When to plant tomatoes in Bowling Green: 11 April – 21 July

In Bowling Green, tomato: sow for seedlings from 28 January to 30 May; plant into a greenhouse from 21 March to 21 July; plant out into open ground from 11 April to 21 July.

Tomato in Bowling Green: soil, season and weather

In Bowling Green the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 31 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 11 April, 11 days later.

Last spring frost	31 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	11 April, 11 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	21 March – 21 July; March outside: 5.3 °C at night, 16.2 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	10 November, 213 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	20 June – 29 September
Days left for picking	143
Daylight	10:57 on 18 February, 12:58 on 11 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, October, has 9 rainy days

Tomato in Bowling Green: care after planting

Planted on 11 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

11 April — feed: balanced (NPK)
9 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 Bowling Green during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June–September (28.1–31.7 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (14.8 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in April, May and October, November (5–14.8 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	20.4	9.1	143	13	13:07
May	25.1	14.8	117	13	14:08
June	30	19.1	132	12	14:41
July	31.7	21.6	129	15	14:28
August	30.4	20.4	109	13	13:36
September	28.1	17.5	100	9	12:27
October	22.1	11.7	93	9	11:17
November	14.8	5	93	8	10:13

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Bowling Green, Chattanooga is 14 days earlier and Lexington 17 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Nashville	96 km	8 April – 25 July	3 days earlier
Evansville	148 km	16 April – 21 July	5 days later
Louisville	153 km	16 April – 22 July	5 days later
Frankfort	194 km	22 April – 14 July	11 days later
Lexington	206 km	28 April – 18 July	17 days later
Chattanooga	238 km	28 March – 23 July	14 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Bowling Green

Buy plants ready to set out from 11 April to 21 July (from 21 March to 21 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 28 January to 30 May. Within 15 km of Bowling Green OpenStreetMap lists 1 farm-supply shop (collected 28 October 2026).

Wright Implement — farm supply
9 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