Tomato
What Plant Yet? knows about tomato, and where each number comes from. For today's answer, pick your town.
Planting numbers
- Frost category
- Very tender Source: Colorado State University Extension
- Plant outdoors
- 2 weeks after typical last frost Given for very tender crops as a group. Source: Colorado State University Extension
- Start seeds indoors
- At least 6 weeks before typical last frost Source: Colorado State University Extension
- Plant out when nights stay above
- 52°F Source: Colorado State University Extension
- Cover at or below
- 32°F Source: Colorado State University Extension
- Days to harvest
- 65 Source: Colorado State University Extension
Growing tips
- Along the Front Range, tomatoes usually go out in late May once nights and soil have warmed. (Colorado State University Extension)
- Skip overhead watering; wet leaves spread fungal disease. (Colorado State University Extension)
- Nights below 55°F stop pollen forming, so early flowers often fail to set fruit. (Colorado State University Extension)
- Lay tall, leggy transplants sideways in a shallow trench; the buried stem will root. (Colorado State University Extension)
- Black plastic mulch warms the soil and can bring harvest two to three weeks earlier. (Colorado State University Extension)
How the answer uses this
The planting window opens 2 weeks after typical last frost in your town and stays open while a planting still has 65 days to mature before the typical first fall frost. Inside the window the answer is Plant when the coldest of the next 7 nights stays above 52°F. Cover tonight shows when tonight's low is 32°F or colder while tomato is normally in the ground.
Sources
- Colorado State University Extension — checked Nov 11, 2026
- Colorado State University Extension — checked Nov 11, 2026
- Colorado State University Extension — checked Nov 11, 2026
Guidance only. Extension advice is written for typical conditions; your soil, variety and microclimate matter.