When to plant tomatoes in Pittsburgh: 7 May – 20 July

In Pittsburgh, tomato: sow for seedlings from 23 February to 29 May; plant into a greenhouse from 16 April to 20 July; plant out into open ground from 7 May to 20 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Urban Gardner (garden centre, 3 km) and The Urban Jungle of Regent Square (garden centre, 9 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Pittsburgh: soil, season and weather

In Pittsburgh the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 19 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 7 May, 18 days later.

Last spring frost	19 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	7 May, 18 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	16 April – 20 July; April outside: 5.2 °C at night, 16.6 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	9 November, 186 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	16 July – 28 September
Days left for picking	116
Daylight	11:56 on 16 March, 14:08 on 7 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, November, has 10 rainy days

Tomato in Pittsburgh: care after planting

Planted on 7 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

7 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
4 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 Pittsburgh during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in July (28.7 °C) and August (27.5 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (10.6 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in May, June and September–November (2–15.9 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	21.4	11	152	16	14:25
June	26.1	15.9	158	16	15:03
July	28.7	18.6	122	15	14:48
August	27.5	17.7	114	14	13:48
September	24.7	14.6	103	11	12:30
October	18.2	8.8	113	11	11:11
November	10.6	2	79	10	9:58

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Pittsburgh, Charleston, West Virginia is 17 days earlier and Erie 13 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Cleveland	185 km	14 May – 1 August	7 days later
Erie	188 km	20 May – 30 July	13 days later
Hagerstown	213 km	28 April – 22 July	9 days earlier
Columbus	260 km	4 May – 13 July	3 days earlier
Harrisburg	265 km	3 May – 22 July	4 days earlier
Charleston, West Virginia	271 km	20 April – 18 July	17 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Pittsburgh

Buy plants ready to set out from 7 May to 20 July (from 16 April to 20 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 23 February to 29 May. Within 15 km of Pittsburgh OpenStreetMap lists 11 garden centres, 4 plant nurseries, 23 markets and 4 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Urban Gardner — garden centre
Brighton Road 1901, 15214 Pittsburgh · 3 km · urbangardenerpgh.com
Phelps Nursery USC — garden centre
Painters Run Road 1877, 15241 Pittsburgh · 11 km · jenkinslawnandgarden.com
Flora Park Garden Center — garden centre
Corrigan Drive 430, 15102 Bethel Park · 13 km · floraparkgc.com
The Urban Jungle of Regent Square — garden centre
South Braddock Avenue 1119 · Tue–Fri 11:00–18:00; Sat 10:00–17:00; Sun 11:00–16:00; Mon closed · 9 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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