One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant potatos is to check out the USDA zone info for Pelham.

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 much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The last month that you can plant potatos and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your potatos may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your potatos indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Pelham the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Pelham is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Pelham you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your potatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pelham

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Pelham

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