I finally want to grow tomatoes in my garden this year, but I'm unsure when I should put the seedlings out into the bed. Where I live (southern Germany), the late frosts are usually over by mid-May. Should I start them early indoors or is it better to wait until right after the Ice Saints?
After the Ice Saints in mid-May is the perfect time to put your seedlings outside - just right for southern Germany! I'd still start them indoors from March on though, so the plants are nice and strong by then and don't suffer too much when they go out into the full sun. The most important thing is that nighttime temperatures stay consistently above 10-12 degrees, otherwise they just won't grow and won't like it. Give them a sunny spot (at least 6-8 hours daily) and water them regularly, then you'll be good to go!
After the Ice Saints (mid-May) is definitely the safe time to put your seedlings out 🍅 You can start the seeds indoors as early as March/April so they have time to grow, but they shouldn't go in the bed until there's really no more frost coming - tomatoes hate cold nights and will just die on you otherwise. For us it always worked great when I planted after the Ice Saints, and then they grew really well through to autumn.
Tomatoes need a constant temperature of at least 15-18°C, otherwise they just won't grow and the roots rot quickly. From my experience in the garden, I start seeds indoors in early March and then plant them outside in early June - so actually a week or two later than the Ice Saints - and that works great because the soil is really warmed through by then. In southern Germany you can start around mid-May if the soil has felt warm for a while, but honestly I'd still wait a bit and go for early June instead, just in case it gets unexpectedly cool again.
Don't put tomatoes outdoors before mid-May, the plants hate it and just languish. What the others don't mention: even if it's warm during the day, cold nights can damage the flower buds, and you'll get less yield later on - that's more annoying than just waiting. Starting seeds from March/April gives you strong seedlings by May that really take off once the soil is warm enough. In southern Germany, the Ice Saints period works perfectly as your planting date.
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