When to plant tomatoes in Exeter: 1 June – 7 August

In Exeter, tomato: sow for seedlings from 20 March to 16 June; plant into a greenhouse from 11 May to 7 August; plant out into open ground from 1 June to 7 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Bernaville Nurseries (garden centre, 4 km) and Exeter Garden Centre (garden centre, 6 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Exeter: soil, season and weather

In Exeter the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 3 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 1 June, 59 days later.

Last spring frost	3 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	1 June, 59 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	11 May – 7 August; May outside: 8.1 °C at night, 16.5 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	27 November, 179 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	10 August – 16 October
Days left for picking	109
Daylight	13:28 on 10 April, 16:10 on 1 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 11 rainy days

Tomato in Exeter: care after planting

Planted on 1 June: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

1 June — feed: balanced (NPK)
29 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 Exeter during the tomato season

No month of the season averages above the tomato card's 16–27 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 21.2 °C. Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: October (15.1 °C) and November (11.2 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in every month of the season, from 5.6 °C to 12.9 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	19.5	11.2	73	12	16:28
July	21.2	12.9	61	11	16:04
August	20.8	12.8	65	11	14:35
September	18.3	11	80	12	12:41
October	15.1	8.9	102	14	10:48
November	11.2	5.6	104	14	9:00

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Exeter, Portsmouth is 11 days earlier and Plymouth 20 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Plymouth	58 km	21 June – 11 August	20 days later
Cardiff	88 km	26 May – 2 August	6 days earlier
Swansea	104 km	24 May – 11 August	8 days earlier
Bristol	104 km	28 May – 2 August	4 days earlier
Southampton	151 km	23 May – 3 August	9 days earlier
Portsmouth	172 km	21 May – 11 August	11 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Exeter

Buy plants ready to set out from 1 June to 7 August (from 11 May to 7 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 20 March to 16 June. Within 15 km of Exeter OpenStreetMap lists 9 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 plant nursery, 2 markets and 13 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Bernaville Nurseries — garden centre
Three Horse Shoes, EX5 5EU Exeter · Mon–Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 10:30–16:30 · 4 km · bernaville.co.uk
Exeter Garden Centre — garden centre
Sidmouth Road, EX5 1AE Exeter · Mon–Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 10:00–16:00 · 6 km · britishgardencentres.com
Teign Valley Nursery — garden centre
Teign Valley Road, EX6 7LB Exeter · 10 km
Thorne's Farm Shop & Kitchen — farm shop
Coffintree Hill, EX17 4BH Crediton · Mon–Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 10:00–16:00 · 13 km · thornesfarmshop.co.uk

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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