One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when you can plant potatos is to examine the USDA zone info for Gainesville.

Planting Calendar for Potatos

Frost tolerance for potatos:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since potatos are very cold tolerant you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant potatos in Gainesville is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant potatos and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your potatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your potatos indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Gainesville. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gainesville is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Gainesville you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your potatos if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gainesville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Gainesville

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gainesville.