One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In New Providence you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant tomatos by checking out the USDA zone info.

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 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 New Providence 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your tomatos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in New Providence. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for New Providence is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in New Providence you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tomatos if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for New Providence

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°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 0°F.

Plants to Grow in New Providence

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New Providence.