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.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant potatos is to look at the USDA zone info for Surprise.

Planting Calendar for Potatos

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

Potatos tend to make it in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant potatos in Surprise 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your potatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your potatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Surprise the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Surprise may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Surprise you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your potatos if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Surprise

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Surprise

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