When to plant tomatoes in Salem: 14 May – 28 July

In Salem, tomato: sow for seedlings from 2 March to 6 June; plant into a greenhouse from 23 April to 28 July; plant out into open ground from 14 May to 28 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include GreenSpaceDesign by jude (garden centre, 1 km) and Rudy's Garden Shop (garden centre, 1 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Salem: soil, season and weather

In Salem the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 27 March, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 14 May, 48 days later.

Last spring frost	27 March
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	14 May, 48 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	23 April – 28 July; April outside: 5.4 °C at night, 16.4 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	17 November, 187 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	23 July – 6 October
Days left for picking	117
Daylight	12:17 on 23 March, 14:47 on 14 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, July, has 1 rainy day

Tomato in Salem: care after planting

Planted on 14 May: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

14 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
11 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 Salem during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in July (30.3 °C) and August (30.9 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (12 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in every month of the season, from 4.8 °C to 14.8 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	21	8.4	67	10	14:49
June	25.3	11.4	42	7	15:35
July	30.3	14.2	6	1	15:17
August	30.9	14.8	9	2	14:07
September	25.9	12.2	47	7	12:35
October	18.1	8	109	11	11:02
November	12	4.8	162	16	9:35

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

1 of the nearest cities share Salem's date.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Portland	70 km	15 May – 2 August	1 day later
Eugene	98 km	22 May – 9 July	8 days later
Olympia	234 km	31 May – 26 July	17 days later
Medford	287 km	30 May – 30 June	16 days later
Seattle	302 km	17 May – 4 August	3 days later
Victoria	389 km	14 May – 31 August	same day

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Salem

Buy plants ready to set out from 14 May to 28 July (from 23 April to 28 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 2 March to 6 June. Within 15 km of Salem OpenStreetMap lists 12 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 3 plant nurseries, 2 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 28 October 2026).

GreenSpaceDesign by jude — garden centre
Commercial Street Southeast 990, 97302 Salem · Wed–Fri 11:00–17:00; Sat 10:00–16:00; Sun 12:00–16:00 · 1 km · greenspacedesign.business.site
Rootbound Plants & Pots — garden centre
River Road North 5430, 97303 · 10:00–18:00 · 7 km · keizerplantshop.com
Rudy's Garden Shop — garden centre
State Street 1288 · Wed–Sat 10:00–18:00; Sun 10:00–15:00 · 1 km · rudysgardenshop.com
Terra Gardens — garden centre
Cordon Road Northeast 270, 97317 Salem · 7 km · terragardens.net

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