One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

One way of estimating when to plant tomatos is to use the USDA zone info for South Beloit.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

Tomatos are not cold tolerant which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in South Beloit 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 fully mature. Starting your tomatos indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in South Beloit. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for South Beloit is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in South Beloit you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your tomatos in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Beloit

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 South Beloit

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Beloit.