The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant tomatos is to refer to the USDA zone info for Harrisburg.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

Since tomatos do not do well in cold weather it's necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Harrisburg 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. Any later than that and your tomatos may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Harrisburg the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Harrisburg is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Harrisburg you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your tomatos in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Harrisburg

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 Harrisburg

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