The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Palatka you can figure out when it's the best time to plant tomatos 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 do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Palatka 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 fully mature. If you are starting your tomatos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Palatka is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Palatka you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Palatka

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 Palatka

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