Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. 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 it's a good idea to plant sweet potatos is to consult the USDA zone info for Ridgecrest.

Planting Calendar for Sweet Potatos

Frost tolerance for sweet potatos:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since sweet potatos do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant sweet potatos in Ridgecrest is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant sweet potatos and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your sweet potatos may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your sweet potatos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Ridgecrest is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ridgecrest it frosts late in the year after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your sweet potatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ridgecrest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Ridgecrest

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