When to plant tomatoes in Ballarat: 14 November – 27 February

In Ballarat, tomato: sow for seedlings from 2 September to 6 January; plant into a greenhouse from 24 October to 27 February; plant out into open ground from 14 November to 27 February. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Formosa Gardens Nursery (garden centre, 1 km) and Nutrien Ag Solutions Ballarat (farm supply, 3 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Ballarat: soil, season and weather

In Ballarat the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 20 August, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 14 November, 86 days later.

Last spring frost	20 August
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	14 November, 86 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	24 October – 27 February; October outside: 7.4 °C at night, 16.4 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	18 June, 217 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	23 January – 7 May
Days left for picking	147
Daylight	12:08 on 23 September, 14:06 on 14 November
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, February, has 4 rainy days

Tomato in Ballarat: care after planting

Planted on 14 November: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

14 November — feed: balanced (NPK)
12 December — 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 Ballarat during the tomato season

No month of the season averages above the tomato card's 16–27 °C by day; the warmest, January, averages 25.9 °C. Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: May (13.4 °C) and June (10.4 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in every month of the season, from 4.7 °C to 13.5 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
November	19.4	9.4	77	12	14:08
December	22.8	11.1	51	8	14:44
January	25.9	13.5	51	7	14:28
February	24.4	12.7	24	4	13:29
March	22.5	12.1	39	6	12:22
April	17.8	9.4	55	7	11:08
May	13.4	6.7	61	11	10:08
June	10.4	4.7	61	11	9:35

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Ballarat, Albury is 29 days earlier and Devonport 8 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Geelong	79 km	from 22 October	23 days earlier
Bendigo	98 km	21 October – 27 February	24 days earlier
Melbourne	101 km	21 October – 4 March	24 days earlier
Albury	320 km	16 October – 28 February	29 days earlier
Devonport	455 km	22 November – 5 March	8 days later
Launceston	514 km	7 November – 16 February	7 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Ballarat

Buy plants ready to set out from 14 November to 27 February (from 24 October to 27 February for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 2 September to 6 January. Within 15 km of Ballarat OpenStreetMap lists 3 garden centres, 4 farm-supply shops, 2 plant nurseries and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Formosa Gardens Nursery — garden centre
Leith Street 104, 3350 · Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00; Sat–Sun 10:00–16:00 · 1 km · formosagardensnursery.com.au
Nutrien Ag Solutions Ballarat — farm supply
Gillies Street South 137, 3350 · 3 km
Hewitt & Whitty — farm supply
Wiltshire Lane 4 · 4 km
Thistleberry Farm — farm shop
Williams Lane 35, 3352 · Dec–Mar Tue–Sun 08:00–20:00 · 15 km · thistleberry.com.au

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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