When to plant tomatoes in Ithaca: 24 May – 19 July

In Ithaca, tomato: sow for seedlings from 12 March to 28 May; plant into a greenhouse from 3 May to 19 July; plant out into open ground from 24 May to 19 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Ithaca Agway & True Value (garden centre, 1 km) and Green Tree (garden centre, 4 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Ithaca: soil, season and weather

In Ithaca 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 24 May, 26 days later.

Last spring frost	28 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	24 May, 26 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	3 May – 19 July; May outside: 8.7 °C at night, 19.8 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	8 November, 168 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	2 August – 27 September
Days left for picking	98
Daylight	12:44 on 2 April, 14:52 on 24 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, November, has 14 rainy days

Tomato in Ithaca: care after planting

Planted on 24 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

24 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
21 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 Ithaca during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in July (27.6 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (8.6 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in May, June and September–November (1.4–13.9 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	19.8	8.7	97	14	14:35
June	24.7	13.9	99	13	15:16
July	27.6	17.5	115	13	15:00
August	26	16.8	122	13	13:56
September	22.7	13.5	86	10	12:32
October	16.5	8.1	116	13	11:07
November	8.6	1.4	85	14	9:48

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant tomato earlier than Ithaca; the closest date is in Syracuse (United States), 2 days earlier.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Syracuse (United States)	74 km	22 May – 17 July	2 days earlier
Rochester	121 km	20 May – 23 July	4 days earlier
Buffalo	201 km	20 May – 21 July	4 days earlier
Allentown	222 km	3 May – 14 July	21 days earlier
Albany	226 km	19 May – 17 July	5 days earlier
Harrisburg	243 km	3 May – 22 July	21 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Ithaca

Buy plants ready to set out from 24 May to 19 July (from 3 May to 19 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 12 March to 28 May. Within 15 km of Ithaca OpenStreetMap lists 3 garden centres, 3 plant nurseries, 6 markets and 3 farm shops (collected 29 October 2026).

Ithaca Agway & True Value — garden centre
South Fulton Street 213, 14850 Ithaca · 1 km · ithacaagway.com
Green Tree — garden centre
Elmira Road 606, 14850 Ithaca · 4 km
A New Leaf — garden centre
Slaterville Road · 6 km
The Plantsmen Nursery — plant nursery
Peruville Road 482, 13073 Groton · Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00; Sun 10:00–16:00 · 12 km · plantsmen.com

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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