Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Rocky Mount you can estimate when you can plant tomatos by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

It's probably not a good idea to plant tomatos until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

In Rocky Mount the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Rocky Mount is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rocky Mount last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your tomatos if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rocky Mount

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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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 Rocky Mount

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rocky Mount.