Chinese Solar Terms Planting Calendar: For Home Gardens and Classes

A Chinese solar terms planting calendar can organize garden records, but it cannot assign safe planting dates for every crop or region. Build the calendar around local growing conditions and use the solar terms as reference points.

Separate calendar data from planting decisions

A calendar row should contain the term’s verified date and timezone, the crop and variety, measured conditions, and the planting decision. The astronomical date is shared; the decision can differ between gardens.

Example: a seedling transplant record

At Grain Rain, note the seedling’s stage, the soil condition and the local forecast. Write “postponed” if those conditions are unsuitable. Do not replace that result with “plant today” simply because the term is associated with spring rain.

Compare records across years

Keep sowing, emergence and harvest dates alongside the solar terms for several seasons. An earlier harvest in one year is a recorded result, not proof that every planting should move earlier. Northern Hemisphere seasonal names need reinterpretation in Southern Hemisphere gardens.

Calendar sources

Hong Kong Observatory: term names and solar longitudes; 2026 Gregorian–lunar conversion table; date and time notes (Hong Kong Time, UTC+8). The calendar sources establish astronomical timing and terminology; they do not verify regional customs.

Related reading

• 24 solar terms
• 24 solar terms calendar 2026
• chinese seasonal food calendar
• External cultural reference

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