One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant tomatos in Ripley should be determined by reviewing 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 have to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Ripley 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ripley and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ripley there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your tomatos if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ripley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Ripley

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