One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 Lockhart you can estimate when it's the best time to plant tomatos by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

Frost tolerance for tomatos:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Tomatos are not cold tolerant which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Lockhart 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Lockhart the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lockhart and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Lockhart last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your tomatos if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lockhart

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 Lockhart

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