When to plant tomatoes in Dodge City: 17 April – 9 July

In Dodge City, tomato: sow for seedlings from 3 February to 18 May; plant into a greenhouse from 27 March to 9 July; plant out into open ground from 17 April to 9 July.

Tomato in Dodge City: soil, season and weather

In Dodge City frost, not soil, sets the date: the top 7 cm of soil warms to 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — around 14 April, 4 days after the last frost on 10 April, so planting waits only for the week after that frost.

Last spring frost	10 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	14 April, 4 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	27 March – 9 July; March outside: 2.7 °C at night, 16.6 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	29 October, 195 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	26 June – 17 September
Days left for picking	125
Daylight	11:09 on 24 February, 13:14 on 17 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, October, has 5 rainy days

Tomato in Dodge City: care after planting

Planted on 17 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

17 April — feed: balanced (NPK)
15 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 Dodge City during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June–September (29.2–33.2 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in April (7.1 °C), May (12.6 °C) and October (9.4 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	20.8	7.1	49	6	13:09
May	24.6	12.6	116	12	14:12
June	31.1	19.1	75	8	14:46
July	33.2	21.4	67	8	14:32
August	31.9	20.3	58	7	13:39
September	29.2	17.2	40	6	12:28
October	22.2	9.4	32	5	11:16

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Dodge City, Lawton is 35 days earlier and Grand Island 13 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Wichita	236 km	13 April – 10 July	4 days earlier
Oklahoma City	339 km	23 March – 21 July	25 days earlier
Grand Island	379 km	30 April – 7 July	13 days later
Lawton	380 km	13 March – 22 July	35 days earlier
Tulsa	400 km	6 April – 28 July	11 days earlier
Topeka	402 km	16 April – 9 July	1 day earlier

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