April 17 is date for last frost in my area, Leoma. You could put black plastic mulch down and heat the ground up, especially on raised beds. But to be honest the plants I put out didn't bear any tomatoes until July even after being planted early by first of May. I planted seeds and they came up and bore about the same time as the plants. Try seeds! Cheaper, too!

I live just south of you below Hohenwald...we plant tomatoes about the middle of May. Winter sown tomatoes can be put out eariler, but we cover them at night when it gets below 45...until the gound warms up, and the nights are warmer they aren't going to grow anyway.

Let me be the first to invite you to the Middle TN Plant Swap the 20th of May...go to www.midtnplantswap.com for info and directions. You will meet the nicest people on God's green earth, go home with a ton of plants, and a full belly. Hope to see you there.

Jan

Thanks for the warm welcome and the invitation to the plant swap. I will be there, though I probably won't have anything to swap since when I moved, I left almost everything behind. I'm starting over with a clean slate. I moved with all I could fit into my car. I did manage to get my earth boxes in the car, though.

You can use plenty of things besides plants to trade. There is a big list...
garden crafts
seeds, (you can even purchase these or plants to bring)
garden magazines (I love Birds and Blooms, and my husband loves Mother Earth)
Garden books
produce like jams, jellies, pickles, home canned fruit etc.
flower pots
compost (You can even purchase this to bring)
manure (purchased or fresh from the barn)
garden tools

We hope you will come even if you have nothing to trade...I promise you you won't go home empty handed. This is a very generous bunch of people. Make sure you read every page on the website, there is a lot of information there. If you need any more info email our swap nazi (secretary) Jeff at jtoothmanindadj@comcast.net and he will be glad to give you all the info you can use.

Glad you will get to come to the swap.

Jan

You can also visit our website at:
http://www.midtnplantswap.com/

Shoot me an email and I'll be more than happy to answer any questions that you may have.