The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Avenal it's a good idea to estimate when it's a good idea to plant tomatos.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

Tomatos do not do well in cold weather which means that you must 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 Avenal is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Avenal. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Avenal and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Avenal there is a last frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your tomatos in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Avenal

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Avenal

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