What to plant in May in Norway
20 vegetables, fruits and herbs to sow or plant in May in Norway, for the climate around Southeastern Norway, Innlandet near Lillehammer.
Climate: A cold boreal climate with hard winters (nights to -21 °C), frost possible into late May and again from late August, a short warm season of about 4 to 5 months, and fairly even rainfall with a wetter autumn.
Vegetables
Potato Solanum tuberosum
Early-maturing varieties finish tubers in the short summer, and the cool nights suit them well.
Harvest: 70–110 daysEasyIn pots
Carrot Daucus carota
Cool summers give sweet, crisp roots with little bolting.
Harvest: 70–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Pea Pisum sativum
Hardy seedlings tolerate spring cold and produce well before the summer heat.
Harvest: 60–75 daysEasyCare guide →
Spinach Spinacia oleracea
Cool weather keeps it tender, and late-summer sowings give a second crop.
Harvest: 40–50 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Lettuce Lactuca sativa
Long daylight and mild temperatures produce leafy heads quickly.
Harvest: 45–60 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Beetroot Beta vulgaris
Cool summers keep roots sweet and tender.
Harvest: 55–70 daysEasyIn pots
Radish Raphanus sativus
Quick-maturing and frost-tolerant, it can be sown many times through the season.
Harvest: 25–35 daysEasyIn pots
Cabbage Brassica oleracea
Hardy heads form well in cool summers, and frost even improves their flavour.
Harvest: 90–120 daysModerateCare guide →
Broad bean Vicia faba
Very cold-hardy, it sets pods before the summer heat arrives.
Harvest: 80–100 daysEasyIn pots
Onion Allium cepa
Sets planted in spring mature in the long summer days.
Harvest: 100–130 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Leek Allium ampeloprasum
Very hardy, it stands in the ground through the cold and can be harvested into winter.
Harvest: 120–150 daysEasy
Fruits
Strawberry Fragaria × ananassa
Hardy perennial plants survive the winter and fruit reliably in the cool summer.
Harvest: 1 yearEasyIn potsCare guide →
Raspberry Rubus idaeus
Native to cold forests, it is fully winter-hardy and thrives in cool summers.
Harvest: 1–2 yearsEasyCare guide →
Apple Malus domestica
Cold-hardy cultivars on dwarfing rootstock fruit well despite the long winters.
Harvest: 3–5 yearsModerateCare guide →
Sour cherry Prunus cerasus
Among the hardiest tree fruits, it blooms late enough to avoid most spring frosts.
Harvest: 3–5 yearsModerate
Herbs
Dill Anethum graveolens
Cool summers keep the leaves tender and slow flowering.
Harvest: 40–60 daysEasyIn pots
Chives Allium schoenoprasum
A hardy perennial that returns every spring after the winter cold.
Harvest: 60–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Parsley Petroselinum crispum
Tolerates light frost and keeps producing leaves through a cool summer.
Harvest: 70–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Spearmint Mentha spicata
Hardy perennial roots survive the winter and spread vigorously in moist summers.
Harvest: 60–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Thyme Thymus vulgaris
Sunny, well-drained spots and a mulch in winter help this perennial survive the cold.
Harvest: 80–100 daysModerateIn potsCare guide →