When to plant tomatoes in Cleveland: 14 May – 1 August

In Cleveland, tomato: sow for seedlings from 2 March to 10 June; plant into a greenhouse from 23 April to 1 August; plant out into open ground from 14 May to 1 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Lakewood Garden Center (garden centre, 7 km) and Lakewood Plant Company (garden centre, 9 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Cleveland: soil, season and weather

In Cleveland the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 9 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 14 May, 35 days later.

Last spring frost	9 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	14 May, 35 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	23 April – 1 August; April outside: 4.9 °C at night, 12.9 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	21 November, 191 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	23 July – 10 October
Days left for picking	121
Daylight	12:15 on 23 March, 14:28 on 14 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, September, has 10 rainy days

Tomato in Cleveland: care after planting

Planted on 14 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

14 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
11 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 Cleveland during the tomato season

No month of the season averages above the tomato card's 16–27 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 26.6 °C. Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (10.1 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in May (11.4 °C), October (11 °C) and November (4.1 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	19	11.4	109	13	14:30
June	24.4	17.2	106	13	15:10
July	26.6	20.2	124	14	14:54
August	25.7	19.6	95	13	13:53
September	23.2	16.7	77	10	12:31
October	17.6	11	104	13	11:09
November	10.1	4.1	88	13	9:53

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Cleveland, Pittsburgh is 7 days earlier and Erie 6 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Windsor	141 km	14 May – 18 July	same day
Detroit	145 km	14 May – 18 July	same day
Erie	151 km	20 May – 30 July	6 days later
Toledo (United States)	154 km	9 May – 18 July	5 days earlier
London (Canada)	169 km	19 May – 18 July	5 days later
Pittsburgh	185 km	7 May – 20 July	7 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Cleveland

Buy plants ready to set out from 14 May to 1 August (from 23 April to 1 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 2 March to 10 June. Within 15 km of Cleveland OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres and 8 markets (collected 20 October 2026).

Turf World Co. — garden centre
Broadway Avenue 16626, 44137 Maple Heights · 15 km · turfworldco.com
Lakewood Garden Center — garden centre
Detroit Avenue 13220 · 7 km
Lakewood Plant Company — garden centre
Detroit Avenue 15612, 44107 Lakewood · 9 km
Bremec on the Heights Garden Center — garden centre
Cedar Road 13410, 44118 Cleveland Heights · 12 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