When to Plant Tomatos in San Clemente, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In San Clemente you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant tomatos by looking at 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.

Since tomatos require warm weather you must wait until after all chance of 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 San Clemente is February. However, you really should wait until March 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. Starting your tomatos indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in San Clemente. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for San Clemente is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in San Clemente there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to cover your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for San Clemente

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in San Clemente

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Clemente.