When to plant tomatoes in Madison: 16 May – 7 July

In Madison, tomato: sow for seedlings from 4 March to 16 May; plant into a greenhouse from 25 April to 7 July; plant out into open ground from 16 May to 7 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include The Madison Greenhouse Store (garden centre, 4 km) and Klein's Floral and Greenhouses (garden centre, 8 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Madison: soil, season and weather

In Madison the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 27 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 16 May, 19 days later.

Last spring frost	27 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	16 May, 19 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	25 April – 7 July; April outside: 3 °C at night, 13.7 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	27 October, 164 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	25 July – 15 September
Days left for picking	94
Daylight	12:22 on 25 March, 14:41 on 16 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, August, has 10 rainy days

Tomato in Madison: care after planting

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

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

16 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
13 June — 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 Madison during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in July (27.9 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in May (9.9 °C), September (14.3 °C) and October (7.4 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	20.6	9.9	105	12	14:39
June	26.5	16.2	107	12	15:21
July	27.9	18.4	99	11	15:04
August	26.7	17.3	79	10	13:59
September	23.6	14.3	90	8	12:33
October	16	7.4	85	10	11:06

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Madison, Davenport is 14 days earlier and Milwaukee 3 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Rockford	94 km	13 May – 8 July	3 days earlier
Milwaukee	121 km	19 May – 12 July	3 days later
Davenport	195 km	2 May – 10 July	14 days earlier
Green Bay	196 km	19 May – 10 July	3 days later
Chicago	196 km	9 May – 17 July	7 days earlier
Cedar Rapids	224 km	11 May – 5 July	5 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Madison

Buy plants ready to set out from 16 May to 7 July (from 25 April to 7 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 4 March to 16 May. Within 15 km of Madison OpenStreetMap lists 8 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 3 plant nurseries, 19 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

Jung's Garden Center — garden centre
Nesbitt Road 6192, 53719 · Wed–Mon 10:00–16:00 · 9 km · junggardencenters.com
The Madison Greenhouse Store — garden centre
Williamson Street 1354, 53703 · Mon–Fri 10:00–18:00; Sat–Sun 10:00–16:00 · 4 km · madisongreenhousestore.com
Klein's Floral and Greenhouses — garden centre
East Washington Avenue 3758, 53704 Madison · Sun 10:00–16:00; Mon–Fri 09:00–18:00; Sat 09:00–17:00 · 8 km
Fitchburg Farms — garden centre
County Road MM 1839, 53575 Fitchburg · 13 km · fitchburgfarms.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.

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