When to plant tomatoes in Lafayette: 26 February – 16 August

In Lafayette, tomato: sow for seedlings from 15 December to 25 June; plant into a greenhouse from 5 February to 16 August; plant out into open ground from 26 February to 16 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Urban Naturalist (garden centre, 1 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Lafayette: soil, season and weather

In Lafayette frost, not soil, sets the date: the top 7 cm of soil warms to 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — around 31 January, 19 days before the last frost on 19 February, so planting waits only for the week after that frost.

Last spring frost	19 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	31 January, 19 days before the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	5 February – 16 August; February outside: 10.1 °C at night, 19.9 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	6 December, 283 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	7 May – 25 October
Days left for picking	213
Daylight	10:16 on 5 January, 11:26 on 26 February
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, October, has 8 rainy days

Tomato in Lafayette: care after planting

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

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

26 February — feed: balanced (NPK)
26 March — 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 Lafayette during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in May–October (27.5–32.5 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in February–April and November, December (9.4–15.6 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
February	19.9	10.1	102	12	11:07
March	22.8	13.3	120	11	11:57
April	25.3	15.6	142	11	12:53
May	29	20	154	13	13:40
June	31.5	23.2	126	16	14:05
July	32.3	24.4	176	21	13:55
August	32.5	24.4	180	19	13:16
September	30.7	22	129	12	12:22
October	27.5	17.4	79	8	11:28
November	22	12	83	9	10:39
December	18.8	9.4	131	11	10:13

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Lafayette, New Orleans is 28 days earlier and Jackson 5 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Baton Rouge	85 km	13 February – 19 August	13 days earlier
New Orleans	189 km	29 January – 25 August	28 days earlier
Gulfport	283 km	14 February – 4 August	12 days earlier
Jackson	290 km	3 March – 8 August	5 days later
Shreveport	300 km	27 February – 19 August	1 day later
Houston	327 km	24 February – 7 August	2 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Lafayette

Buy plants ready to set out from 26 February to 16 August (from 5 February to 16 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 15 December to 25 June. Within 15 km of Lafayette OpenStreetMap lists 2 garden centres and 1 farm-supply shop (collected 28 October 2026).

Urban Naturalist — garden centre
Madison Street 216, 70501 Lafayette · Mon–Sun 10:00–18:00 · 1 km · urbannaturalist-105436.square.site
Walmart Garden Center — garden centre
11 km
Northern Tool — farm supply
7 km · northerntool.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.

Questions