When to plant Tomatoes
Calendar windows
Dates shift with your latitude — they are calculated from your local last-spring-frost date, not from a fixed calendar.
At a glance
Killed by any frost — plant out only after the last one.
Practical notes
Start indoors 6–8 weeks before the last frost and plant out only when nights hold above 10°C. Bury the stem deep — buried stem tissue roots and anchors the plant. Pinch side-shoots on cordon varieties weekly.
Knowing when to pick
Pick when the fruit is fully coloured and gives slightly under thumb pressure. Late in the season, harvest at the first blush and ripen indoors before blight arrives.
Storing the crop
Never refrigerate — cold kills the flavour. Keep stem-side down at room temperature and use within a week, or cook down and freeze.
Crop rotation
Leave 3–4 years before nightshades return to the same bed — blight and wilts persist in soil.
Grows well with
Keep apart from
Watch for
Full guide: tomatoes diseases and pests (7) → with spread routes, compost verdicts and the prevention this list justifies.