One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A way of figuring out when to plant tomatos is to check out the USDA zone info for Knightdale.

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 when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Knightdale 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. If you wait any later than that and your tomatos may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your tomatos indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Knightdale is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Knightdale there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tomatos if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Knightdale

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 Knightdale

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