When to Plant Tomatos in Johnstown, NY

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 can figure out when it's the best time to plant tomatos in Johnstown by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

You really shouldn't plant tomatos until after the last frost because they are not cold tolerant.

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 Johnstown 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Johnstown. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Johnstown is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Johnstown last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Johnstown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Johnstown

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