FREE TOOL

When to Plant Tomatoes: Planting Date Calculator for Any Location

Enter your average last spring frost date and get your complete tomato timeline: when to start seeds indoors, when to transplant outside, and when to expect your first ripe tomato. Works for any climate, northern or southern hemisphere.

Build your planting timeline

Your average last spring frost date

What are you growing?

Not sure of your last frost date? In the US, search your town plus "average last frost" or check your local extension office. No frost where you live? Use the start of your main growing season. Southern hemisphere works the same way, your dates just fall in September to November.

The golden rule of tomato timing: the calendar does not matter, your frost date does. Tomatoes are killed by frost and sulk below 50 F, so everything counts backward and forward from your average last spring frost. Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before it, plant outside a week or two after it, and add your variety’s days to maturity to know when the first ripe fruit lands. That is exactly what the calculator above does for you.