Man in Overalls - When to Plant Tomatoes

Since tomatoes along with other spring favorites like squash, corn, green beans, cucumbers, peppers, and the like are "frost sensitive" (in other words, they'll die if it freezes), it's all about the "last frost date" for your area. Unless you're a weather savant and remember the last freeze for the past twenty years, you'll have to do some investigating.
You could look up your Plant Hardiness Zone on this cool "interactive" map from the USDA, and you'd learn that Jacksonville is in zone 9a, Tallahassee is in 8b, and Atlanta is just barely in zone 8a, near the edge of 7b. Okay, sounds interesting... maybe important? But what does all that mean?

Honestly, the only things I really take from the Plant Hardiness Zone Map is twofold: 1)generally, the further south you are, the warmer climate you're in, the bigger the number, and 2)the growing season for Houston is likely to be relatively similar to that of Jacksonville. Cool. But again, when should you plant your tomatoes?

On a helpful note, if you google last frost date by plant hardiness zone, some tables pop up that will narrow things down a bit for you. For example, it says that Jacksonville, in zone 9a, has an average last frost date sometime between January 30th and February 28th. Better, but you're still dealing with a full month of error.

Imagine if someone invited you for dinner. "Yes, would love to," you say. "When?" you ask, and they respond, "Oh, sometime in February. Are you free?" So you ask, "Um... well... which day?" To which they reply, "Oh, sometime between January 30 & Feb 28th."  ... Not all that helpful.
So what do you do?

For those of y'all in Jacksonville & Tallahassee (and generally for other places in zones 9a and 8b, respectively), I, of course, know the answer (or, at least, an answer), and I'll tell you in just a minute. However, the better long-term solution is to ask the gardeners in your family, on your block, in the community garden, on your garden club facebook group page. Ask them, "When should I plant my tomatoes?" Or, "When are you planting your spring garden?"

Don't ask just one person. Ask several. Use this simple question to weave yourself into a gardening network of peer support, so you've got folks with whom to learn and swap other garden info in the future.

Having relocated a couple years ago from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, this is exactly what I did upon arrival. And, as you will likely encounter, I heard a lot of conflicting dates and anecdotes like these: "My uncle always used to plant his potatoes before Valentines Day... but as for tomatoes, I usually plant them sometime near the beginning of March." And, "Well, last year we had an odd ball freeze March 15th! So, I don't even know any more." You'll also hear the old-timers caution things like, "Planting before Good Friday is a good way to get your crops froze" and advise you to check the almanac. My grandmother was always telling me that.
But eventually, after you hear from several folks, you'll have a ballpark last frost/spring planting date. You might even encounter someone who speaks definitively like this:

• If you're in Jacksonville, you're good to go after March 1st.
• If you're in Tallahassee, you're good to go after March 15th.