When to plant tomatoes in Caen: 21 May – 15 August

In Caen, tomato: sow for seedlings from 9 March to 24 June; plant into a greenhouse from 30 April to 15 August; plant out into open ground from 21 May to 15 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Jardiland (garden centre, 3 km) and Botanic (garden centre, 4 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Caen: soil, season and weather

In Caen the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 12 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 21 May, 70 days later.

Last spring frost	12 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	21 May, 70 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	30 April – 15 August; April outside: 6.1 °C at night, 14 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	5 December, 198 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	30 July – 24 October
Days left for picking	128
Daylight	12:44 on 30 March, 15:33 on 21 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 10 rainy days

Tomato in Caen: care after planting

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

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

21 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
18 June — 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 Caen during the tomato season

No month of the season averages above the tomato card's 16–27 °C by day; the warmest, August, averages 22.5 °C. Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (12 °C) and December (9.7 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in every month of the season, from 4.8 °C to 14.7 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	16.8	9.4	63	11	15:17
June	20.3	12.7	67	11	16:12
July	22.2	14.5	52	10	15:51
August	22.5	14.7	55	11	14:27
September	20.3	12.8	59	12	12:39
October	16.8	10.2	78	13	10:52
November	12	6.8	85	15	9:10
December	9.7	4.8	89	14	8:14

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Caen, Le Mans is 13 days earlier and Brighton 28 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Le Havre	48 km	11 May – 22 August	10 days earlier
Rouen	109 km	14 May – 1 August	7 days earlier
Le Mans	139 km	8 May – 4 August	13 days earlier
Rennes	154 km	13 May – 8 August	8 days earlier
Brighton	183 km	18 June – 11 August	28 days later
Portsmouth	188 km	21 May – 11 August	same day

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Caen

Buy plants ready to set out from 21 May to 15 August (from 30 April to 15 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 9 March to 24 June. Within 15 km of Caen OpenStreetMap lists 14 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 7 plant nurseries, 20 markets and 22 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

Botanic — garden centre
Rue Denis Papin 228, 14840 Démouville · Mon–Sun 09:30–12:30, 14:00–19:00 · 7 km · botanic.com
Botanic - Pépinières de Bavent — garden centre
Rue du Commerce, 14970 Bénouville · Mon–Sat 10:00–12:30, 14:00–19:00 · 7 km · botanic.com
Botanic — garden centre
ZAC du Long Cours · Mon–Sun 09:30–19:00 · 4 km · botanic.com
Jardiland — garden centre
Mon–Fri 09:30–12:30, 14:00–19:00; Sat 09:30–19:00; Sun 10:00–12:30, 14:00–18:30 · 3 km · jardiland.com

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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