One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

A common way of figuring out when to plant tomatos is to check out the USDA zone info for Odessa.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

You can not plant tomatos until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Odessa 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 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 Odessa. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Odessa and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Odessa you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your tomatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Odessa

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Odessa

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