When to plant tomatoes in Florence: 3 May – 7 August

In Florence, tomato: sow for seedlings from 19 February to 16 June; plant into a greenhouse from 12 April to 7 August; plant out into open ground from 3 May to 7 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Centro Agricolo Toscano (garden centre, 3 km) and Mondo Rose (garden centre, 10 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Florence: soil, season and weather

In Florence the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 23 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 3 May, 41 days later.

Last spring frost	23 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	3 May, 41 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	12 April – 7 August; April outside: 6.6 °C at night, 18.4 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	27 November, 208 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	12 July – 16 October
Days left for picking	138
Daylight	11:43 on 12 March, 14:14 on 3 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 5 rainy days

Tomato in Florence: care after planting

Planted on 3 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

3 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
31 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 Florence during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June (28.2 °C), July (31.4 °C) and August (31.5 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (14.7 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in May, June and September–November (6.2–15.6 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	21.9	10.8	105	14	14:43
June	28.2	15.6	54	8	15:26
July	31.4	18	31	5	15:09
August	31.5	18.3	50	6	14:02
September	25.8	14.4	114	10	12:33
October	20.8	10.6	107	11	11:04
November	14.7	6.2	140	13	9:41

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Florence, Bologna is 15 days earlier and Pisa 27 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Siena	50 km	22 April – 7 August	11 days earlier
Arezzo	61 km	23 May – 1 August	20 days later
Pisa	69 km	30 May – 29 July	27 days later
Livorno	79 km	from 20 April	13 days earlier
Bologna	80 km	18 April – 9 August	15 days earlier
San Marino	97 km	25 April – 22 August	8 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Florence

Buy plants ready to set out from 3 May to 7 August (from 12 April to 7 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 19 February to 16 June. Within 15 km of Florence OpenStreetMap lists 6 garden centres, 13 markets and 6 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Centro Agricolo Toscano — garden centre
Via Villamagna 146 · Mon–Sat 07:30–19:30 · 3 km
Mondo Rose — garden centre
Mon–Sat 08:00–12:30; Sun closed · 10 km
La Spesa in Campagna — market
Largo Adone Zoli Parterre, 50129 Firenze · Fri 08:00–14:00 · 2 km · ciatoscana.eu
Leather market — market
Via Nazionale 37 R, Firenze · 1 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