One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Valley Center you will be able to estimate 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.

It's not a good idea to plant tomatos until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Valley Center 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

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Valley Center. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Valley Center is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Valley Center last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Valley Center

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Valley Center

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Valley Center.