When to plant tomatoes in Montpellier: 11 April – 7 September

In Montpellier, tomato: sow for seedlings from 28 January to 17 July; plant into a greenhouse from 21 March to 7 September; plant out into open ground from 11 April to 7 September. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Serres d'Oc (garden centre, 2 km) and Jardiland (garden centre, 5 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Montpellier: soil, season and weather

In Montpellier the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 27 January, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 11 April, 74 days later.

Last spring frost	27 January
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	11 April, 74 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	21 March – 7 September; March outside: 7.4 °C at night, 15.6 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	28 December, 261 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	20 June – 16 November
Days left for picking	191
Daylight	10:38 on 18 February, 13:13 on 11 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 3 rainy days

Tomato in Montpellier: care after planting

Planted on 11 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

11 April — feed: balanced (NPK)
9 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 Montpellier during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in July (30.1 °C) and August (29.5 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (15.6 °C) and December (12.7 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in April, May and October–December (5.6–13.4 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	18.1	9.7	68	8	13:24
May	22	13.4	73	8	14:42
June	26.9	18.3	39	6	15:25
July	30.1	20.6	17	3	15:08
August	29.5	20.2	33	4	14:01
September	25.1	16.6	71	6	12:33
October	20.9	13.3	103	11	11:05
November	15.6	8.4	97	11	9:42
December	12.7	5.6	68	9	8:58

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Montpellier, Perpignan is 6 days earlier and Valence 20 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Nîmes	46 km	17 April – 11 August	6 days later
Avignon	84 km	18 April – 12 August	7 days later
Marseille	125 km	from 13 April	2 days later
Perpignan	129 km	5 April – 22 August	6 days earlier
Valence	168 km	1 May – 1 August	20 days later
Toulouse	196 km	25 April – 8 August	14 days later

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Montpellier

Buy plants ready to set out from 11 April to 7 September (from 21 March to 7 September for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 28 January to 17 July. Within 15 km of Montpellier OpenStreetMap lists 20 garden centres, 11 plant nurseries, 47 markets and 14 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Serres d'Oc — garden centre
Route de Lavérune 2, 34070 · Mon–Sat 09:00–12:15, 14:00–19:00; Sun 10:00–12:30 · 2 km · lesserresdoc.com
Truffaut — garden centre
Rue Hélène Boucher 77, 34130 Mauguio · 09:30–19:00 · 6 km · truffaut.com
Jardiland — garden centre
Rue Marcel Carné, 34970 Lattes · Mon–Sat 09:30–19:00; Sun 10:00–12:30, 14:00–19:00 · 5 km · jardiland.com
Botanic — garden centre
Rue du Traité de Rome, 34430 Saint-Jean-de-Védas · Mon–Sat 09:30–19:00; Sun 10:00–19:00 · 6 km · botanic.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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