The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant tomatos in Zone 3a 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 when the weather gets warmer.

Tomatos do not do well in cold weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Zone 3a 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. 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

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Zone 3a. It might get as low as -40°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 3a is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Zone 3a you get a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your tomatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-40°F
Highest Expected Low	-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3a.