One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

One way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant tomatos is to refer to the USDA zone info for Palo Alto.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

Since tomatos do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Palo Alto 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 grow to maturity. 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 Palo Alto the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Palo Alto is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Palo Alto it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Palo Alto

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 Palo Alto

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palo Alto.