FALL GROWING GUIDE · REGION IV
When to plant
tomatoes
in Coastal South Texas.
A fall tomato crop starts earlier than the cool weather it will eventually grow into. Use established transplants rather than beginning with outdoor seed at the reference date.
AVERAGE FALL PLANTING DATE
July 10
Transplant · Frost sensitive
LAST OPTIMUM DATE
August 10
Separate guidance from source Table 2.
A recurring regional reference from the 2014 Extension guide. This is not a forecast or a guaranteed growing window.
What this means for your garden.
The southern coastal band around Corpus Christi and Laredo is Region IV in this guide. Several cool-season planting dates run into November and December.
For tomatoes, the regional reference is July 10, with August 10 listed separately as the last optimum date. A later calendar does not make new transplants immune to heat or wet soil. Check moisture before watering, especially while roots are becoming established.
Your next three steps
- Choose the right start.
Compare the last optimum date with your intended transplant date. If that window has passed, a shorter-season cool-weather crop may be a better use of the bed.
- Give the plant a good first week.
Check the root ball while the plant settles in. Keep moisture consistent without leaving the roots in saturated soil, and put supports in place while plants are small.
- Keep a record you can use next season.
Save your planned date, then change it to the day you actually plant. Record completion in My Garden; the reference calendar stays separate from your own history.
WHY LOCATION MATTERS
One crop. Five different calendars.
How the same crop’s average date compares with Coastal South Texas.
Texas PanhandleJune 139 days earlierWest TexasJune 1525 days earlierCentral & East TexasJuly 19 days earlierRio Grande ValleyAugust 122 days laterSource, scope & a little context.
Table 1 supplies average fall planting dates. Table 2 supplies last optimum dates only for the crops it lists. Figure 1 defines the five historical gardening regions; these are not current USDA hardiness zones.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension · Fall Vegetable Gardening Guide (EHT-056) ↗Dates: Table 1, p. 2; last optimum date: Table 2, p. 3. Region: Figure 1, p. 3. Source checked 2026-09-27. Editorial care notes are general planning advice; your county Extension office can refine them.
Read our methodology →