When to Plant Potatos in Waukee, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant potatos by looking at the USDA zone info for Waukee.


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 earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant potatos
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant potatos
Probably not a good time to plant potatos

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Waukee is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Waukee there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your potatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Waukee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Waukee

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