When to plant tomatoes in Erie: 20 May – 30 July

In Erie, tomato: sow for seedlings from 8 March to 8 June; plant into a greenhouse from 29 April to 30 July; plant out into open ground from 20 May to 30 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include The Garden House (garden centre, 3 km) and Stan's Garden Center (garden centre, 8 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Erie: soil, season and weather

In Erie the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 10 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 20 May, 40 days later.

Last spring frost	10 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	20 May, 40 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	29 April – 30 July; April outside: 4.5 °C at night, 12.2 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	19 November, 183 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	29 July – 8 October
Days left for picking	113
Daylight	12:33 on 29 March, 14:43 on 20 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, September, has 12 rainy days

Tomato in Erie: care after planting

Planted on 20 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

20 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
17 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 Erie during the tomato season

No month of the season averages above the tomato card's 16–27 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 26.1 °C. Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (9.7 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in May (11.1 °C), October (10.8 °C) and November (4.1 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	18.2	11.1	104	13	14:33
June	23.5	16.9	101	12	15:14
July	26.1	19.9	107	13	14:58
August	25.2	19.2	112	15	13:55
September	22.6	16.4	88	12	12:32
October	17	10.8	147	16	11:08
November	9.7	4.1	122	17	9:50

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Erie, Cleveland is 6 days earlier and Kitchener 2 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Hamilton	126 km	19 May – 18 July	1 day earlier
Buffalo	130 km	20 May – 21 July	same day
London (Canada)	133 km	19 May – 18 July	1 day earlier
Kitchener	149 km	22 May – 6 July	2 days later
Cleveland	151 km	14 May – 1 August	6 days earlier
Toronto	178 km	20 May – 10 July	same day

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Erie

Buy plants ready to set out from 20 May to 30 July (from 29 April to 30 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 8 March to 8 June. Within 15 km of Erie OpenStreetMap lists 4 garden centres and 2 farm shops (collected 29 October 2026).

The Garden House — garden centre
East 20th Street 1424, 16503 Erie · 3 km
Stan's Garden Center — garden centre
Buffalo Road 5001, 16510 Erie · 8 km
Lowe's Garden Center — garden centre
Asbury Road 2305, 16506 Erie · 11 km
Stan's Garden Center — garden centre
West Lake Road 5341, 16505 Erie · 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.

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