You must live in a cool climate with a frost date so late in the season.
Actually, I was born and lived half my life in upstate NY, Champlain,
Plattsburgh area and I think our frost date was the end of May. After
living here in the south for almost 8 years, I forget these things. Either
that, or I'm just getting old. Naaaaah!

Anyway, a frost date is given to let gardeners know that the average last
frost usually occurs about that time. It is not a guarantee. It can
fluctuate 2 weeks in either direction. I usually plant a few on the frost
date and then plant the rest about 2 weeks later to ensure I don't lose
everything if a frost occurs. It's also easier to cover 5 tomato plants
rather than 25 if frost occurs.

Yes, tomatoes will pretty much just sit in cold soil and not actively grow.
If you want to plant them in the cooler soil, try mulching or covering the
soil below the plants with a dark weedblock material. Black or red works
well. It must be something that allows water to penetrate (not a solid
plastic). The dark color will heat up during daylight hours from the sun
and retain the heat longer for the soil and roots to be happy. Some people
also buy water walls (not sure if that's technically the name or not). They
are made of some type of clear plastic that you fill up with water. You
then wrap this or stand it up around each tomato plant to insulate from the
cold. To me, they seem like too much work to get a couple of weeks jump on
the season.

Hope this helps answer your question.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"Jim Carter" wrote in message
...
Our last frost date is May 24. Does this mean that tomatoes may be
planted at
this time even though the soil is still cool?I would, of course, have
hardened
off the plants prior to this.
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