One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant potatos is to look at the USDA zone info for Salem.

Planting Calendar for Potatos

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

Potatos do ok in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant potatos in Salem 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 really do well. 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

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salem and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Salem you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your potatos in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

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