When to plant tomatoes in York: 2 June – 25 July

In York, tomato: sow for seedlings from 21 March to 3 June; plant into a greenhouse from 12 May to 25 July; plant out into open ground from 2 June to 25 July. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Botanic (garden centre, 0 km) and Dobbies (garden centre, 5 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Tomato in York: soil, season and weather

In York the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 12 April, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 2 June, 51 days later.

Last spring frost	12 April
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	2 June, 51 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	12 May – 25 July; May outside: 7.2 °C at night, 16.1 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	14 November, 165 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	11 August – 3 October
Days left for picking	95
Daylight	13:43 on 11 April, 16:47 on 2 June
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, November, has 13 rainy days

Tomato in York: care after planting

Planted on 2 June: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

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

2 June — feed: balanced (NPK)
30 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 York during the tomato season

No month of the season averages above the tomato card's 16–27 °C by day; the warmest, July, averages 20.8 °C. Months that stay below 16 °C even by day on average: October (14.1 °C) and November (9.7 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in every month of the season, from 4.1 °C to 12.4 °C.

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
June	19	10.5	71	12	17:06
July	20.8	12.4	83	15	16:38
August	20.4	12.3	69	12	14:55
September	17.9	10.2	78	13	12:46
October	14.1	7.7	81	14	10:38
November	9.7	4.1	66	13	8:35

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around York, Lincoln (United Kingdom) is 6 days earlier and Sheffield 2 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Leeds	36 km	29 May – 3 August	4 days earlier
Bradford	48 km	29 May – 29 July	4 days earlier
Hull	54 km	2 June – 4 August	same day
Sheffield	69 km	4 June – 2 August	2 days later
Lincoln (United Kingdom)	89 km	27 May – 30 July	6 days earlier
Manchester	93 km	27 May – 25 July	6 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near York

Buy plants ready to set out from 2 June to 25 July (from 12 May to 25 July for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 21 March to 3 June. Within 15 km of York OpenStreetMap lists 11 garden centres, 11 plant nurseries, 1 market and 3 farm shops (collected 20 October 2026).

Botanic — garden centre
Walmgate 27, YO1 9TX York · Sun, Mon 11:00–16:00; Wed–Sat 10:30–17:30 · 0 km
Dobbies — garden centre
Northfield Lane, YO26 6QE York · Mon–Wed, Fri, Sat 09:00–18:00; Thu 09:00–19:00; Sun 10:30–16:30 · 5 km
Orchard Nurseries — garden centre
Hopgrove Lane South 48, YO32 9TG York · 5 km
Breezy Knees Nursery — garden centre
Common Lane, YO19 5XS York · 8 km · breezyknees.co.uk

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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