One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

You will be able to determine when it's the best time to plant tomatos by looking at the USDA zone info for Shafter.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

You should not plant tomatos until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Shafter 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. Starting your tomatos indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Shafter. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Shafter may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Shafter you get a frost after February 15 be ready to protect your tomatos if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shafter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Shafter

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