When to plant tomatoes in Locarno: 9 July – 14 July

In Locarno, tomato: sow for seedlings from 27 April to 23 May; plant into a greenhouse from 18 June to 14 July; plant out into open ground from 9 July to 14 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Schober Giardini (garden centre, 2 km) and Brico SA (garden centre, 3 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Locarno: soil, season and weather

In Locarno the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 23 May, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 9 July, 47 days later. Planting out on 9 July leaves 75 days to the first autumn frost on 22 September, only 5 more than the card's 70 days to the first harvest; an unheated greenhouse, three weeks earlier, would add 21.

Last spring frost	23 May
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	9 July, 47 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	18 June – 14 July; June outside: 6.4 °C at night, 16.5 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	22 September, 75 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	17 September – 22 September
Days left for picking	5
Daylight	15:04 on 18 May, 15:35 on 9 July
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, September, has 16 rainy days

Tomato in Locarno: care after planting

Planted on 9 July: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

9 July — feed: balanced (NPK)
6 August — 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 Locarno during the tomato season

No month of the season averages above the tomato card's 16–27 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 18.4 °C. Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: September (13.7 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in every month of the season, from 4.3 °C to 8.2 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
July	18.4	8.2	184	20	15:26
August	18.3	8.1	227	18	14:12
September	13.7	4.3	156	16	12:36

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

All the nearest cities on our list plant tomato earlier than Locarno; the closest date is in Bellinzona, 42 days earlier.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Bellinzona	17 km	28 May – 26 July	42 days earlier
Lugano	22 km	28 April – 15 August	72 days earlier
Como	46 km	30 April – 3 August	70 days earlier
Novara	81 km	18 April – 2 August	82 days earlier
Milan	85 km	15 April – 10 August	85 days earlier
Bergamo	85 km	11 May – 29 July	59 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Locarno

Buy plants ready to set out from 9 July to 14 July (from 18 June to 14 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 27 April to 23 May. Within 15 km of Locarno OpenStreetMap lists 5 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop and 4 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

Brico SA — garden centre
Via Arbigo 1, 6616 Losone · Mon–Fri 07:30–18:30; Sat 07:30–18:00 · 3 km · bricofaidate.ch
Schober Giardini — garden centre
Via Ferrera 103, 6612 Ascona · 2 km · schober-giardini.ch
Apicoltura Stocker — farm supply
Via Livurcio 45, 6622 Ronco sopra Ascona · 5 km
Emporio La Stala — farm shop
Via Cantonale 2, 6805 Mezzovico · 24/7 · 13 km · lastala.ch

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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