Qatar planting calendar

Gulf seasons

1. سهيل

   Suhail

   24 August – 15 October
   Good plantingNow

   The rising of the star Canopus marks the breaking of the worst heat. Nights cool first, and the humidity starts to drop.

   Soil preparation and nursery season. Start seed in trays under shade; it is still too hot to transplant into open ground.

2. الوسم

   Al-Wasm

   16 October – 6 December
   Peak planting

   The best season of the year. Named for the way its rain "marks" the land with new growth. Mild days, the first rain.

   Peak planting. Sow almost everything — tomato, cucumber, eggplant, leafy greens, root crops. Do not miss this window.

3. المربعانية

   Al-Murabbaniya

   7 December – 15 January
   Good planting

   The coldest forty days of the year, and the wettest. Night temperatures can drop below 10 °C.

   Leafy greens are at their best — lettuce, spinach, cabbage. Protect tender seedlings on cold nights and cut back watering.

4. الشبط

   Ash-Shabt

   16 January – 10 February
   Good planting

   The cold begins to ease while the nights stay cool. Daytime is ideal for working outside.

   The second planting wave. Sow short-cycle crops like radish and rocket, and start early-summer seedlings.

5. العقارب

   Al-Aqarib

   11 February – 21 March
   Limited planting

   Three successive "scorpion" periods of unsettled weather — warm days, cold late nights, and the first winds.

   Last chance for short-cycle crops. Start fitting shade netting in preparation for the heat to come.

6. الذراعين والثريا

   Adh-Dhiraʿain

   22 March – 17 April
   Poor for planting

   Rising warmth and dusty northerly winds. The last of the spring mildness.

   A harvesting season, not a planting one. Bring in the remaining leafy crops before they bolt, and secure windbreaks.

7. السرايات

   As-Sarayat

   18 April – 31 May
   Poor for planting

   A sudden jump in temperature with brief, sometimes violent thunderstorms. The end of the growing season.

   Finish harvesting. Sow nothing but heat-tolerant crops like okra and molokhia, and only under shade. Begin resting the soil.

8. البوارح

   Al-Bawarih

   1 June – 23 August
   Dormant season

   High summer. Hot northerly Bawarih winds, temperatures past 45 °C, and stifling coastal humidity.

   The land rests. No outdoor planting. Improve the soil with compost, repair irrigation, and keep only perennials alive.

Gregorian