When to plant zucchini in Kyoto: 14 May – 20 September

In Kyoto, zucchini: sow for seedlings from 2 April to 30 August; plant into a greenhouse from 23 April to 20 September; plant out into open ground from 14 May to 20 September.

Zucchini in Kyoto: soil, season and weather

In Kyoto the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 22 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the zucchini card — only around 14 May, 53 days later.

Last spring frost	22 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	14 May, 53 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	7 December, 207 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	36
First harvest, if planted in this window	19 June – 26 October
Days left for picking	171
Daylight	13:19 on 23 April, 13:58 on 14 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, December, has 7 rainy days

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

Zucchini in Kyoto: care after planting

Planted on 14 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Pests and diseases of zucchini to watch for:

Weather in Kyoto during the zucchini season

About 1378 mm of rain falls in the season; December is the driest month (57 mm) and June the wettest (254 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	23.3	13.4	183	11	13:59
June	26.8	18.1	254	14	14:30
July	30.8	22.9	248	16	14:18
August	32.4	24	183	13	13:30
September	28.4	20.6	192	15	12:26
October	22	13.6	190	12	11:21
November	16.3	7.1	71	7	10:21
December	10.6	1.5	57	7	9:49

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Zucchini in nearby cities

Around Kyoto, Tokyo is 16 days earlier and Hiroshima 12 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Osaka	43 km	5 May – 30 September	9 days earlier
Nagoya	105 km	6 May – 23 September	8 days earlier
Okayama	174 km	14 May – 28 September	same day
Hamamatsu	182 km	2 May – 1 October	12 days earlier
Hiroshima	311 km	26 May – 8 September	12 days later
Tokyo	363 km	28 April – 27 September	16 days earlier

Where to buy zucchini plants and seeds near Kyoto

Buy plants ready to set out from 14 May to 20 September (from 23 April to 20 September for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 2 April to 30 August. Within 15 km of Kyoto OpenStreetMap lists 16 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 plant nursery, 6 markets and 19 farm shops (collected 28 October 2026).

みどりの雑貨屋 — garden centre
8 km
花芳 — garden centre
8 km
Green shop Taneka — garden centre
8 km
京都大学農学部付属植物生殖研究施設 — plant nursery
9 km

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