One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

You will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant tomatos by checking out the USDA zone info for Rockingham.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

Frost tolerance for tomatos:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since tomatos require warm weather you really should wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Rockingham 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Rockingham. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Rockingham is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rockingham you get a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rockingham

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 Rockingham

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