When to plant tomatoes in Grand Rapids: 15 May – 14 July

In Grand Rapids, tomato: sow for seedlings from 3 March to 23 May; plant into a greenhouse from 24 April to 14 July; plant out into open ground from 15 May to 14 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Flowerland (garden centre, 5 km) and Flowerland (garden centre, 8 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Grand Rapids: soil, season and weather

In Grand Rapids the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 28 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 15 May, 17 days later.

Last spring frost	28 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	15 May, 17 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	24 April – 14 July; April outside: 3 °C at night, 13.5 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	3 November, 172 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	24 July – 22 September
Days left for picking	102
Daylight	12:19 on 24 March, 14:38 on 15 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, November, has 10 rainy days

Tomato in Grand Rapids: care after planting

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

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

15 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
12 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 Grand Rapids during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in July (28.2 °C) and August (27.3 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (8.2 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in May, June and September–November (1.3–15.4 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	20.8	9.4	100	12	14:38
June	26.5	15.4	104	11	15:20
July	28.2	17.9	81	11	15:04
August	27.3	17.1	98	10	13:58
September	23.9	14.2	69	9	12:33
October	16.3	8	109	13	11:06
November	8.2	1.3	64	10	9:45

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Grand Rapids, Chicago is 6 days earlier and Traverse City 12 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Lansing	95 km	16 May – 13 July	1 day later
Ann Arbor	174 km	17 May – 16 July	2 days later
Milwaukee	182 km	19 May – 12 July	4 days later
Chicago	201 km	9 May – 17 July	6 days earlier
Traverse City	201 km	27 May – 20 July	12 days later
Fort Wayne	214 km	9 May – 13 July	6 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Grand Rapids

Buy plants ready to set out from 15 May to 14 July (from 24 April to 14 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 3 March to 23 May. Within 15 km of Grand Rapids OpenStreetMap lists 7 garden centres, 2 plant nurseries, 7 markets and 9 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Flowerland — garden centre
28th Street Southwest 765, Wyoming · Mon–Sat 10:00–18:00 · 5 km · myflowerland.com
S&H Greenhouses — garden centre
Cannonsburg Road Northeast 4525, 49306 Belmont · Mon–Fri 09:00–19:00; Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 11:00–15:00 · 14 km · shgreenhouses.net
Flowerland — garden centre
Alpine Avenue Northwest 3801, Comstock Park · 8 km
Alpine Farm & Garden — garden centre
Alpine Avenue Northwest 6535, 49316 Caledonia · 14 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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