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.

In Carbondale you can estimate when you can plant sweet potatos by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sweet Potatos

Frost tolerance for sweet potatos:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Since sweet potatos do not do well in cold weather you have to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

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

The last month that you can plant sweet potatos and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your sweet potatos may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your sweet potatos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Carbondale. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Carbondale and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Carbondale last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your sweet potatos in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Carbondale

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 Carbondale

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