When to plant tomatoes in Des Moines: 30 April – 7 July

In Des Moines, tomato: sow for seedlings from 16 February to 16 May; plant into a greenhouse from 9 April to 7 July; plant out into open ground from 30 April to 7 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Plant Junction (garden centre, 9 km) and Vic Scott Landscaping and Nursery Center (garden centre, 9 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Des Moines: soil, season and weather

In Des Moines the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 19 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 30 April, 11 days later.

Last spring frost	19 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	30 April, 11 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	9 April – 7 July; April outside: 5.2 °C at night, 16.6 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	27 October, 180 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	9 July – 15 September
Days left for picking	110
Daylight	11:36 on 9 March, 13:57 on 30 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, September, has 8 rainy days

Tomato in Des Moines: care after planting

Planted on 30 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

30 April — feed: balanced (NPK)
28 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 Des Moines during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June (29 °C), July (30 °C) and August (28.9 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in April (5.2 °C), May (11.8 °C) and October (8.6 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	16.6	5.2	88	11	13:19
May	22.6	11.8	125	13	14:31
June	29	18.3	122	11	15:10
July	30	20	92	10	14:55
August	28.9	18.9	86	10	13:53
September	26.4	16.1	84	8	12:31
October	18.5	8.6	94	9	11:09

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Des Moines, Kansas City is 12 days earlier and Cedar Rapids 11 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Cedar Rapids	165 km	11 May – 5 July	11 days later
Omaha	198 km	26 April – 6 July	4 days earlier
Davenport	250 km	2 May – 10 July	2 days later
Lincoln	271 km	23 April – 8 July	7 days earlier
Kansas City	290 km	18 April – 12 July	12 days earlier
Sioux Falls	334 km	11 May – 1 July	11 days later

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Des Moines

Buy plants ready to set out from 30 April to 7 July (from 9 April to 7 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 16 February to 16 May. Within 15 km of Des Moines OpenStreetMap lists 7 garden centres (collected 20 October 2026).

TNT Landscaping — garden centre
Southwest Ordnance Road 1313, 50023 Ankeny · 14 km · tntlandscaping.com
Plant Junction — garden centre
5th Street 204½, 50265 West Des Moines · Mon–Wed 10:00–17:00; Thu 10:00–20:00; Fri 10:00–17:00; Sat 10:00–16:00; Sun 10:00–14:00 · 9 km
Vic Scott Landscaping and Nursery Center — garden centre
Northeast 14th Avenue 6799, 50021 Ankeny · 9 km
Earl May Garden Center — garden centre
University Avenue 1845, 50266 · 10 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