When to plant tomato in London

Where are you growing?

Comfortable

Comfortable in greenhouse

Comfortable in a cold frame

Tomato in London is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 93 days covers the 55–90 days this plant usually needs.

Start indoors: March 31 – May 25
Transplant outside: May 30 – July 24
Harvest: July 24 – October 22
Season vs crop: 93 grow days vs 55–90 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall): April 1 – December 13

Tomato in London is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 93 days covers the 55–90 days this plant usually needs.

Planting conditions

Start indoors
Harden off
Transplant outside
Grow outdoors
Harvest

Local activity windows for this place and growing method. Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost.

Suitable growing days in a row93

Days to harvest55–90 days from transplant

Mar 31 – May 25

Start indoors

May 23 – May 29

Harden off

May 30

Transplant outside

May 31 – Jul 23

Grow outdoors

Jul 24 – Oct 22

Harvest

Activity	Window	Notes
Start indoors	Mar 31 – May 25	Sow indoors before the outdoor window.
Harden off	May 23 – May 29	Acclimate seedlings outdoors before planting.
Transplant outside	May 30	Move plants outside on this day (start of the plant-out window).
Grow outdoors	May 31 – Jul 23	Plants grow outdoors until harvest.
Harvest	Jul 24 – Oct 22	Expected harvest from typical days to harvest.

Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost. Adjust a week or two for your conditions.

Planting and growing across the year

Planting is the sow / plant-out window. Growing is daytime air versus this plant’s ideal (21 – 29 °C) and tolerable (13 – 35 °C) ranges.

Planting uses sow / plant-out rules (frost, soil germination, night, and last-sow): green when plantable, blue diagonal when nights or soil are too cold, amber cross-hatch when too hot, faint for other calendar limits. Growing shows daytime air against this plant’s ideal and tolerable ranges across the year.

Key dates

Typical last spring frostApril 1

Safer last spring frostApril 1

Typical first fall frostDecember 13

Safer first fall frostDecember 13

Frost-free days255

Earliest indoor seed startMarch 31

Latest indoor seed startMay 25

Transplant outdoorsMay 30 – July 24

Direct sow windownot recommended here

Suitable growing windowMay 30 – August 30 (93 days)

Expected harvestJuly 24 – October 22

How these dates are judged

Ideal conditions: Daytime air from 21 – 29 °C.
Suitable conditions: Daytime air from 13 – 35 °C.
Last frost and first frost: Typical spring and fall frost dates for London, shown in the key dates.
Days to harvest: 55–90 days from transplant, from typical days to harvest.
Sowing window: Dated sow and harvest bars use frost dates, soil minima, night limits, and last-sow count-back from typical crop timing. The year strip and weekly chart use the same window: air ratings only colour weeks inside it.

Growing window for Tomato: May 30 – Aug 30 (93 days)

Planting window for Tomato: May 30 – Jul 24 (56 days)

Usually too cold: Sep 14 – Dec 31

Outdoors: weekly temperatures and windows

Temperatures across the year for London. Shaded bands are this plant’s ideal and tolerable daytime air ranges. Growing is daytime air suitability; Planting is sow / plant-out conditions (same colour language). Window brackets mark each stretch.

Ideal range
Tolerable range
Possible min to max
Average min to max
Suitable
Tolerable
Too cold
Too hot

Selected week · tap a week or use the arrows

Week 22 · May 25 – May 31

Average 10 to 19 °C · Possible 6 to 24 °C

Growing: too cold

Planting: too cold

A week is in range when its average low and high sit inside the tolerance band 13 to 35 °C; it is suitable when that average range also overlaps the ideal 21 to 29 °C band and possible readings stay within 0 °C to 35 °C. Crossing a possible limit, or missing the ideal band, makes it tolerable; any chance of frost (possible low below 0 °C) makes it too cold. When a sowing window is calculated, weeks outside that window are uncoloured even if air is in range.

Based on average frost dates.

Show all 53 weeks

Cover method weekly charts

Outdoor weekly chart is above. Open a cover chart only if you grow under fleece, a cold frame, or an unheated greenhouse.

Other plants for London

Calculated by Plan & Plant · Method · Data 2019–2026

Frost and suitability dates are typical figures from climate statistics. Microclimates vary; they are not a guarantee.

How we calculated this

Data: ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo, cell 51.50, -0.10, years 2019–2026 (not a 30-year climate normal yet).
Typical and safer dates: Typical last frost is the date after which half of winters in this sample had no more frost; safer is later in the sample so fewer winters still frosted.
Crop rule: Local windows for Tomato from frost dates, temperature ratings, and crop timing rules.
Confidence: Provisional — short or thin sample for this place.
Full methodology (algorithm 2026-10-season-6).

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