When to Plant Tomatos in Mills River, NC

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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Mills River you will be able to estimate 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.

Since tomatos are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant tomatos
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant tomatos
Probably not a good time to plant tomatos

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Mills River 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 fully mature. If you are starting your tomatos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Mills River the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mills River may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Mills River last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your tomatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mills River

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mills River

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mills River.