When to Plant Tomatos in Fort Myers Beach, FL

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 using the USDA zone info for Fort Myers Beach you will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant tomatos.


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 must wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer 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 Fort Myers Beach 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. Any later than that and your tomatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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 Fort Myers Beach. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Myers Beach is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Myers Beach you get surprised by a frost after January 31 so be sure to be ready to cover your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Myers Beach

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 Fort Myers Beach

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Myers Beach.