When to plant tomatoes in Bologna: 18 April – 9 August

In Bologna, tomato: sow for seedlings from 4 February to 18 June; plant into a greenhouse from 28 March to 9 August; plant out into open ground from 18 April to 9 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Senape (garden centre, 1 km) and Vivaio La Bastia (garden centre, 5 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Bologna: soil, season and weather

In Bologna the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 10 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 18 April, 39 days later.

Last spring frost	10 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	18 April, 39 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	28 March – 9 August; March outside: 4.4 °C at night, 15.2 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	29 November, 225 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	27 June – 18 October
Days left for picking	155
Daylight	10:56 on 25 February, 13:35 on 18 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 7 rainy days

Tomato in Bologna: care after planting

Planted on 18 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

18 April — feed: balanced (NPK)
16 May — 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 Bologna during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June (29.3 °C), July (32 °C) and August (31.6 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (13.4 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in April, May and September–November (5.8–15.6 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	18.9	8	62	9	13:27
May	22.6	12.5	120	14	14:47
June	29.3	17.9	59	7	15:32
July	32	20.2	45	7	15:14
August	31.6	19.9	50	8	14:05
September	26.1	15.6	73	8	12:34
October	20.5	11.2	77	8	11:03
November	13.4	5.8	94	11	9:37

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Bologna, Ferrara is 4 days earlier and Florence 15 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Modena	37 km	19 April – 10 August	1 day later
Ferrara	45 km	14 April – 8 August	4 days earlier
Ravenna	69 km	23 April – 22 August	5 days later
Florence	80 km	3 May – 7 August	15 days later
Mantua	86 km	19 April – 8 August	1 day later
Parma	87 km	22 April – 9 August	4 days later

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Bologna

Buy plants ready to set out from 18 April to 9 August (from 28 March to 9 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 4 February to 18 June. Within 15 km of Bologna OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 3 farm-supply shops, 4 plant nurseries, 18 markets and 15 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Senape — garden centre
Via Santa Croce 10b, Bologna · 1 km · senapevivaiourbano.com
Zoogiardineria — garden centre
public holidays, Mon–Sun 09:00–19:30 · 5 km · zoogiardineria.it
Flordenny Vivai — garden centre
Via Salmi 2/P · Mon–Sun 09:00–12:30, 14:30–19:00 · 12 km
Vivaio La Bastia — garden centre
La Bastia, 40141 Bologna · 5 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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