One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Pierre you can determine when it's possible to plant potatos by referring to the USDA zone info.

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 quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The last month that you can plant potatos and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your potatos may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your potatos indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Pierre. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Pierre and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Pierre you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your potatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Pierre

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Pierre

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