One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Orange Cove you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant tomatos.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

It's not a good idea to plant tomatos until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Orange Cove 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. If you wait any later than that and your tomatos may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Orange Cove. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Orange Cove and it is different every year. Half of the time in Orange Cove it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your tomatos in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Orange Cove

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 Orange Cove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Orange Cove.