When to plant tomato in Austin

Where are you growing?

Comfortable

Not realistic in greenhouse

Comfortable in a cold frame

Tomato in Austin is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 124 days covers the 55–90 days this plant usually needs.

Start indoors: January 20 – March 16
Transplant outside: March 21 – May 15
Harvest: May 15 – August 13
Season vs crop: 124 grow days vs 55–90 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall): February 20 – January 6

Tomato in Austin is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 124 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 row124

Days to harvest55–90 days from transplant

Jan 20 – Mar 16

Start indoors

Mar 14 – Mar 20

Harden off

March 21

Transplant outside

Mar 22 – May 14

Grow outdoors

May 15 – Aug 13

Harvest

Activity	Window	Notes
Start indoors	Jan 20 – Mar 16	Sow indoors before the outdoor window.
Harden off	Mar 14 – Mar 20	Acclimate seedlings outdoors before planting.
Transplant outside	March 21	Move plants outside on this day (start of the plant-out window).
Grow outdoors	Mar 22 – May 14	Plants grow outdoors until harvest.
Harvest	May 15 – Aug 13	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 frostFebruary 20

Safer last spring frostMarch 7

Typical first fall frostJanuary 6

Safer first fall frostDecember 26

Frost-free days319

Earliest indoor seed startJanuary 20

Latest indoor seed startMarch 16

Transplant outdoorsMarch 21 – May 15

Direct sow windownot recommended here

Suitable growing windowMarch 21 – July 22 (124 days)

Expected harvestMay 15 – August 13

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 Austin, 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: Mar 21 – Jul 22 (124 days)

Planting window for Tomato: Mar 21 – May 15 (56 days)

Usually too cold: Nov 16 – Dec 31

Outdoors: weekly temperatures and windows

Temperatures across the year for Austin. 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 12 · Mar 16 – Mar 22

Average 54 to 72 °F · Possible 42 to 85 °F

Growing: too cold

Planting: not sowable

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 Austin

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 30.27, -97.74, 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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