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.

One way of making a decision about when you can plant potatos is to refer to the USDA zone info for La Grande.

Planting Calendar for Potatos

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

Potatos are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant potatos in La Grande 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. Starting your potatos indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in La Grande. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for La Grande is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in La Grande it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your potatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Grande

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in La Grande

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Grande.