When to Plant Potatos in York, PA

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

A way of making a decision about when to plant potatos is to refer to the USDA zone info for York.


Planting Calendar for Potatos

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

Since potatos do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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 York 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your potatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in York. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for York may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in York it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your potatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for York

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 York

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