When to Plant Tomatos in Erie, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant tomatos in Erie by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

Since tomatos require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer 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 Erie 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Erie. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Erie is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Erie it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your tomatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Erie

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 Low0°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 Erie

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