When to Plant Tomatos in Fountain Valley, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant tomatos in Fountain Valley can be estimated 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 when the weather gets warmer.

Since tomatos do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until 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 Fountain Valley is February. However, you really should wait until March 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 really do well. 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

In Fountain Valley the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fountain Valley is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Fountain Valley you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your tomatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fountain Valley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low35°F
Highest Expected Low40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Fountain Valley

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