One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant tomatos is to examine the USDA zone info for Hartselle.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

Frost tolerance for tomatos:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Tomatos do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Hartselle is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant tomatos and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tomatos may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hartselle. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hartselle is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Hartselle last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your tomatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hartselle

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Hartselle

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Hartselle.