Tomato
Vegetables · Start indoors, set out
Tomato planting dates
At usual odds in 2026: Apr 20 – Jul 3.
The guide's rule 1 week before last frost to 17 weeks before first frost.
Frost odds · chance of a freezing night after your spring date
The 2026 season
Start indoors Set out Frost risk
At all three odds
| Frost odds | Start indoors | Set out |
|---|---|---|
| Bold (1 in 2) | Feb 2 – May 26 | Apr 13 – Jul 7 |
| Usual (3 in 10) | Feb 9 – May 22 | Apr 20 – Jul 3 |
| Careful (1 in 10) | Feb 17 – May 13 | Apr 28 – Jun 24 |
- Days to first harvest
- 70 after transplanting
- How it goes in
- Start indoors, set out 6-10 weeks indoors to transplant size
- Frost
- Frost-tender A freezing night kills it.
- Soil to germinate
- 65-85°F
Frost-tender: a single 32°F night can kill it. Early in the window, keep a cover handy or choose careful odds.
Plan it in your Garden Book
The book checks your date against the window and tells you when the first harvest could come.
Plus Free Garden Books hold 8 plantings a season; Seed Clock Plus holds 120: $1.95/month or $19.50/year. Free during preview What Plus adds
Source: Montana State University Extension, MontGuide MT199308AG, "Can I Grow That Here? Vegetable Seed and Transplant Schedules for Garden or Container" (reviewed August 2013), read with NOAA 1991-2020 freeze odds for Cleveland Hopkins. Wording ours; how we read the guide.