When to Plant Tomatos in Bloomington, IN

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Bloomington should be used to figure out when you can plant tomatos.


Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

Tomatos are not cold tolerant which tells us that it is important to 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 Bloomington 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Bloomington the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Bloomington may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Bloomington last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bloomington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Bloomington

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