When to plant tomatoes in Memphis: 23 March – 3 August

In Memphis, tomato: sow for seedlings from 9 January to 12 June; plant into a greenhouse from 2 March to 3 August; plant out into open ground from 23 March to 3 August.

Tomato in Memphis: soil, season and weather

In Memphis the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 10 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 23 March, 13 days later.

Last spring frost	10 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	23 March, 13 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	2 March – 3 August; March outside: 8.1 °C at night, 18.2 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	23 November, 245 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	1 June – 12 October
Days left for picking	175
Daylight	10:25 on 30 January, 12:13 on 23 March
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, September, has 8 rainy days

Tomato in Memphis: care after planting

Planted on 23 March: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

23 March — feed: balanced (NPK)
20 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 Memphis during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June–September (29.4–32.6 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in March, April and October, November (7.4–13.9 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
March	18.2	8.1	158	13	11:56
April	21.9	11.6	149	11	13:03
May	26.7	17	116	13	14:00
June	30.9	21.2	103	11	14:31
July	32.6	23.6	104	13	14:19
August	31.3	22.5	101	11	13:30
September	29.4	19.8	77	8	12:26
October	23.8	13.9	89	7	11:21
November	16.7	7.4	95	9	10:20

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Memphis, Jackson is 20 days earlier and Bowling Green 19 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Little Rock	209 km	16 March – 31 July	7 days earlier
Nashville	316 km	8 April – 25 July	16 days later
Jackson	317 km	3 March – 8 August	20 days earlier
Huntsville	322 km	5 April – 25 July	13 days later
Birmingham (United States)	349 km	17 March – 6 August	6 days earlier
Bowling Green	383 km	11 April – 21 July	19 days later

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Memphis

Buy plants ready to set out from 23 March to 3 August (from 2 March to 3 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 9 January to 12 June. Within 15 km of Memphis OpenStreetMap lists 1 garden centre and 4 markets (collected 20 October 2026).

Roxie's Grocery — market
North 3rd Street 520, 38105 Memphis · 1 km
Memphis Farmers Market — market
South Front Street · 2 km · memphisfarmersmarket.org
Raleigh Farmers Market — market
Frayser Raleigh Road 3785 · Sat[3] 09:00–12:00 · 13 km
Community Table Garden — garden centre
5 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