When to plant tomatoes in Springfield: 26 April – 12 July

In Springfield, tomato: sow for seedlings from 12 February to 21 May; plant into a greenhouse from 5 April to 12 July; plant out into open ground from 26 April to 12 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Kreations (garden centre, 7 km) and Brandt (farm supply, 12 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Springfield: soil, season and weather

In Springfield the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 17 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 26 April, 9 days later.

Last spring frost	17 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	26 April, 9 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	5 April – 12 July; April outside: 6.8 °C at night, 18 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	1 November, 189 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	5 July – 20 September
Days left for picking	119
Daylight	11:28 on 5 March, 13:41 on 26 April
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, September, has 7 rainy days

Tomato in Springfield: care after planting

Planted on 26 April: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

26 April — feed: balanced (NPK)
24 May — 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 Springfield during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in June (29.3 °C), July (29.8 °C) and August (28.5 °C). Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: November (11.6 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in April, May and October, November (2.6–13.2 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
April	18	6.8	117	12	13:14
May	23.8	13.2	115	12	14:21
June	29.3	18.7	87	11	14:58
July	29.8	20.5	119	12	14:44
August	28.5	19.3	82	10	13:46
September	26.6	16.5	62	7	12:30
October	19.7	9.9	82	10	11:12
November	11.6	2.6	71	8	10:01

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Springfield, Evansville is 10 days earlier and Rockford 17 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Peoria	99 km	2 May – 11 July	6 days later
St. Louis	139 km	18 April – 15 July	8 days earlier
Davenport	212 km	2 May – 10 July	6 days later
Jefferson City	258 km	23 April – 15 July	3 days earlier
Evansville	271 km	16 April – 21 July	10 days earlier
Rockford	278 km	13 May – 8 July	17 days later

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Springfield

Buy plants ready to set out from 26 April to 12 July (from 5 April to 12 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 12 February to 21 May. Within 15 km of Springfield OpenStreetMap lists 1 garden centre, 2 farm-supply shops and 1 market (collected 28 October 2026).

Kreations — garden centre
Chatham Road 3427, 62704 Springfield · Tue–Fri 11:00–18:00; Sat 11:00–17:00; Sun 11:00–15:00 · 7 km · gokigc.com
Brandt — farm supply
Industrial Drive 6089, 62670 Curran · 12 km · brandt.co
WinField United — farm supply
Industrial Drive 6100, 62670 Curran · 13 km · winfieldunited.com
Deo Gratias Food Market — market
West Constitution Drive 2920, 62704 Springfield · Tue–Fri 10:00–19:00; Sat 10:30–20:30; Sun 13:00–19:00 · 8 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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