When to Plant Tomatos in Patterson, CA

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

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Patterson should 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 are not cold tolerant it is necessary 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 Patterson 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 really do well. If you are starting your tomatos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Patterson and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Patterson last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your tomatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Patterson

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Patterson

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