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 Dallas you can determine when it's a good idea to plant tomatos 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.

It's probably not a good idea to plant tomatos until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Dallas 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tomatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Dallas. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Dallas may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Dallas it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your tomatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dallas

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Dallas

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