When to Plant Tomatos in Apple Valley, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Apple Valley can be determined by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

Tomatos are not cold tolerant which means that it is necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant tomatos
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tomatos
Probably not a good time to plant tomatos

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Apple Valley 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. Any later than that and your tomatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your tomatos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Apple Valley. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Apple Valley is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Apple Valley it frosts late in the year after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your tomatos if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Apple Valley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Apple Valley

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Apple Valley.