The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when you can plant potatos is to look at the USDA zone info for Providence.

Planting Calendar for Potatos

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

Potatos are very cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant potatos in Providence 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. If you are starting your 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 when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Providence. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Providence is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Providence you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your potatos if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Providence

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 Providence

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