Warning (if you don't have a good greenhouse that is).

I'd wait a couple weeks if I were you. I'm also in MD (albeit 6b) and if you'd be at 8 weeks by the end of April. I've tried getting plants out early and stunted their growth severely with "psuedo" frost due to the windchill factor (I think it was 37C outside in April, but the humidity and wind created frost like conditions).

All of the toms I put out had some frost damage with exposures for only one-two hours in the morning (I was hardening them off and had not yet transplanted) and their development was pretty badly stunted for the whole season.

Even if you waited to protect your toms, transplanting large toms creates a lot of stress b/c there's so much water in them and they take a lot of time to bounce back due to root handling when transplanting. That's a little known fact for people buying tom plants from big box stores like Lowes or HD, big toms with fruits already budding are too old to be transplanting into the garden and will most likely suffer some sort of stress when planting them. Bigger, in the case of tom transplants, is definitely not better.

Anything you can do to reduce the amount of stress the toms undergo during transplant we really pay dividends in the long run. Even though toms look like big healthy robust plants, they can and will easily be stunted if their conditions are not right when transplanting.

Lesson learned:
1. Don't transplant until at least the beginning of May in MD to be safe
2. Transplants should be 6-8 weeks old when moving them to the garden

Now, all that being said, the forecast for MD indicates that it will be warmer than usual in April/May so you just might be fine (see link).

smithmal

Here is a link that might be useful: Extended forecast in MD

I think you are right, Smithmal. I am going by 6 weeks (roughly speaking. Then I also have a small Cold Frame that I can shelter my seedlings overnight, while hardening them off. I am also going to build a portable hoop for early spring use.. Planting too early even when there is no danger of frost won't do any good if the temps are on the cool side.
My other plan is to cover the beds with CLEAR PLASTIC to warm up the soil a few degrees (Just leaving openings for the matoes.)

Thanks for the advice. I will probably wait until about March 1 to the 7th. I wanted to start early as my plants tend to grow kinda slow in a cooler part of the house. ...and then there's the darn "polar vortex" again! next week when we go back into the 30's during the day and the teens at night. uhhhhhh........ Thanks Brian