One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's possible to plant tomatos is to look at the USDA zone info for Lodi.

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 require warm weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Lodi 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. If you are starting your tomatos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lodi the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Lodi is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lodi it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to protect your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lodi

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 Lodi

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