When to Plant Tomatos in Bartlett, IL

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

The USDA zone info for Bartlett should be reviewed to determine when it's possible to plant tomatos.


Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

Tomatos are not cold tolerant which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed 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 Bartlett 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tomatos may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your tomatos indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Bartlett. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Bartlett may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Bartlett there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your tomatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bartlett

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Bartlett

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