When to Plant Potatos in Manheim, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when you can plant potatos is to consult the USDA zone info for Manheim.


Planting Calendar for Potatos

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

Since potatos are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to 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 Manheim 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your potatos may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your potatos indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Manheim the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Manheim is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Manheim it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your potatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manheim

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 Low0°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 Manheim

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