One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Waterloo you can determine when it's a good idea to plant tomatos by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

Frost tolerance for tomatos:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Tomatos require warm weather which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Waterloo is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant tomatos and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your tomatos may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Waterloo. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Waterloo may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Waterloo it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your tomatos in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Waterloo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Waterloo

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