The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

A common way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant potatos is to examine the USDA zone info for Rochester.

Planting Calendar for Potatos

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

Since potatos do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant potatos in Rochester 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. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your potatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Rochester. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

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

USDA Zone Info for Rochester

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 Rochester

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