When to plant tomatoes in Stoke-on-Trent: 31 May – 26 July

In Stoke-on-Trent, tomato: sow for seedlings from 19 March to 4 June; plant into a greenhouse from 10 May to 26 July; plant out into open ground from 31 May to 26 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Garners Garden Centre (garden centre, 5 km) and Northwood Garden Centre (garden centre, 6 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Stoke-on-Trent: soil, season and weather

In Stoke-on-Trent the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 27 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 31 May, 34 days later.

Last spring frost	27 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	31 May, 34 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	10 May – 26 July; May outside: 7.1 °C at night, 16 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	15 November, 168 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	9 August – 4 October
Days left for picking	98
Daylight	13:32 on 9 April, 16:32 on 31 May
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, May, has 13 rainy days

Tomato in Stoke-on-Trent: care after planting

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

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

31 May — feed: balanced (NPK)
28 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 Stoke-on-Trent during the tomato season

No month of the season averages above the tomato card's 16–27 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 20.2 °C. Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: October (13.4 °C) and November (9.1 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in every month of the season, from 4 °C to 12.1 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
May	16	7.1	69	13	15:48
June	18.8	10.4	80	14	16:54
July	20.2	12.1	88	15	16:28
August	19.7	12	70	15	14:49
September	17.2	10	84	14	12:45
October	13.4	7.6	98	14	10:41
November	9.1	4	75	14	8:43

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham is 6 days earlier and Wrexham 5 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Derby	48 km	2 June – 2 August	2 days later
Manchester	50 km	27 May – 25 July	4 days earlier
Wrexham	54 km	5 June – 3 August	5 days later
Sheffield	61 km	4 June – 2 August	4 days later
Birmingham	63 km	25 May – 30 July	6 days earlier
Liverpool	68 km	26 May – 6 August	5 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Stoke-on-Trent

Buy plants ready to set out from 31 May to 26 July (from 10 May to 26 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 19 March to 4 June. Within 15 km of Stoke-on-Trent OpenStreetMap lists 12 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 3 plant nurseries, 6 markets and 1 farm shop (collected 28 October 2026).

Garners Garden Centre — garden centre
Cemetery Road, ST5 6SH Newcastle-under-Lyme · Mon–Sun 10:00–16:45 · 5 km · garnersgardencentre.co.uk
Northwood Garden Centre — garden centre
Clayton Road, ST5 4DH Newcastle-under-Lyme · Mon–Sun 10:00–16:00 · 6 km · northwoodgardencentre.co.uk
Oh Shoot! Plants — garden centre
High Street 52, CW12 1BA Congleton · Tue, Thu–Sun 10:00–16:00; Wed 10:00–14:00 · 15 km
Jacksons Nurseries and Tea Room — garden centre
Thorney Edge Road, ST9 9LE Stoke-on-Trent · 6 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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