A quick answer from the garden notebook
When to Plant Tomatoes
By David Choi · Updated · How we source and review advice
Short answer
Plant tomatoes outside about 1 to 3 weeks after your last spring frost, once all danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed. To grow your own plants, start seeds indoors about 5 to 7 weeks before that frost date. Tomatoes need a long season with no frost at all.
Tomato planting dates
The timing rule our tomato guide uses:
- Start indoors: 5 to 7 weeks before your last spring frost
- Plant out: 1 to 3 weeks after your last spring frost
Your dates
Enter a U.S. ZIP code or a town to see these dates for your garden.
A U.S. ZIP uses official NOAA frost records. Other countries use weather-station records, or a climate reconstruction where stations are missing. Coordinates are used once and not stored. We save only a place label and climate summary in a private browser cookie. You can clear it anytime.
Example dates for the 2027 season
| Place | Dates |
|---|---|
| Seattle, WALast frost Mar 13 |
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| Minneapolis, MNLast frost Apr 23 |
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| Chicago, ILLast frost Apr 10 |
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| Denver, COLast frost Apr 30 |
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| New York, NYLast frost Mar 30 |
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| Atlanta, GALast frost Mar 24 |
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| Dallas, TXLast frost Mar 2 |
|
Frost dates are the usual (median) dates from NOAA climate normals for 1991 to 2020. In about half of years the last frost comes later than the usual date, so check the forecast before planting. Where frost is rare, as in much of Florida and the Arizona desert, frost dates do not set planting times.
Wait for warm soil, not just the date
Minnesota Extension says to plant tomatoes out after all danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed. Oregon State Extension says tomatoes do best with soil at 65°F or warmer and air at 60°F or higher. A sheet of black plastic mulch on the bed can help warm the soil, Minnesota Extension adds.
Starting seeds indoors
Oregon State Extension says it takes 5 to 8 weeks to grow a good plant from seed, depending on the temperature. Minnesota Extension warns that plants started much earlier are hard to manage and do not always give an earlier harvest. Seeds sprout best in warm soil, so a heat mat that keeps the tray at 75°F to 85°F helps until the seedlings come up.
Before planting out, get the young plants used to the outdoors. Over a week or two, give them more sun each day, and bring them in if nights get close to freezing.
What goes wrong if you plant too early
- Tomatoes need a season with no frost. Oregon State Extension says frost cloth guards against a light frost, but not a hard freeze.
- Cold nights stunt growth and slow the fruit. Maryland Extension says tomatoes set fewer flowers and fruit when it is below 55°F or above 95°F.
- Cold spring weather can also bend the first fruits out of shape, a problem called catfacing.
Places with little or no frost
Where frost is rare, plant by warmth instead. UC Master Gardeners say warm-season crops like tomatoes grow best when days are long and hot, between 65°F and 95°F. Their California chart lists tomato planting from April to July 15 on the South Coast, and from December to March in the desert valleys.
Sources
- Growing tomatoes in home gardens (University of Minnesota Extension)
- Grow your own tomatoes and tomatillos (EC 1333) (Oregon State University Extension Service)
- Poor blossom and fruit set of vegetables (University of Maryland Extension)
- Time of planting (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, UC Master Gardener Program)
The full growing guide
Tomato
A warm season fruit that almost everyone treats as a vegetable, and the crop most people try first. It needs heat, steady water and something to lean on.
- Harvest
- 50 to 85 daysfrom transplant
- Effort
- Season
- Warm
More tomato questions
- Companion Planting for Tomatoes
Companion planting for tomatoes: basil and French marigolds have trial evidence behind them. Keep potatoes, sweet corn and black walnut away.
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