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When to Plant Sweet Potatos in Chicago Ridge, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

The first chance to plant sweet potatos in Chicago Ridge should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Sweet Potatos

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

Sweet Potatos do not do well in cold weather which means that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant sweet potatos in Chicago Ridge 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. Any later than that and your sweet potatos may not have a chance to really do well. 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

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Chicago Ridge. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Chicago Ridge last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your sweet potatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago Ridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Chicago Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Chicago Ridge.