One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant tomatos in Zone 6b by looking at 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.

Since tomatos are not cold tolerant it is necessary to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant tomatos in Zone 6b 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. Starting your tomatos indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Zone 6b. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 6b and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 6b you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your tomatos if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 6b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

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

Plants to Grow in Zone 6b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 6b.