When to plant zucchini in Essen: 3 June – 4 September

In Essen, zucchini: sow for seedlings from 22 April to 14 August; plant into a greenhouse from 13 May to 4 September; plant out into open ground from 3 June to 4 September.

Zucchini in Essen: soil, season and weather

In Essen the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 6 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the zucchini card — only around 3 June, 58 days later.

Last spring frost	6 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	3 June, 58 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	21 November, 171 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	36
First harvest, if planted in this window	9 July – 10 October
Days left for picking	135
Daylight	15:29 on 13 May, 16:21 on 3 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, August, has 13 rainy days

The same dates in Essen hold for Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Pumpkin and Watermelon.

Zucchini in Essen: care after planting

Planted on 3 June: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Pests and diseases of zucchini to watch for:

Weather in Essen during the zucchini season

About 447 mm of rain falls in the season; August is the driest month (66 mm) and October the wettest (87 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	23.2	13.5	72	11	16:36
July	23.7	14.4	73	13	16:12
August	24.1	14.7	66	13	14:39
September	20.4	11.8	80	11	12:42
October	15.5	9.1	87	14	10:45
November	9.7	4.3	69	13	8:54

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Zucchini in nearby cities

Around Essen, Münster is 2 days earlier and Dortmund 2 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Bochum	15 km	3 June – 3 September	same day
Duisburg	18 km	3 June – 5 September	same day
Düsseldorf	30 km	3 June – 4 September	same day
Dortmund	32 km	5 June – 30 August	2 days later
Cologne	58 km	3 June – 3 September	same day
Münster	70 km	1 June – 4 September	2 days earlier

Where to buy zucchini plants and seeds near Essen

Buy plants ready to set out from 3 June to 4 September (from 13 May to 4 September for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 22 April to 14 August. Within 15 km of Essen OpenStreetMap lists 49 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 5 plant nurseries, 43 markets and 27 farm shops (collected 28 October 2026).

Wochenmarkt Haarzopf — market
Raadter Straße 1, 45149 Essen · Fri 08:00–18:00 · 6 km
Dreiringplatz — market
Tue, Thu 08:00–13:00; Sat 08:00–14:00 · 5 km · wochenmaerkte-essen.de
Buddenbergplatz — market
Wed 07:00–13:00; Sat 07:00–14:00 · 15 km · bochum.treffpunkt-wochenmarkt.de
Innenstadt (Marktkirche / Flachsmarkt) — market
Tue 09:00–18:00; Fri 09:00–18:00 · 0 km · wochenmaerkte-essen.de

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.

Questions