When to Plant Potatos in Barrington, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when to plant potatos is to refer to the USDA zone info for Barrington.


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 quite a bit earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

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 Barrington 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your potatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your potatos indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Barrington the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Barrington is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Barrington you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your potatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Barrington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Barrington

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