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Figure Out When to Plant Your Garden With This Calculator 


How do you know when to plant your tomatoes and other warm-weather crops?For those of us in temperate climates, we do our planting in and around Mother’s Day. But depending on where you are, you could have actually started a few weeks ago—or you might still need to wait a bit. Here’s how to tell.

Many flowers and vegetables prefer to be planted after the “danger of frost” has passed. That’s not your average last frost date, because 50% of the time you’ll still have a frost after the average date. You want to wait until a frost is very unlikely. For crops that like warm weather—including tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini—wait an extra week after that date.

Plug your zip code into this calculator, and you’ll see the relevant dates pop up. If you live in or near New York City, your “almost guaranteed” frost-free growing season started on April 29. Now would be a fine time to plant tomatoes if you haven’t already. In Portland, OR, the season started May 10. In Minneapolis, MN, the equivalent date is May 29, so hold off for a bit. You can still plant cold weather crops, though: peas, carrots, lettuce, and onions don’t mind a frost.