The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. 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 making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant tomatos is to examine the USDA zone info for Detroit Lakes.

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 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 Detroit Lakes is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tomatos may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your tomatos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Detroit Lakes the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Detroit Lakes is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Detroit Lakes there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to protect your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Detroit Lakes

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Detroit Lakes

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Detroit Lakes.