Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

The USDA zone info for Schenectady can be read to estimate when it's a good idea 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.

You can plant potatos much earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant potatos in Schenectady 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your potatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Schenectady may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Schenectady there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your potatos if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Schenectady

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 Schenectady

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