One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Ukiah it's a good idea to figure out 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 the last frost.

Since tomatos do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Ukiah 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. Any later than that and your tomatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ukiah is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ukiah there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your tomatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ukiah

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 Ukiah

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