When to Plant Tomatos in Falls Church, VA

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.

It's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant tomatos by looking at the USDA zone info for Falls Church.


Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

Since tomatos require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost has passed 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 Falls Church 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 really do well. If you are starting your tomatos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Falls Church the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Falls Church may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Falls Church you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your tomatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Falls Church

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Falls Church

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Falls Church.