When to plant tomatoes in Tampa: 25 January – 3 September

In Tampa, tomato: sow for seedlings from 13 November to 13 July; plant into a greenhouse from 4 January to 3 September; plant out into open ground from 25 January to 3 September. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Little Red Wagon Native Nursery (garden centre, 6 km) and Plantz (garden centre, 8 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in Tampa: soil, season and weather

In Tampa frost, not soil, sets the date: the top 7 cm of soil averages 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — already in the first week of January, before the last frost on 18 January, so planting waits only for the week after that frost.

Last spring frost	18 January
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	already in the first week of January
Into an unheated greenhouse	4 January – 3 September; January outside: 11.2 °C at night, 20.6 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	24 December, 333 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	5 April – 12 November
Days left for picking	263
Daylight	10:28 on 4 December, 10:44 on 25 January
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, November, has 7 rainy days

The same dates in Tampa hold for Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Zucchini, Pumpkin and Watermelon.

Tomato in Tampa: care after planting

Planted on 25 January: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

25 January — feed: balanced (NPK)
22 February — 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 Tampa during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in April–October (28.5–31.5 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in December–March (11.2–15.4 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
January	20.6	11.2	80	7	10:33
February	24.1	14.2	60	7	11:12
March	25.9	15.4	56	7	11:58
April	28.5	18.1	68	9	12:49
May	30.9	20.9	104	11	13:31
June	31.1	23.6	205	23	13:54
July	31.5	24.4	226	26	13:45
August	31.3	24.5	248	26	13:09
September	30.4	23.2	190	21	12:21
October	28.6	20.4	94	10	11:32
November	25.3	16	52	7	10:47
December	22.9	13.7	74	6	10:23

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

2 of the nearest cities share Tampa's date.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
St. Petersburg	25 km	from 25 January	same day
Orlando	124 km	25 January – 4 September	same day
Gainesville	189 km	29 January – 3 September	4 days later
Jacksonville	276 km	30 January – 6 September	5 days later
Tallahassee	328 km	29 January – 2 September	4 days later
Savannah	478 km	17 February – 3 September	23 days later

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Tampa

Buy plants ready to set out from 25 January to 3 September (from 4 January to 3 September for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 13 November to 13 July. Within 15 km of Tampa OpenStreetMap lists 3 garden centres, 1 market and 3 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Plantz — garden centre
Eugene Street 6202, 33619 Tampa · Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00 · 8 km · plantz.us
Little Red Wagon Native Nursery — garden centre
Henderson Boulevard 4113, 33629 Tampa · 6 km · littleredwagonnativenursery.com
Armature Works — market
North Ola Avenue 1910, 33602 Tampa · 1 km · armatureworks.com
Tampa Bay Farmers Market — farm shop
North Armenia Avenue 10001 · 10 km · tampabayfarmersmarket.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