When to Plant Potatos in Zone 2a

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's possible to plant potatos is to look at the USDA zone info for Zone 2a.


Planting Calendar for Potatos

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

You can plant potatos a lot earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

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 Zone 2a is April. However, you really should wait until May 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. If you wait any later than that and your potatos may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your potatos indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 2a the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -50°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 2a may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Zone 2a last frost occurs after May 15 so always be ready to cover your potatos if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 2a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)August 15
Lowest Expected Low-50°F
Highest Expected Low-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 2a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 2a.