When to plant tomatoes in Lecce: 14 April – 7 August

In Lecce, tomato: sow for seedlings from 31 January to 16 June; plant into a greenhouse from 24 March to 7 August; plant out into open ground from 14 April to 7 August.

Tomato in Lecce: soil, season and weather

In Lecce the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 16 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 14 April, 57 days later.

Last spring frost	16 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	14 April, 57 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	24 March – 7 August; March outside: 7.5 °C at night, 16.4 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	27 November, 227 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	23 June – 16 October
Days left for picking	157
Daylight	10:55 on 21 February, 13:13 on 14 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 3 rainy days

Tomato in Lecce: care after planting

Planted on 14 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

14 April — feed: balanced (NPK)
12 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 Lecce during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June–September (28.3–33.4 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in April, May and October, November (9.8–14.2 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	19.8	9.8	67	9	13:15
May	24	13.9	77	10	14:24
June	30.3	18.9	33	5	15:02
July	33.4	21.3	14	3	14:47
August	32.9	21.5	33	6	13:48
September	28.3	18.4	54	8	12:30
October	23.1	14.2	76	9	11:11
November	18.6	10.9	110	12	9:58

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Lecce, Foggia is 9 days earlier and Potenza 45 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Taranto	79 km	from 7 April	7 days earlier
Bari	139 km	from 19 April	5 days later
Cosenza	201 km	13 May – 10 August	29 days later
Potenza	202 km	29 May – 5 August	45 days later
Foggia	252 km	5 April – 30 August	9 days earlier
Salerno	288 km	21 May – 21 August	37 days later

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Lecce

Buy plants ready to set out from 14 April to 7 August (from 24 March to 7 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 31 January to 16 June. Within 15 km of Lecce OpenStreetMap lists 1 garden centre, 7 markets and 2 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

Mercato Porta Rudiae — market
Via Adua 62, 73100 Lecce · Fri–Sat 06:30–14:00, 17:00–20:00; Thu 06:30–14:00; Sun 07:00–14:00; Sept–Jun Mon–Wed 06:30–14:00, 17:00–20:00; Jul–Aug Mon–Wed 06:30–14:00 · 1 km
Piazza Giuseppe Libertini — market
24/7 · 1 km
Area Mercatale di Monteroni — market
Località Mercato · 7 km
Zoo garden — garden centre
14 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.

Questions