When to plant tomatoes in zone 7b

The zone 7b schedule for tomatoes

Start seeds indoors

March 1 to 15

Plant out

April 26 to May 10

Soil warm enough (60°F), about

April 26

First harvest, roughly

June 17 to August 8

Plant for a fall crop

July 19 to 26

From the median frost dates of the NOAA stations assigned to the 3,025 ZIP codes in zone 7b, and the timing recommended by Cooperative Extension guides for tomatoes.

Frost risk in zone 7b

Zones are based on winter cold, not on frost dates, so the last spring frost varies a lot within a zone. Across zone 7b, the typical last frost ranges from about March 30 in the earliest tenth of ZIP codes to April 17 in the latest tenth, and the first fall frost from October 24 to November 18. For a typical place in the zone:

• March 20Risky: a later frost happens in 9 years out of 10
• April 5Typical: frost after this date in half of years
• April 21Safe: a later frost only 1 year in 10

Tomatoes are killed by frost, so if you want to be safe, plant out after the safe date rather than the typical one, or be ready to cover plants on a cold night.

Tomatoes in zone 7b cities