One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Martinsburg can be reffered to in order to figure out when it's a good idea to plant potatos.

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 very cold tolerant you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant potatos in Martinsburg 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. If you wait any later than that and your potatos may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your potatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Martinsburg. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Martinsburg is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Martinsburg it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your potatos in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Martinsburg

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 Martinsburg

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