When to plant tomatoes in Hamilton (New Zealand): 26 October – 23 February

In Hamilton (New Zealand), tomato: sow for seedlings from 14 August to 2 January; plant into a greenhouse from 5 October to 23 February; plant out into open ground from 26 October to 23 February. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include The Potting Shed (garden centre, 2 km) and The Plant Place (garden centre, 3 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Hamilton (New Zealand): soil, season and weather

In Hamilton (New Zealand) the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 6 August, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 26 October, 81 days later.

Last spring frost	6 August
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	26 October, 81 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	5 October – 23 February; October outside: 10.1 °C at night, 17.9 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	14 June, 232 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	4 January – 3 May
Days left for picking	162
Daylight	11:23 on 4 September, 13:27 on 26 October
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, March, has 9 rainy days

Tomato in Hamilton (New Zealand): care after planting

Planted on 26 October: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

26 October — feed: balanced (NPK)
23 November — 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 Hamilton (New Zealand) during the tomato season

No month of the season averages above the tomato card's 16–27 °C by day; the warmest, February, averages 24.8 °C. Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: June (15.1 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in every month of the season, from 7.7 °C to 15.4 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
October	17.9	10.1	114	14	13:01
November	20.6	12	129	15	14:09
December	22.7	13.9	113	13	14:45
January	24.2	15.2	90	10	14:29
February	24.8	15.4	86	9	13:30
March	22.6	13.6	80	9	12:22
April	20	11.6	103	10	11:08
May	17.2	9.2	102	12	10:07
June	15.1	7.7	110	12	9:34

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Hamilton (New Zealand), Napier is 15 days earlier and Rotorua 31 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Tauranga	79 km	from 25 October	1 day earlier
Rotorua	94 km	26 November – 3 February	31 days later
Napier	237 km	from 11 October	15 days earlier
Gisborne	259 km	from 13 October	13 days earlier
Palmerston North	288 km	29 October – 29 February	3 days later
Wellington	393 km	from 22 November	27 days later

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Hamilton (New Zealand)

Buy plants ready to set out from 26 October to 23 February (from 5 October to 23 February for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 14 August to 2 January. Within 15 km of Hamilton (New Zealand) OpenStreetMap lists 6 garden centres, 2 farm-supply shops, 2 plant nurseries, 1 market and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

The Potting Shed — garden centre
Grey Street 2/394, 3216 Hamilton · Mon–Fri 10:00–16:00; Sat 10:00–14:00; Sun closed · 2 km
Plant Depot — garden centre
Te Rapa Road 785 · 5 km · theplantdepot.co.nz
Palmers — garden centre
Mon–Sun 08:30–17:00 · 6 km · palmersplanet.co.nz
The Plant Place — garden centre
Alison Street 78 · 3 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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