When to Plant Tomatos in Steilacoom, WA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Steilacoom you will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant tomatos.


Planting Calendar for Tomatos

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

It's a bad idea to plant tomatos until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

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 Steilacoom 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 fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your tomatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Steilacoom is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Steilacoom you get a frost after March 15 so always be ready to protect your tomatos in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Steilacoom

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 Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°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 Steilacoom

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