One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

You will be able to determine when it's the best time to plant potatos by referring to the USDA zone info for Pittsfield.

Planting Calendar for Potatos

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

Potatos are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant potatos in Pittsfield 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 really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your potatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Pittsfield. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Pittsfield is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Pittsfield there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your potatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pittsfield

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 Pittsfield

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