When to plant tomatoes in Little Rock: 16 March – 31 July

In Little Rock, tomato: sow for seedlings from 2 January to 9 June; plant into a greenhouse from 23 February to 31 July; plant out into open ground from 16 March to 31 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Cantrell Gardens Nursery (garden centre, 7 km) and Maumelle Nursery (garden centre, 12 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Little Rock: soil, season and weather

In Little Rock the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 3 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 16 March, 13 days later.

Last spring frost	3 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	16 March, 13 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	23 February – 31 July; February outside: 3.5 °C at night, 14 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	20 November, 249 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	25 May – 9 October
Days left for picking	179
Daylight	10:15 on 23 January, 11:58 on 16 March
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, September, has 8 rainy days

Tomato in Little Rock: care after planting

Planted on 16 March: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

16 March — feed: balanced (NPK)
13 April — 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 Little Rock during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June–September (30–33.3 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in March, April and October, November (7.3–14 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
March	18.9	8.1	144	11	11:56
April	22.4	11.6	163	11	13:03
May	27	16.7	133	14	13:58
June	31.6	21.3	102	11	14:28
July	33.3	23.6	78	11	14:17
August	32.1	22.8	101	11	13:29
September	30	19.8	73	8	12:26
October	24.3	14	77	7	11:21
November	17.4	7.3	76	7	10:22

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Little Rock, Shreveport is 17 days earlier and Joplin 26 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Fort Smith	203 km	5 April – 29 July	20 days later
Memphis	209 km	23 March – 3 August	7 days later
Fayetteville	223 km	10 April – 21 July	25 days later
Shreveport	290 km	27 February – 19 August	17 days earlier
Joplin	327 km	11 April – 12 July	26 days later
Jackson	335 km	3 March – 8 August	13 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Little Rock

Buy plants ready to set out from 16 March to 31 July (from 23 February to 31 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 2 January to 9 June. Within 15 km of Little Rock OpenStreetMap lists 2 garden centres (collected 20 October 2026).

Cantrell Gardens Nursery — garden centre
Cantrell Road 7800, 72227 Little Rock · 7 km · cantrellgardens.com
Maumelle Nursery — garden centre
Maumelle Boulevard, North Little Rock · 12 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