When to plant tomatoes in Kyoto: 21 April – 17 August

In Kyoto, tomato: sow for seedlings from 7 February to 26 June; plant into a greenhouse from 31 March to 17 August; plant out into open ground from 21 April to 17 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include (thisis)shizen (garden centre, 1 km) and まつおえんげい (garden centre, 11 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Kyoto: soil, season and weather

In Kyoto the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 22 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 21 April, 30 days later.

Last spring frost	22 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	21 April, 30 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	31 March – 17 August; March outside: 3.8 °C at night, 13.7 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	7 December, 230 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	30 June – 26 October
Days left for picking	160
Daylight	11:23 on 28 February, 13:15 on 21 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, December, has 7 rainy days

Tomato in Kyoto: care after planting

Planted on 21 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

21 April — feed: balanced (NPK)
19 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 Kyoto during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in July (30.8 °C), August (32.4 °C) and September (28.4 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: December (10.6 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in April, May and October–December (1.5–13.6 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	18.8	8.7	155	11	13:03
May	23.3	13.4	183	11	13:59
June	26.8	18.1	254	14	14:30
July	30.8	22.9	248	16	14:18
August	32.4	24	183	13	13:30
September	28.4	20.6	192	15	12:26
October	22	13.6	190	12	11:21
November	16.3	7.1	71	7	10:21
December	10.6	1.5	57	7	9:49

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Kyoto, Tokyo is 17 days earlier and Hiroshima 14 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Osaka	43 km	15 April – 27 August	6 days earlier
Nagoya	105 km	12 April – 20 August	9 days earlier
Okayama	174 km	21 April – 25 August	same day
Hamamatsu	182 km	5 April – 28 August	16 days earlier
Hiroshima	311 km	5 May – 5 August	14 days later
Tokyo	363 km	4 April – 24 August	17 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Kyoto

Buy plants ready to set out from 21 April to 17 August (from 31 March to 17 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 7 February to 26 June. Within 15 km of Kyoto OpenStreetMap lists 16 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 plant nursery, 6 markets and 19 farm shops (collected 28 October 2026).

まつおえんげい — garden centre
Mon–Sun 10:00–17:00; Wed closed; Thu closed · 11 km · matsuoengei.co.jp
(thisis)shizen — garden centre
烏丸通 586-2 · Mon–Sun 10:00–19:00 · 1 km
Nishiki Market — market
錦小路通 · Mon–Sun, public holidays 10:00–18:00+ · 1 km · kyoto-nishiki.or.jp
鷹峯メルカート — market
Sun 10:00–15:00 · 8 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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