One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant tomatos in East Peoria can be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

Frost tolerance for tomatos:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since tomatos require warm weather it is important 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 East Peoria 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. Starting your tomatos indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in East Peoria. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for East Peoria is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in East Peoria you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tomatos if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Peoria

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 East Peoria

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Peoria.