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.

A common way of getting a good idea when you can plant sweet potatos is to refer to the USDA zone info for Vandalia.

Planting Calendar for Sweet Potatos

Frost tolerance for sweet potatos:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since sweet potatos are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant sweet potatos in Vandalia 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. If you wait any later than that and your sweet potatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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

In Vandalia the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Vandalia and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Vandalia you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your sweet potatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Vandalia

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 Vandalia

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