When to plant tomatoes in Palmerston North: 29 October – 29 February

In Palmerston North, tomato: sow for seedlings from 17 August to 8 January; plant into a greenhouse from 8 October to 29 February; plant out into open ground from 29 October to 29 February. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Innerwell Nursery (garden centre, 11 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Palmerston North: soil, season and weather

In Palmerston North the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 11 August, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 29 October, 79 days later.

Last spring frost	11 August
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	29 October, 79 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	8 October – 29 February; October outside: 9.5 °C at night, 16.9 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	20 June, 235 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	7 January – 9 May
Days left for picking	165
Daylight	11:27 on 7 September, 13:42 on 29 October
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, January, has 10 rainy days

Tomato in Palmerston North: care after planting

Planted on 29 October: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

29 October — feed: balanced (NPK)
26 November — 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 Palmerston North during the tomato season

No month of the season averages above the tomato card's 16–27 °C by day; the warmest, February, averages 23.3 °C. Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: June (14 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in every month of the season, from 7.2 °C to 14.4 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
October	16.9	9.5	103	16	13:07
November	19.4	11.4	96	14	14:21
December	21.4	13.3	124	14	15:02
January	22.9	14.4	80	10	14:44
February	23.3	14.2	80	8	13:38
March	21.1	12.6	81	10	12:24
April	18.7	10.7	96	11	11:02
May	16.2	8.8	105	13	9:55
June	14	7.2	89	12	9:18

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Palmerston North, Napier is 18 days earlier and Rotorua 28 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Wellington	125 km	from 22 November	24 days later
Napier	147 km	from 11 October	18 days earlier
Blenheim	189 km	30 October – 8 February	1 day later
Nelson	221 km	11 November – 29 February	13 days later
Rotorua	253 km	26 November – 3 February	28 days later
Gisborne	280 km	from 13 October	16 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Palmerston North

Buy plants ready to set out from 29 October to 29 February (from 8 October to 29 February for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 17 August to 8 January. Within 15 km of Palmerston North OpenStreetMap lists 2 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 plant nursery and 1 market (collected 20 October 2026).

Innerwell Nursery — garden centre
Raukawa Road 25, 4470 Palmerston North · 11 km
Oderings — garden centre
1 km
Awapuni Nurseries — plant nursery
5 km
Farmlands — farm supply
2 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.

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