When to Plant Potatos in Whitefish, MT

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Whitefish it's possible to figure out when to plant potatos.


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 a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant potatos in Whitefish 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. If you wait any later than that and your potatos may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your potatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Whitefish. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Whitefish is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Whitefish you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your potatos if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Whitefish

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Whitefish

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