When to plant tomatoes in Bakersfield: 16 March – 24 August

In Bakersfield, tomato: sow for seedlings from 2 January to 3 July; plant into a greenhouse from 23 February to 24 August; plant out into open ground from 16 March to 24 August.

Tomato in Bakersfield: soil, season and weather

In Bakersfield the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 16 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 16 March, 28 days later.

Last spring frost	16 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	16 March, 28 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	23 February – 24 August; February outside: 5.1 °C at night, 19.3 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	14 December, 273 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	25 May – 2 November
Days left for picking	203
Daylight	10:12 on 23 January, 11:58 on 16 March
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 0 rainy days

Tomato in Bakersfield: care after planting

Planted on 16 March: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

16 March — feed: balanced (NPK)
13 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 Bakersfield during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in April–October (27.2–40.7 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in March–May and October–December (4.3–15.7 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
March	21.5	7.7	61	9	11:55
April	27.2	11.5	24	4	13:04
May	31.6	15.7	11	2	14:01
June	37.3	20.3	1	0	14:32
July	40.7	23.7	0	0	14:20
August	39.5	22.7	6	0	13:31
September	35.7	19	4	1	12:26
October	29	12.7	7	1	11:20
November	21.2	6.9	33	4	10:19
December	16.3	4.3	50	6	9:47

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Bakersfield, Riverside is 20 days earlier and Santa Barbara 26 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Santa Barbara	122 km	11 April – 25 August	26 days later
Fresno	168 km	15 March – 15 August	1 day earlier
Riverside	217 km	24 February – 29 August	20 days earlier
San Jose	338 km	from 6 April	21 days later
Stockton	352 km	1 April – 13 August	16 days later
Las Vegas	361 km	13 March – 22 August	3 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Bakersfield

Buy plants ready to set out from 16 March to 24 August (from 23 February to 24 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 2 January to 3 July. Within 15 km of Bakersfield OpenStreetMap lists 1 market (collected 28 October 2026).

Haggin Oaks Farmers Market — market
Ming Avenue 8800, 93311 Bakersfield · 8 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.

Questions