When to plant tomatoes in Poitiers: 7 May – 30 July

In Poitiers, tomato: sow for seedlings from 23 February to 8 June; plant into a greenhouse from 16 April to 30 July; plant out into open ground from 7 May to 30 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Jardiland (garden centre, 2 km) and Gamm Vert (garden centre, 8 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Poitiers: soil, season and weather

In Poitiers the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 19 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 7 May, 49 days later.

Last spring frost	19 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	7 May, 49 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	16 April – 30 July; April outside: 6.6 °C at night, 16.2 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	19 November, 196 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	16 July – 8 October
Days left for picking	126
Daylight	11:54 on 16 March, 14:39 on 7 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 7 rainy days

Tomato in Poitiers: 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 Poitiers during the tomato season

No month of the season averages above the tomato card's 16–27 °C by day; the warmest, August, averages 26.1 °C. Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (12.1 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in every month of the season, from 5.7 °C to 15.6 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	19.5	10.1	82	13	15:00
June	23.9	14.2	76	11	15:49
July	25.9	15.6	32	7	15:29
August	26.1	15.5	34	7	14:14
September	22.6	12.7	57	10	12:36
October	17.9	9.9	84	11	10:58
November	12.1	5.7	80	13	9:26

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Poitiers, La Rochelle is 9 days earlier and Limoges 21 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Tours	94 km	8 May – 7 August	1 day later
Limoges	109 km	28 May – 7 August	21 days later
Angers	120 km	5 May – 7 August	2 days earlier
La Rochelle	123 km	28 April – 22 August	9 days earlier
Le Mans	158 km	8 May – 4 August	1 day later
Nantes	160 km	1 May – 9 August	6 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Poitiers

Buy plants ready to set out from 7 May to 30 July (from 16 April to 30 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 23 February to 8 June. Within 15 km of Poitiers OpenStreetMap lists 6 garden centres, 2 farm-supply shops, 3 markets and 5 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026).

Gamm Vert — garden centre
Allée du Haut Poitou 16 · Mon–Sat 09:00–12:00, 14:00–18:45 · 8 km · magasin.gammvert.fr
Gamm Vert — garden centre
Allée de Flore, 86800 Saint-Julien-l'Ars · Mon–Sat 09:00–12:00, 14:00–19:00 · 12 km · gammvert.fr
Gamm Vert — garden centre
Rue de la Croix Berthon 20 · Mon–Sat 08:45–12:00, 14:00–18:45; Sun 09:00–12:00 · 13 km · gammvert.fr
Jardiland — garden centre
Mon–Sat 09:30–19:00; Sun 10:00–13:00, 14:30–18:30 · 2 km · jardiland.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.

Questions