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

The USDA zone info for Richland can be reffered to in order to figure out when to plant tomatos.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

Frost tolerance for tomatos:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You should not plant tomatos until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Richland 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 really do well. 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

In Richland the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richland is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Richland you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Richland

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Richland

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