When to plant tomatoes in Athens (United States): 19 March – 2 August

In Athens (United States), tomato: sow for seedlings from 5 January to 11 June; plant into a greenhouse from 26 February to 2 August; plant out into open ground from 19 March to 2 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Foxglove Plantbar (garden centre, 2 km) and Mary's (farm supply, 11 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Athens (United States): soil, season and weather

In Athens (United States) frost, not soil, sets the date: the top 7 cm of soil warms to 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — around 6 March, 6 days before the last frost on 12 March, so planting waits only for the week after that frost.

Last spring frost	12 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	6 March, 6 days before the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	26 February – 2 August; February outside: 5.5 °C at night, 15.7 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	22 November, 248 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	28 May – 11 October
Days left for picking	178
Daylight	10:23 on 26 January, 12:04 on 19 March
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, November, has 8 rainy days

Tomato in Athens (United States): care after planting

Planted on 19 March: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Feeding, by the card’s schedule from that day:

19 March — feed: balanced (NPK)
16 April — feed: nitrogen

Pests and diseases of tomato to watch for:

Dates count from the first planting day of the window above; a later planting moves them by as many days.

Weather in Athens (United States) during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June–September (28.8–32.1 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in March–May and October, November (7.6–15.8 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
March	19	7.9	117	11	11:56
April	22.8	11.1	109	9	13:01
May	26.7	15.8	116	13	13:55
June	30.3	19.8	101	13	14:24
July	32.1	22	109	16	14:13
August	30.9	21.1	129	16	13:27
September	28.8	18.6	101	9	12:25
October	23.6	13.1	75	7	11:22
November	17.7	7.6	70	8	10:25

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Athens (United States), Macon is 7 days earlier and Asheville 46 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Atlanta	96 km	22 March – 2 August	3 days later
Macon	127 km	12 March – 11 August	7 days earlier
Greenville	135 km	26 March – 2 August	7 days later
Asheville	199 km	4 May – 13 July	46 days later
Chattanooga	212 km	28 March – 23 July	9 days later
Columbia	217 km	16 March – 9 August	3 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Athens (United States)

Buy plants ready to set out from 19 March to 2 August (from 26 February to 2 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 5 January to 11 June. Within 15 km of Athens (United States) OpenStreetMap lists 1 garden centre, 1 farm-supply shop and 4 markets (collected 28 October 2026).

Foxglove Plantbar — garden centre
Baxter Street 1063, 30606 Athens · Wed–Sat 10:00–20:00; Sun 10:00–16:00 · 2 km · foxgloveplantbar.com
Mary's — farm supply
Atlanta Highway 4860, 30606 Athens · 11 km
Farm 441 — market
Macon Highway 6091, 30621 Bishop · 12 km · farm441ga.com
Achachi International Market — market
South Milledge Avenue 2024, 30605 Athens · 3 km

Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

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