One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 best time to plant tomatos in La Quinta should be figured out 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 tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in La Quinta 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 grow to maturity. Starting your tomatos indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in La Quinta. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for La Quinta may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in La Quinta it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your tomatos if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Quinta

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 La Quinta

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Quinta.