Tomato Planting Dates in Maryland: Counting Back From Your Frost Window
Maryland’s tomato transplant window runs mid to late April, calculated from NOAA’s Baltimore frost normals and each cultivar’s days to maturity.
Gardening in Maryland
Everything we have worked out for Maryland: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Baltimore, the last spring freeze runs April 3 to April 16 and the first fall freeze runs October 26 to November 5, USDA zones 5b-8a, 3,994 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 21.8 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Maryland: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
Tomato Pests in Maryland: Which Ones Actually Show Up Here
Maryland tomato growers face flea beetles, aphids, hornworms, spider mites, stink bugs, and fruitworms in a fairly predictable order each season.
Tomato Varieties That Ripen in Time in Maryland
A shortest-to-longest list of tomato varieties, with the days-to-maturity math that shows which ones ripen before Maryland’s first fall frost near Baltimore.
Growing Tomatoes in Maryland: Planting Dates, Varieties and Local Pests
A county-by-county guide to Maryland tomato planting dates, soil prep, disease-resistant varieties, companion plants, and common pests, based on NOAA frost data.