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

One way of figuring out when you can plant tomatos is to check out the USDA zone info for Jefferson City.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

Tomatos require warm weather which means that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Jefferson City 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tomatos may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Jefferson City 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 Jefferson City there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your tomatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jefferson City

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 Jefferson City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Jefferson City.