When to Plant Potatos in Zone 6a

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for Zone 6a should be reffered to in order to estimate when it's possible 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.

Potatos do ok in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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 6a 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. Any later than that and your potatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your potatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Zone 6a. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Zone 6a may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Zone 6a you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your potatos if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 6a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 6a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 6a.