When to plant tomatoes in Joplin: 11 April – 12 July

In Joplin, tomato: sow for seedlings from 28 January to 21 May; plant into a greenhouse from 21 March to 12 July; plant out into open ground from 11 April to 12 July.

Tomato in Joplin: soil, season and weather

In Joplin the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 30 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 11 April, 12 days later.

Last spring frost	30 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	11 April, 12 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	21 March – 12 July; March outside: 5.5 °C at night, 16.7 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	1 November, 204 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	20 June – 20 September
Days left for picking	134
Daylight	10:56 on 18 February, 12:59 on 11 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, November, has 8 rainy days

Tomato in Joplin: care after planting

Planted on 11 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

11 April — feed: balanced (NPK)
9 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 Joplin during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June–September (28.9–32.4 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (15.2 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in April, May and October, November (5.3–14.5 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	20.5	9.3	155	12	13:08
May	24.7	14.5	178	14	14:08
June	30.6	19.8	96	9	14:42
July	32.4	22	84	10	14:29
August	31.4	21.1	97	11	13:37
September	28.9	18.2	69	7	12:27
October	22.2	11.8	106	9	11:17
November	15.2	5.3	61	8	10:12

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Joplin, Fort Smith is 6 days earlier and Kansas City 7 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Fayetteville	118 km	10 April – 21 July	1 day earlier
Tulsa	168 km	6 April – 28 July	5 days earlier
Fort Smith	189 km	5 April – 29 July	6 days earlier
Kansas City	225 km	18 April – 12 July	7 days later
Topeka	241 km	16 April – 9 July	5 days later
Wichita	259 km	13 April – 10 July	2 days later

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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