When to plant tomatoes in La Rochelle: 28 April – 22 August

In La Rochelle, tomato: sow for seedlings from 14 February to 1 July; plant into a greenhouse from 7 April to 22 August; plant out into open ground from 28 April to 22 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Boucard Horticulture (garden centre, 3 km) and Gamm Vert (garden centre, 6 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in La Rochelle: soil, season and weather

In La Rochelle the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 14 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 28 April, 73 days later.

Last spring frost	14 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	28 April, 73 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	7 April – 22 August; April outside: 8.5 °C at night, 16 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	12 December, 228 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	7 July – 31 October
Days left for picking	158
Daylight	11:25 on 7 March, 14:11 on 28 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 7 rainy days

Tomato in La Rochelle: care after planting

Planted on 28 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

28 April — feed: balanced (NPK)
26 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 La Rochelle during the tomato season

No month of the season averages above the tomato card's 16–27 °C by day; the warmest, August, averages 24.9 °C. Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (13.6 °C) and December (10.9 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in April–June and September–December (5.7–15.7 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	16	8.5	58	10	13:32
May	19.2	11.9	70	12	14:57
June	22.7	15.7	68	11	15:45
July	24.5	17.1	33	7	15:26
August	24.9	16.9	43	8	14:12
September	22.4	14.5	64	10	12:36
October	18.6	11.8	107	13	10:59
November	13.6	7.7	109	14	9:28
December	10.9	5.7	108	14	8:39

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around La Rochelle, Bordeaux is 9 days earlier and Limoges 30 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Nantes	122 km	1 May – 9 August	3 days later
Poitiers	123 km	7 May – 30 July	9 days later
Angers	153 km	5 May – 7 August	7 days later
Bordeaux	153 km	19 April – 10 August	9 days earlier
Limoges	190 km	28 May – 7 August	30 days later
Tours	196 km	8 May – 7 August	10 days later

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near La Rochelle

Buy plants ready to set out from 28 April to 22 August (from 7 April to 22 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 14 February to 1 July. Within 15 km of La Rochelle OpenStreetMap lists 10 garden centres, 5 markets and 6 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

Boucard Horticulture — garden centre
Impasse du Clavier 7, 17140 Lagord · Tue–Sat 09:00–12:00, 14:00–18:30 · 3 km · boucard-horticulture.fr
Pépinières Rouberty — garden centre
Rue du Grand Chemin 42, 17139 Dompierre-sur-Mer · Mon–Sat 08:30–12:00, 14:00–18:00; public holidays closed · 6 km · pepinieresrouberty.com
Gillardeau Plantes Import — garden centre
Rue Nationale, 17220 La Jarne · Mon–Sat 08:30–18:00 · 9 km · pepinieres-gillardeau.com
Gamm Vert — garden centre
Mon–Sat 09:00–12:30, 14:30–19:00 · 6 km · gammvert.fr

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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