When to plant tomatoes in Cedar Rapids: 11 May – 5 July

In Cedar Rapids, tomato: sow for seedlings from 27 February to 14 May; plant into a greenhouse from 20 April to 5 July; plant out into open ground from 11 May to 5 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Frontier Garden Center (garden centre, 8 km) and Earl May Garden Center (garden centre, 9 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Cedar Rapids: soil, season and weather

In Cedar Rapids the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 22 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 11 May, 19 days later.

Last spring frost	22 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	11 May, 19 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	20 April – 5 July; April outside: 4.4 °C at night, 15.4 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	25 October, 167 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	20 July – 13 September
Days left for picking	97
Daylight	12:07 on 20 March, 14:24 on 11 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, September, has 8 rainy days

Tomato in Cedar Rapids: care after planting

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

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

11 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
8 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 Cedar Rapids during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June (28 °C), July (28.6 °C) and August (27.6 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in May (11.1 °C), September (15.2 °C) and October (8.1 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	21.9	11.1	115	13	14:33
June	28	17.5	114	10	15:13
July	28.6	19.2	84	11	14:57
August	27.6	18.1	91	10	13:54
September	25.2	15.2	81	8	12:32
October	17.6	8.1	97	10	11:08

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Cedar Rapids, Springfield is 15 days earlier and Madison 5 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Davenport	100 km	2 May – 10 July	9 days earlier
Des Moines	165 km	30 April – 7 July	11 days earlier
Rockford	219 km	13 May – 8 July	2 days later
Madison	224 km	16 May – 7 July	5 days later
Peoria	224 km	2 May – 11 July	9 days earlier
Springfield	295 km	26 April – 12 July	15 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Cedar Rapids

Buy plants ready to set out from 11 May to 5 July (from 20 April to 5 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 27 February to 14 May. Within 15 km of Cedar Rapids OpenStreetMap lists 5 garden centres, 3 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 28 October 2026).

Earl May Garden Center — garden centre
Northland Avenue Northeast 5155, 52402 Cedar Rapids · Mon–Sat 09:00–18:00; Sun 12:00–17:00 · 9 km · earlmay.com
Blooms Garden Center — garden centre
Blairs Ferry Road Northeast 1440 · Mon–Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 11:00–16:00 · 9 km · bloomsgardencenter.com
Frontier Garden Center — garden centre
Blairs Ferry Road Northeast 1941, 52402 Cedar Rapids · 8 km · facebook.com
Culvers Garden Center and Greenhouse — garden centre
Dubuque Road 1682, 52302 Marion · 15 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