One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant tomatos is to use the USDA zone info for Essex Junction.

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 all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Essex Junction is May. However, you really should wait until June 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. Any later than that and your tomatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Essex Junction the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Essex Junction is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Essex Junction you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your tomatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Essex Junction

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Essex Junction

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Essex Junction.