When to plant tomatoes in Sacramento: 31 March – 21 August

In Sacramento, tomato: sow for seedlings from 17 January to 30 June; plant into a greenhouse from 10 March to 21 August; plant out into open ground from 31 March to 21 August. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include The Gifted Gardener (garden centre, 1 km) and The Plant Foundry (plant nursery, 4 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Sacramento: soil, season and weather

In Sacramento the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 18 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 31 March, 41 days later.

Last spring frost	18 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	31 March, 41 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	10 March – 21 August; March outside: 7 °C at night, 18.3 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	11 December, 255 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	9 June – 30 October
Days left for picking	185
Daylight	10:27 on 7 February, 12:34 on 31 March
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 0 rainy days

Tomato in Sacramento: care after planting

Planted on 31 March: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

31 March — feed: balanced (NPK)
28 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 Sacramento during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in May–September (28.6–35.9 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: December (13.6 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in March–July and September–December (4.8–15.9 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
March	18.3	7	101	11	11:54
April	23.5	9.4	33	5	13:11
May	28.6	12.4	18	3	14:15
June	33.6	15.1	3	0	14:51
July	35.9	15.9	0	0	14:37
August	35.5	16.4	1	0	13:42
September	33	15.5	12	2	12:29
October	26.9	12	46	4	11:15
November	18.5	7.2	66	7	10:06
December	13.6	4.8	126	10	9:30

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Sacramento, Fresno is 16 days earlier and Carson City 38 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Stockton	71 km	1 April – 13 August	1 day later
San Jose	142 km	from 6 April	6 days later
Carson City	162 km	8 May – 2 July	38 days later
Reno	179 km	23 April – 8 July	23 days later
Redding	236 km	14 April – 21 August	14 days later
Fresno	254 km	15 March – 15 August	16 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Sacramento

Buy plants ready to set out from 31 March to 21 August (from 10 March to 21 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 17 January to 30 June. Within 15 km of Sacramento OpenStreetMap lists 5 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 plant nursery, 8 markets and 7 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Walmart Garden Center — garden centre
Delta Shores Circle South 8270, 95832 Sacramento · 13 km · walmart.com
Hydro City — garden centre
Stockton Boulevard 7660, 95823 Sacramento · 13 km
The Gifted Gardener — garden centre
J Street 1730, 95811 Sacramento · 1 km
The Plant Foundry — plant nursery
Broadway 3500, 95817 Sacramento · 4 km · plantfoundry.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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