When to plant tomato in Philadelphia

Where are you growing?

Comfortable

Not realistic in greenhouse

Comfortable in a cold frame

Tomato in Philadelphia is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 149 days covers the 55–90 days this plant usually needs.

Start indoors: March 15 – May 9
Transplant outside: May 14 – July 8
Harvest: July 8 – October 6
Season vs crop: 149 grow days vs 55–90 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall): April 17 – November 18

Tomato in Philadelphia is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 149 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 row149

Days to harvest55–90 days from transplant

Mar 15 – May 9

Start indoors

May 7 – May 13

Harden off

May 14

Transplant outside

May 15 – Jul 7

Grow outdoors

Jul 8 – Oct 6

Harvest

Activity	Window	Notes
Start indoors	Mar 15 – May 9	Sow indoors before the outdoor window.
Harden off	May 7 – May 13	Acclimate seedlings outdoors before planting.
Transplant outside	May 14	Move plants outside on this day (start of the plant-out window).
Grow outdoors	May 15 – Jul 7	Plants grow outdoors until harvest.
Harvest	Jul 8 – Oct 6	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 (70 – 84 °F) and tolerable (55 – 95 °F) 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 17

Safer last spring frostApril 17

Typical first fall frostNovember 18

Safer first fall frostNovember 18

Frost-free days214

Earliest indoor seed startMarch 15

Latest indoor seed startMay 9

Transplant outdoorsMay 14 – July 8

Direct sow windownot recommended here

Suitable growing windowMay 14 – October 9 (149 days)

Expected harvestJuly 8 – October 6

How these dates are judged

Ideal conditions: Daytime air from 70 – 84 °F.
Suitable conditions: Daytime air from 55 – 95 °F.
Last frost and first frost: Typical spring and fall frost dates for Philadelphia, 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 14 – Oct 9 (149 days)

Planting window for Tomato: May 14 – Jul 8 (56 days)

Usually too cold: Jan 1 – May 10; Oct 12 – Dec 31

Outdoors: weekly temperatures and windows

Temperatures across the year for Philadelphia. 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 20 · May 11 – May 17

Average 53 to 71 °F · Possible 38 to 84 °F

Growing: too cold (inside window)

Planting: suitable

A week is in range when its average low and high sit inside the tolerance band 55 to 95 °F; it is suitable when that average range also overlaps the ideal 70 to 84 °F band and possible readings stay within 32 °F to 95 °F. Crossing a possible limit, or missing the ideal band, makes it tolerable; any chance of frost (possible low below 32 °F) 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 Philadelphia

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 39.95, -75.16, 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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