When to plant tomatoes in Texas
Texas spans USDA hardiness zones 6a-10a. Average last spring frost: varies by region. This calendar gives you the indoor start, transplant, and direct-sow dates for Solanum lycopersicum.
Texas planting dates for tomatoes
Dates for Texas vary significantly by region. Use the average frost date lookup for your specific ZIP code, then apply the standard offsets: start tomatoes indoors 8 weeks before your last frost; transplant 2 weeks after last frost;
Why these dates
Tomatoes are warm-season crops that need 6-8 hours of direct sun and soil temperatures above 60F to thrive. Indeterminate varieties need staking or caging. Determinate varieties stay bushier and ripen all at once.
The dates above are anchored to Texas's average last spring frost date (which varies by region within the state), with offsets standard across university Extension publications. For zone-specific local timing, use the frost date lookup tool with your ZIP code.
More on growing tomatoes
The full growing guide for tomatoes - varieties, soil, fertilization, pests, harvest, storage - is here: Tomatoes growing guide.
More Texas planting information
- Full Texas planting calendar (all crops + ornamentals)
- Find your exact USDA zone by ZIP
- Look up your average frost dates
- Seed starting timeline calculator