One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Port Allen you can estimate when you can plant tomatos by looking at 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 require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Port Allen 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 fully mature. If you are starting your tomatos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Port Allen. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Port Allen is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Port Allen last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your tomatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Port Allen

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Port Allen

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Port Allen.