One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Riverside you can determine when it's the best time to plant potatos by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Potatos

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

You can plant potatos much earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant potatos in Riverside 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. Any later than that and your potatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your potatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Riverside the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Riverside is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Riverside there is a last frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your potatos if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Riverside

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 Riverside

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