One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant tomatos is to check out the USDA zone info for Jackson.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

Tomatos are not cold tolerant which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Jackson 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. Starting your tomatos indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Jackson. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Jackson may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Jackson you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your tomatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Jackson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Jackson

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