When to plant tomatoes in Lexington: 28 April – 18 July

In Lexington, tomato: sow for seedlings from 14 February to 27 May; plant into a greenhouse from 7 April to 18 July; plant out into open ground from 28 April to 18 July.

Tomato in Lexington: soil, season and weather

In Lexington the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 10 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 28 April, 18 days later.

Last spring frost	10 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	28 April, 18 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	7 April – 18 July; April outside: 7.6 °C at night, 18.6 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	7 November, 193 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	7 July – 26 September
Days left for picking	123
Daylight	11:35 on 7 March, 13:39 on 28 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, October, has 9 rainy days

Tomato in Lexington: 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 Lexington during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June (28.5 °C), July (30.1 °C) and August (29.1 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (13 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in April, May and October, November (3.6–13.4 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	18.6	7.6	125	13	13:10
May	23.5	13.4	129	15	14:13
June	28.5	17.8	123	13	14:47
July	30.1	20.3	133	14	14:34
August	29.1	19.2	99	12	13:40
September	26.6	16.4	91	8	12:28
October	20.6	10.4	88	9	11:16
November	13	3.6	92	9	10:09

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Lexington, Knoxville is 23 days earlier and Dayton 6 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Frankfort	41 km	22 April – 14 July	6 days earlier
Louisville	116 km	16 April – 22 July	12 days earlier
Cincinnati	127 km	22 April – 20 July	6 days earlier
Dayton	198 km	4 May – 20 July	6 days later
Bowling Green	206 km	11 April – 21 July	17 days earlier
Knoxville	231 km	5 April – 23 July	23 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Lexington

Buy plants ready to set out from 28 April to 18 July (from 7 April to 18 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 14 February to 27 May. Within 15 km of Lexington OpenStreetMap lists 1 plant nursery and 4 markets (collected 20 October 2026).

Stuarto's Olive Oil Co — market
Euclid Avenue 804, Lexington · 5 km
Goodwill — market
East Brannon Road · 6 km
Wilson Nurseries — plant nursery
4 km
Selby's International Food Market — market
6 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