
start indoors, plant out in January or sow direct	Broccoli	all
plant bulbs	Crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, tulip	all

Compared with October: no longer sown — lettuce, arugula, kohlrabi and turnip.

Ready to harvest in November in Letterkenny, if sown in the right month: broad bean (August), peas (September), spinach (September), lettuce (September), radish (October), cabbage (July), broccoli (August) and Swiss chard (September).

How we work it out

For each city we use its average weather in November and the months after (highs, lows and rain for 2016–2025, ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo) and its average frost dates. A crop starts in November if the month's mean temperature reaches the minimum soil temperature for germination on its card (we use the mean air temperature as a stand-in for the soil's) and if, over its first months (up to three), the average highs stay within its group's range, with no frost for crops that cannot take it. Crops started indoors count from the month they are planted out.

Temperature groups from Colorado State University Extension: cool-season crops prefer 16–27 °C and lose quality in heat; hardy ones grow in days as cool as 4 °C, semi-hardy ones from 4–10 °C (we use 10 °C); warm-season crops need days above 13 °C, and the most tender (tomato, pepper, aubergine, melon, watermelon, squash) above 16 °C, up to 35 °C. Crops the guide does not name go into the stricter group by their frost hardiness. Broad beans, which the guide does not name, count as hardy: hardy varieties are sown in autumn and overwinter (RHS). Garlic and bulbs: a month before the first frost, and later only while the ground is not frozen (as on each city's page).

Courgettes and French beans: GIY Ireland sows courgettes and succession-sows French beans outdoors in June, so we list them in June wherever June has no frost.

This is a general rule from averages: your garden can be a week or two earlier or later, and a greenhouse or a cold frame brings the season forward. Greenly works out the dates for your location.