When to plant tomatoes in Fresno: 15 March – 15 August

In Fresno, tomato: sow for seedlings from 1 January to 24 June; plant into a greenhouse from 22 February to 15 August; plant out into open ground from 15 March to 15 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Gibson Farm Market (farm shop, 8 km) and Green Source Genetics - Clones in Fresno (garden centre, 9 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Fresno: soil, season and weather

In Fresno the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 5 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 15 March, 38 days later.

Last spring frost	5 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	15 March, 38 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	22 February – 15 August; February outside: 4.9 °C at night, 17.5 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	5 December, 265 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	24 May – 24 October
Days left for picking	195
Daylight	10:05 on 22 January, 11:55 on 15 March
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 0 rainy days

Tomato in Fresno: care after planting

Planted on 15 March: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

15 March — feed: balanced (NPK)
12 April — 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 Fresno during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in May–October (28.1–40 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: December (14.4 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in March–May and October–December (4.5–14.7 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
March	19.5	7.4	94	9	11:55
April	25.2	10.6	27	3	13:07
May	30.3	14.7	15	2	14:07
June	36.5	19.5	1	0	14:40
July	40	22.5	0	0	14:27
August	38.8	21.9	2	0	13:36
September	35	18.6	3	1	12:27
October	28.1	12.5	12	1	11:18
November	19.9	7.2	43	4	10:14
December	14.4	4.5	68	7	9:40

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant tomato later than Fresno; the closest date is in Bakersfield, 1 day later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Bakersfield	168 km	16 March – 24 August	1 day later
Stockton	190 km	1 April – 13 August	17 days later
San Jose	199 km	from 6 April	22 days later
Sacramento	254 km	31 March – 21 August	16 days later
Santa Barbara	259 km	11 April – 25 August	27 days later
Carson City	268 km	8 May – 2 July	54 days later

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Fresno

Buy plants ready to set out from 15 March to 15 August (from 22 February to 15 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 1 January to 24 June. Within 15 km of Fresno OpenStreetMap lists 4 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Green Source Genetics - Clones in Fresno — garden centre
East Escalon Avenue 102, 93710 Fresno · 9 km · greensourcegenetics.com
Gibson Farm Market — farm shop
North Chestnut Avenue 5368, 93740 Fresno · Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00; Sat 10:00–17:00 · 8 km · fresnostate.edu
Belmont Nursey — garden centre
11 km
Walmart Garden Center — garden centre
4 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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