Divisi
When to plant Mandarin in El-Tarf
Algeria
The mandarin (also called tangerine or naartjie) is the hardiest and easiest-to-peel of the citrus trees — a small, spreading evergreen that lives and bears fruit for decades.
| Measure | Rain-fed | With irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Favourable | |
| When to plant (establish) | 7 Sep 2026 – 14 Feb 2027 open now | 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 |
| Expected harvest | about 16.9 t/ha | about 31.1 t/ha |
| Work it takes | 91–203 days per hectare, by hand | |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 5 Jan 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for El-Tarf leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.
Planting after 14 Feb 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in El-Tarf
| Rain and temperature | 96% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 96% |
| The lie of the land | 88% |
For mandarin in El-Tarf, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 88%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.
The 2026/27 season in El-Tarf
| When the rains are expected | September 2026 to May 2027 |
|---|---|
| Rain in a typical year | About 722 mm in a typical farming district |
| Across its districts | From about 722 mm in the driest of 24 districts to about 1,007 mm in the wettest |
| This season's rain | Leaning dry — January, February, November and December look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early. |
| This season's heat | Hotter than usual — about +1.1 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can. |
| What that supports | enough rain for one full main crop, warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth |
| Ground this covers | 2 kinds of ground. The season below is one typical farming district's, not a figure for the whole of this area. |
| 86% | enough rain for one full main crop; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 247 growing days · about 880 mm · September to May |
|---|---|
| 13% | enough rain for one full main crop; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 246 growing days · about 900 mm · September to May |
last updated 19 September 2026 · from all 24 areas within it
Limited water holds back about 15% of yield here.
What mandarin needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | well-drained loam or sandy loam soil |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 6.0 and 6.5 |
| Spacing | 550 cm between rows, 550 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, zinc and boron |
What it takes to grow mandarin in El-Tarf
| Planting material | About 340 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 34 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 7 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 42 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established. |
| Hand work | 91–203 days per hectare, by hand |
These are the nutrients a mandarin crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
Grow Mandarin with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes El-Tarf as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
Mandarin in nearby districts
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will mandarin grow well in El-Tarf?
El-Tarf rates as favourable for mandarin.
When should I plant mandarin in El-Tarf?
Typically 7 Sep 2026 to 14 Feb 2027, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across El-Tarf, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
