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.

The first chance to plant tomatos in Peoria Heights can be estimated 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.

Since tomatos are not cold tolerant you really should wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Peoria Heights 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. 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

In Peoria Heights the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Peoria Heights is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Peoria Heights you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Peoria Heights

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 Peoria Heights

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