When to plant tomatoes in Bendigo: 21 October – 27 February

In Bendigo, tomato: sow for seedlings from 9 August to 6 January; plant into a greenhouse from 30 September to 27 February; plant out into open ground from 21 October to 27 February. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Macdonald’s Nursery (garden centre, 3 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Bendigo: soil, season and weather

In Bendigo the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 16 July, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 21 October, 97 days later.

Last spring frost	16 July
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	21 October, 97 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	30 September – 27 February; September outside: 6.8 °C at night, 16 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	18 June, 241 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	30 December – 7 May
Days left for picking	171
Daylight	11:13 on 30 August, 13:13 on 21 October
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, February, has 3 rainy days

Tomato in Bendigo: care after planting

Planted on 21 October: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

21 October — feed: balanced (NPK)
18 November — 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 Bendigo during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in December (27.2 °C), January (30 °C) and February (28.5 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: May (15.8 °C) and June (12.4 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in February–June and October–December (5.3–15 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
October	19.8	8.8	68	9	12:59
November	23.3	11.2	65	9	14:04
December	27.2	13.5	45	6	14:39
January	30	16	47	6	14:24
February	28.5	15	22	3	13:27
March	26.4	14	33	5	12:22
April	20.9	10.6	58	5	11:10
May	15.8	7.4	49	6	10:11
June	12.4	5.3	58	9	9:39

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Bendigo, Albury is 5 days earlier and Devonport 32 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Ballarat	98 km	14 November – 27 February	24 days later
Melbourne	131 km	21 October – 4 March	same day
Geelong	155 km	from 22 October	1 day later
Albury	248 km	16 October – 28 February	5 days earlier
Canberra	466 km	2 November – 7 February	12 days later
Devonport	523 km	22 November – 5 March	32 days later

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Bendigo

Buy plants ready to set out from 21 October to 27 February (from 30 September to 27 February for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 9 August to 6 January. Within 15 km of Bendigo OpenStreetMap lists 3 garden centres and 1 farm-supply shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Macdonald’s Nursery — garden centre
Retreat Road 88 · 3 km · macdonaldsnursery.com.au
ASQ Garden & Landscape — garden centre
5 km
Goldfields Native Nursery — garden centre
7 km
Australian Shearing Supplies — farm supply
11 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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