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

It's possible to estimate when to plant potatos by reviewing the USDA zone info for Minneapolis.

Planting Calendar for Potatos

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

Potatos can survive in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant potatos in Minneapolis is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant potatos and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your potatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your potatos indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Minneapolis. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Minneapolis and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Minneapolis last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your potatos if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Minneapolis

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Minneapolis

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